Sercand™ 25 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg and 300 mg Film coated tablets

Sercand™ contains a medicine called quetiapine. This belongs to a group of medicines called anti-psychotics. Sercand™ can be used to treat several illnesses, such as:

  • Bipolar depression: where you may feel sad all the time or you may find that you feel depressed, feel guilty, lack energy, lose your appetite or cannot sleep.
  • Mania: where you may feel very excited, elated, agitated, enthusiastic or hyperactive or have poor judgment including being aggressive or disruptive.
  • Schizophrenia: where you may hear or feel things that are not there, believe things that are not true or feel unusually suspicious, anxious, confused, guilty, tense or depressed.

Your doctor may continue to prescribe Sercand™ even when you are feeling better.

  • Use as a sleeping drug: Sercand™ is often prescribed by doctors at low doses for things other than mental illness. This is mostly because the main side effect of it is making people feel sleepy.
  • Other uses include managing the symptoms of withdrawal from other drugs. Sercand™ is recommended to control the withdrawal symptoms while treating addiction.

Sercand™ works by attaching to the brain’s dopamine receptors and altering serotonin levels. Short-term side effects include feeling sleepy, a dry mouth, dizziness and low blood pressure when you stand up. These effects lasts about six hours. Longer-term side effects of Sercand™ use include weight gain, high blood sugars and a greater risk of diabetes. People who take Sercand™ regularly will experience withdrawal when they stop. Symptoms include nausea, insomnia, headache, diarrhoea, vomiting, dizziness and irritability.

  • Weight gain: Weight gain has been seen in patients taking Sercand™. You and your doctor should check your weight regularly.
  • Children and Adolescents: Sercand™ is not for use in children and adolescents below 18 years of age.
  • Driving and using machines: Sercand™ may make you feel sleepy. Do not drive or use any tools or machines until you know how the tablets affect you.
  • Effect on Urine Drug Screens: If you are having a urine drug screen, taking Sercand™ may cause positive results for methadone or certain drugs for depression called tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) when some test methods are used, even though you may not be taking methadone or TCAs. If this happens, a more specific test can be performed.

How to take Sercand™

Sercand™ 25 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg and 300 mg Film coated tablets
Sercand™ 25 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg and 300 mg Film coated tablets

Always take Sercand™ exactly as your doctor has told you. You should check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure. Your doctor will decide on your starting dose. The maintenance dose (daily dose) will depend on your illness and needs but will usually be between 150 mg and 800 mg.

  • You will take your tablets once a day, at bedtime or twice a day, depending on your illness.
  • Swallow your tablets whole with a drink of water.
  • You can take your tablets with or without food.
  • Do not drink grapefruit juice while you are taking Sercand™. It can affect the way the medicine works.
  • Do not stop taking your tablets even if you feel better, unless your doctor tells you.
  • The combined effect of Sercand™ and alcohol can make you feel sleepy.
Thoughts of suicide and worsening of your depression

If you are depressed you may sometimes have thoughts of harming or killing yourself. These may be increased when first starting treatment, since these medicines all take time to work, usually about two weeks but sometimes longer. These thoughts may also be increased if you suddenly stop taking your medication. You may be more likely to think like this if you are a young adult. Information from clinical trials has shown an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and/or suicidal behaviour in young adults aged less than 25 years with depression.

If you have thoughts of harming or killing yourself at any time, contact your doctor or go to a hospital straight away. You may find it helpful to tell a relative or close friend that you are depressed, and ask them to read this article. You might ask them to tell you if they think your depression is getting worse, or if they are worried about changes in your behaviour.

Sercand™- FAQs

Does Sercand™ take effect immediately? Sedative effects happen almost immediately; however, it may take up to two to three weeks to see some improvement in other symptoms and up to six weeks for the full effects to be seen.
What are the side effects of Sercand™? Constipation, drowsiness, upset stomach, tiredness, weight gain, blurred vision, or dry mouth may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, tell your doctor promptly. Dizziness or lightheadedness may occur, especially when you first start or increase your dose of this drug.
How long before bed should I take Sercand™ for sleep? The dose should be taken once a day, 1-2 hours before bedtime.
Does Sercand™ cause addiction? Sercand™ abuse is one of the most common abuse of atypical antipsychotics, according to many reports. Abuse can lead to an addiction, which necessitates rehab treatment and therapy.
What happens when you stop taking Sercand™? If you suddenly stop taking Sercand™ you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Your doctor will probably want to decrease your dose gradually.

