Thank you for the answers! I see that quite a few people have been on these drugs and it alleviates my concerns.
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Originally Posted by BeyondtheRainbow
Have you been on loxapine? It is something like a between the atypicals and first generation. It has a neat trick that as it breaks down it turns into an anti-depressant so that can boost you if you need that. It also has a big range of dosing which is nice. I didn't have side effects until I developed uncontrollable mouth movements and had to come off it (this is very rare).
I liked it,actually quite a lot, until I couldn't tolerate it. Which is just the way meds are for me. Nothing worked very well until clozapine and you said that's not an option for you which is too bad.
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Interesting about Loxapine:
Loxapine is extensively metabolized in the liver through aromatic hydroxylation, N-demethylation, or N-oxidation. The metabolite amoxapine is active and marketed as an antidepressant. Loxapine is widely distributed throughout the body, including the central nervous system.
I do not generally need an antidepressant boost: I receive enough of antidepressant action from Gabapentin (somewhat of an idiosyncratic reaction, I know, but I do love my Gabapentin) and in general tend to have more concerns on the manic side of things. But I still would like to try it: maybe it would work just fine without throwing me into mania. I have had episodes of uncontrollable mouth movements (especially tongue movements) a few times when I combined two modern APs, but as soon as I discontinued the combos, the movements stopped. So I would know to discontinue a drug if it starts causing those movements.
I have gone through my records and discovered that at some point in late 2014 I took azaleptin, which was sent to me by my friend oversees. I took it for sleep and it caused tremendous sleepiness, so I discontinued. It did not cause depression. I now see that azaleptin is clozapine, another name for it. So in 2018 I could not tolerate it, but in 2014 I was fine and it just made me very sleepy, but isn't it what I need now? So I will try it again. I have noticed that sometimes the same medication has a different effect. I have tried Topamax several times in my life. I now tolerate it well, taking it for appetite suppression, but in the past it would cause general malaise, or depression, or dizziness. So I realize that it is not all straightforward, it is not that Med A always causes effect or side effect B in the same person. It is more complicated and I should retry Clozapine to see if this time around it might do the trick for me.