[RisuNeko]

My psychiatrist has been not so subtly hinting that he wants me to go off most of the meds I'm on now and take clozaril instead because it apparently works so well and would help with my insomnia. But I would have to get weekly blood draws every week for 6 months and then every other week for 6 more months, then once a month forever after that.

I HATE getting my blood drawn and it takes friggin forever at my clinic because there are always lines and I don't have time for that before my appointments.

I feel tempted to just give in to his plan because he's been hassling me about it since we met, but I don't really want to. I don't like the med regimen I'm on now and the idea of just being on one or two meds is appealing, but the blood draws??? I just don't think I can handle that.

Does anyone have experience with clozaril? Is it really a wonder drug or is it not worth the hassle? Does it help with depression, mania and anxiety all?

Plus it causes weight gain and I'm already 90 lbs overweight from all the meds I've been on in the past 2 years. (I've lost 35 lbs of the grand total so far). I don't want to be set back weight wise. I just don't know what to do.

Should I give in to what my psychiatrist wants and just suck it up and do the blood draws? Is it worth it?

[Moogieotter]

Please keep us posted. I have no experience with clozapine, but I've read about it.

Best wishes,

moogs

[~Christina]

Personally I would ask to be tapered off 95% of your meds and just start over , adding one at a time so you can monitor how your body reacts to the medications.

Often times when your body is being snowed under , your brain kicks into self preservation and produces all the chemicals it needs to keep you awake and anxiety ridden opposed to calm and sleepy.

I have had Chronic Insomnia since I was 12, So I know it sucks.

Just a thought.

[Yoda]

I have been on clozapine since 2007 and it works well for me. When I first started taking it it made me really drowsy but not so much now unless I run out and am off of it for a couple of days. It helps my insomnia and my mood is mostly stable since I started it.

[RisuNeko]

After reading some reviews and all of the side effects of clozapine I'm am officially scared off. It's just not worth it. It seems like it's more for people with chronic hallucinations anyway, and I only have hallucinations once a week or every couple of months and they never have bothered me. It seems like a last ditch effort drug, not something to be toyed around with.

My Geodon does a fine job of keeping my bipolar episodes short and not that severe and that's all I ask for from a med, I want to slowly whittle away at the other meds like the perphenazine and the topiramate and the propranolol, and I think I'll be in a better place as far as clarity and cognitive function and weight loss. I don't think I need to take this drastic a step. I don't like that my psychiatrist is pressuring me in this way.

I don't need to be drowsy or gaining any more weight, or fainting, or having orthostatic blood pressure, or taking 4 years off my life, or having a deadly bone marrow problem, or having seizures. All to get rid of a couple of harmless hallucinations? Psychosis is not my main problem. Not by any means. In fact, I think my hallucinations are kind of interesting when they happen, which is rarely anyway. I'm going to keep saying no to my psychiatrist. And if he gives me no other choice, I'm going to ask to be switched to someone else.

[boydisappearing]

My psychiatrist has suggested Clozapine for me in the past, but we never made the switch. She said it was more weight neutral than others, and also I had a problem with Risperidone, it pushed my prolactin levels super high, and she said Clozapine wouldn't do that at all.

If you want to be on less meds, maybe it is time to start over? Ask to be reduced? Are you in a good place in your life, stable, able to deal with med changes?

I'm currently getting weekly blood draws for anorexia and it sucks, but you get used to it. I also have to jab myself with an IM needle of testosterone every week. It's been 4 years of testosterone and I still hate it, but you eventually become accustomed.

[RisuNeko]

From what I've read it's very not weight neutral. Maybe if you have anorexia, but not if you're already 80 lbs obese. I'm not stable and at a good place in my life. I'm just coming off a manic episode. I want to trim down my medications but I more want to just get rid of the ones I feel arent doing any good like topirimate, perphenazine, and propranolol. Then I would be on a more manageable regimen. The geodon works pretty well for managing my mood cycles when I'm not freaking out about finals and flunking my classes (I always get manic around finals time). I don't see a reason to ditch the Geodon which has been weight neutral for me (I've lost 37 lbs on it) just because of an upset over finals.

I don't know anything about it. I do agree with others that it might be worth a try.

Congrats on the weight loss! I remember you posting that you don't sleep very much. That is crucial to us with bipolar.

I take zolpidem every night and it helps me with sleep.

[RisuNeko]

I take zolpidem and clonopin dor sleep but the pharmacy kept shorting me by 15 pills a month so i wasnt sleeping on the weekends and other nights at thr end of the mo,th and i dont sleep some other nights just randomly. Ive always been very hard to sedate.