Taking other medicines

Tell your doctor if you are taking or have recently taken any other medicines.

Do not take Sercand™ if you are taking any of the following medicines:

  • Some medicines for HIV.
  • Azole medicines (for fungal infections).
  • Erythromycin or clarithromycin (for infections).
  • Nefazodone (for depression).

Tell your doctor if you are taking any of the following medicines:

  • Epilepsy medicines (like phenytoin or carbamazepine).
  • High blood pressure medicines.
  • Barbiturates (for difficulty sleeping).
  • Thioridazine or Lithium (other anti-psychotic medicines).
  • Medicines that have an impact on the way your heart beats, for example, drugs that can cause an imbalance in electrolytes (low levels of potassium or magnesium) such as diuretics (water pills) or certain antibiotics (drugs to treat infections).
  • Medicines that can cause constipation.
  • Medicines (called “anti-cholinergics”) that affect the way nerve cells function in order to treat certain medical conditions.

Before you stop taking any of your medicines, please talk to your doctor first.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding

  • If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or planning to have a baby ask your doctor for advice before taking Sercand™. You should not take Sercand™ during pregnancy unless this has been discussed with your doctor.
  • Sercand™ should not be taken if you are breast-feeding.

The following symptoms, which can represent withdrawal, may occur in newborn babies of mothers that have used Sercand™ in the last trimester (last three months of their pregnancy):

  • shaking, muscle stiffness and/or weakness.
  • sleepiness.
  • agitation.
  • breathing problems.
  • difficulty in feeding.

If your baby develops any of these symptoms, you may need to contact your doctor.

Possible side effects

Like all medicines, Sercand™ can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

Very common side effects (may affect more than 1 in 10 people):

  • Dizziness (may lead to falls), headache, dry mouth.
  • Feeling sleepy (this may go away with time, as you keep taking Sercand™) (may lead to falls).
  • Putting on weight.
  • Abnormal muscle movements. These include difficulty starting muscle movements, shaking, feeling restless or muscle stiffness without pain.
  • Changes in the amount of certain fats (triglycerides and total cholesterol).

Common (affects less than 1 in 10 people):

  • Rapid heartbeat.
  • Feeling like your heart is pounding, racing or has skipped beats.
  • Constipation, upset stomach (indigestion).
  • Feeling weak.
  • Swelling of arms or legs.
  • Low blood pressure when standing up. This may make you feel dizzy or faint (may lead to falls).
  • Increased levels of sugar in the blood.
  • Blurred vision.
  • Abnormal dreams and nightmares.
  • Feeling more hungry.
  • Feeling irritated.
  • Disturbance in speech and language.
  • Thoughts of suicide and worsening of your depression.
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Vomiting (mainly in the elderly).
  • Fever.
  • Changes in the amount of thyroid hormones in your blood.
  • Decreases in the number of certain types of blood cells.
  • Increases in the amount of liver enzymes measured in the blood.

Increases in the amount of the hormone prolactin in the blood. Increases in the hormone prolactin could, in rare cases, lead to the following:

  • Men and women to have swelling breasts and unexpectedly produce breast milk.
  • Women to have no monthly periods or irregular periods.

Discontinuation symptoms

symptoms which occur when you stop taking Sercand™ include:

  • not being able to sleep (insomnia).
  • feeling sick (nausea).
  • headache.
  • diarrhoea.
  • being sick (vomiting).
  • dizziness and irritability.

Gradual withdrawal over a period of at least 1 to 2 weeks is advisable.

N05AH04quetiapine Cigalah Group / KSAAPOTEX / Canada

Sercand™ ↔ Seroquel

Sercand™ is a local alternative to Seroquel, it is a good idea to read the patient information leaflet for Seroquel as it will provide you with useful information.

+- Information Leaflet in PDF format
Seroquel® Immediate release- Information Leaflet 
+- Information Leaflet in PDF format
Seroquel® Extended release- Information Leaflet
AR- Patient_Information_Leaflet
سيروكويل أقراص فورية الإطلاق – نشرة المعلومات
AR- Patient_Information_Leaflet
نشرة سيروكويل أقراص ممتدة المفعول – ذات تحرير مطول

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