Psychiatry & Neurology | Neuromuscular Medicine Questions Psychiatrist

Muscle rigidity?

My son’s dad has been miserable for days. He’s been on seroquel for a couple years now and I feel what he’s having is a side effect from the seroquel. His abdominal muscles will clench involuntarily and will remain clenched ALL DAY! He’s taken some old cyclobenzaprine I had but it didn’t do a thing. He’s tried heat, ice, anything we can think of but it’s not going away. Is this a seroquel side effect? He never had this before. And how long after he weans himself off seroquel will it stop? What can he do to manage this until the seroquel is out of his system? Also he just finished 3 years of treatment for addiction and has done really well. He does have chronic pancreatitis but that is not what this is. It happens outside of any pancreatitis symptoms and he fasts a lot to avoid those symptoms but I feel he needs a specialist to help him manage that as well. He feels no one will believe him anyway and no one will bother to help him because of his history but I’ve seen abs felt his abdomen all locked up. He’s in really good shape abs much healthier than ever but he is miserable with this abdominal muscle rigidity it spasms or whatever it would be called. It never unlocks though and it becomes super painful. I want to help him but I don’t know what to do.

Male | 37 years old
Complaint duration: 6 months at least and getting worse
Medications: Seroquel
Conditions: Muscle rigidity

3 Answers

Psychiatry&Neurology|NeuromuscularMedicinePsychiatrist
See this link...
https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-4718/seroquel-oral/details/list-sideeffects
and
https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Treatments/Mental-Health-Medications/Types-of-Medication/Quetiapine-(Seroquel)#:~:text=Some%20people%20may%20develop%20muscle,restlessness%2C%20tremor%2C%20and%20stiffness.
Consult Functional Medicine. Consult Obesity Medicine if overweight/obese. Get a new GI doctor. Start acupuncture with Moxibustion.
I am sorry to read your son's difficulties. Though Seroqell can cause some muscle rigidity, it usually affects skeletal muscles, not abdominal. Since he has pancreatitis, it could be the combination of both. Nonetheless, he should be assessed by both a gastrointestinal specialist and a psychiatrist.