Is this possible?

Is it possible that meds that didn't work before might work sometime later on?
I just came out of a cluster (as my pdoc called it) of bipolar episodes where I was rapid cycling for 4 years. I've been stable for half a a year now (the longest I've been stable since I first became symptomatic) thanks to clozapine.

However, my life kinda sucks right now. I'm sleeping 12 hours a day, can't work full time because of that, feel emotionally numbed, and I can't do any extended backpacking trips because I need to go to the hospital monthly to get blood work done and pick up new prescription the next day. I used to hike and ski a lot but now I'm sleeping so much and can't really drive for the first few hours I'm awake because of clozapine sedation/drowsiness. And oh the weight gain!

My pdoc said that we can try decreasing the dose of clozapine very slowly and he says eventually I can be on a lower dose but didn't say anything about switching to something else that wasn't as effective earlier (and I have tried just about everything before taking clozapine so there's nothing new to try).

It's possible for meds to affect you differently as time goes on. For example, years ago I was on Wellbutrin and did fine with it as an AD. I recently started a low dose of it and became anxious and suicidally depressed. Totally different reaction than in the past.

Absolutely. I've found that certain meds work at one time in my life, while others don't. Some years later it all changes around and the meds that used to work don't, while the meds that didn't work, do.

Absolutely. I tried one medication during last winter that was a "miracle" drug for me and pulled me right out of depression. This winter....nothing. It didn't work.

Look at what else is going on around you. Everything we are exposed to, has an effect. As I mentioned in another post, it being Spring, the flowering trees are blooming and the pollen knocks me out, personally. I have no energy.

Be cognizant of what you wash your hands with, the air you are breathing, etc. We have a lot of chemicals around us. Have you changed your routine, lately?

There are lots and lots of drugs that are available and sometimes it's good to try others, but if you have something that works for you, dial it in to where it works with you.

Thanks for all the responses, there is hope for a clozapain free lifestyle (intentional mispelling of clozapine).

I think it is hard to get a precisely right dose of clozapine. I've been stable at 275 mg for 9 months or so and my pdoc says I can go down but I have to get through the spring and early summer first because I tend to go manic during those months. But every adjustment has been tiny and she's wanted me to stay on each dose for a while before any change.

I'm really sedated on it too (and hate the weight gain) and frustrated but I know that I've been through the other meds and they didn't work once and I'm not willing to try them again and then still need clozapine. But I do hope I can get to a dose that works without so much effect on my life.

I sometimes wonder if my Wellbutrin is now contributing to my anxiety. When I started it back in 2015, it helped so much, but I just can't understand why I stay anxious for no reason now.

can they give you ritalin or provigil with the clozapine?