Side effects

I'm on clozapine [clozaril] and i have seven out of the eight side effects listed. Does anyone taking this med have bad side effects? The one that bothers me the most is the weight gain

Yep. I'm not sure what the 8 side effects listed you refer to are but I'm on clozapine and I have side effects that are annoying. I got the weight gain at least stopped with metformin, a diabetes drug. I would like to take more to lose weight but my doctor is afraid I'd push my blood sugars too low. Otherwise I'm tired of being tired (especially since I still have to take a bunch of meds to sleep but then the whole mess makes it hard to wake up at a reasonable time) and I have some incontinence and I hate the drooling at night.

But it's all worth it because it works and nothing else ever did. I'm hoping to lower my dose a bit in a few months and hope that helps with the side effects; I've been pretty steady on 275 for a year now so lowering a little seems reasonable but have to get through my high-risk mania time (June, July).

hi. ive never been on clozapine. a doctor mentioned it, and i declined. too scared of blood work, adverse effects, etc.

do you think maybe a different tranquilizer/antipsychotic could get the job done? metformin is sometimes used with clozapine and other atypicals, as the other poster mentioned. not all doctors will do it, some make you go to your gp.

i dunno. clozapine is effective for some people who haven't done well on other tranquilizers, but its serious stuff. the other problem is that discontinuing treatment can be kinda tricksy, so if you do stop the clozapine, please work with a doctor and do it slowly.

i dont really have anything much to offer in the way of advice and such...psych drugs can be rough, especially the tranquilizers. are you on additional drugs, too? im no expert, but i do seem to recall reading that there's lots of drug-drug interactions with clozapine treatment, some of which can be very serious.

i hope things get better for you.

the side effects i was talking about was a list i found online.constipation, drooling, sleep problems, increased sweating, weight gain,dry mouth,burred vision, drowsiness. the only side effect i dont have constipation. ive got all the rest but it works so good for me id hate to go off it

Of those I have constipation, drooling, sleep problems, weight gain, dry mouth, blurred vision and drowsiness. So 8/9 for me too. I don't have increased sweating but I do have sun sensitivity that is pretty annoying (the sun stings and I burn really easily).

I have been on everything else that I possibly can be on so clozapine is it for me. and I'm thrilled with how it works. I've been on so many meds though and knew for a long time that I'd finished the ones with lower side effects and so was going to have more side effects just as the way it goes.

Have you been on a lot of other meds or was clozapine an early choice for you? In the US they try to avoid using it until everything else has been tried but I know in Europe that is less true. I'm not sure about Canada at all.

ive tried everything up until the clozipine. it has worked well i just hate the side effects.

I'm on clozapine as well and have quite a few side effects, but nothing too serious. I'm tired 24/7 and sleep 12 hours whenever I can. I used to have the constipation but that went away over time. I do have increased sweating (esp. at night) and lots of drooling. I've gained quite a bit of weight on it too, but I've been steady weight wise for a few months now. I love how well it works though, I have been taking it as prescribed for 7 months (previously not being med compliant) and I have been stable for 7 months.