Clozaril

Im starting to become curiouser about clozaril. Metabolic syndrome seems to be the biggest issue. Frequent blood tests should catch the white cell count problem that is prevalent only in a minority of cases. It seems its positive in much of the typical concerns of antipsychotic treatment. Positive on prolactin , positive for depression, possibly cuts out additional side effects on anti depressants , possibly no need to take any, positive on qt prolongation , positive for sexual libido, positive on td and es and Parkinsonism, and of course overall better efficacy. Its beginning to intrigue me.

clozaril is a serious drug. they have to register your social security number in order to take it.

Doesn't clozaril also have a risk of seizures though?

That's a US thing though I was thinking matterly was from the UK...

For me if I had tried the other options and found them not effective I would seriously consider it however I would try a couple of supplements like sarcosine or even pregnenolone first added onto my AP...but that's just me...

But yeah for weight gain it is the most severe even greater than zyprexa...

I have been taking it since 2007 and I am doing well on it.

i was on clozaril. it sedated me heavily and i peed the bed twice. i got off of it. i didnt have to register my SS. i got weekly blood tests though

If you are in the US its likely that your doctors registered you because you can't get the meds without it...basically its just a database of people on clozapine and if they get agranulocytosis that needs to be indicated so they never get the drug again. It's actually a protective thing since some people are not able to communicate all their medication reactions effectively and its so serious...

im on clozeril and it is the most helpful med ive been on even with the side effects and blood tests. rather be on nothing but that just isnt an option for me

My 14 year old, after having tried so many AP's, is hospitalized for the 5th time and being put on Clozaril right now. The weight gain cannot be any worse that zyprexa! (being hopeful here)
I was terrified of this drug and avoided it for months when the doctors recommended it but after doing my own research and meetings with doctors, it seems it all comes down to giving this poor girl some relief and if it works, I will let you know. Im sure it will be sedating at first. Thorazine was bad for that but as with most that she has tried, after titration, she adjusted well.

Right now, her second day on it, she has come off all other ap's and is at the lowest dose to see how her body will handle it. She is hallucinating bad. Im assuming this is from being flushed of meds and then starting the Clozaril. I am hopeful as they slowly raise it, things will get better.
Yes, you are put onto a national registry and need to have frequent blood tests. As a matter of fact, you are given only enough Clozaril to get you through to the next blood test as a precaution. Here where welive in the US, we have to have a participating pharmacy because the pharmacist needs to read the blood results before dispensing the next weeks dosage.
Sounds very intimidating but I am assuming you just get used to it over time. The first few weeks are most important as that is usually when a bad reaction will occur. If your bloodwork is okay the first few weeks, then I am told you should have no problems using Clozaril. After a few months, the blood work is less often until at a year, you only need to go once a month.
The deadly side effects we read about are very real but also more rare than we are led to believe. Every AP has deadly side effects if you have a bad reaction to it. I think the frequent blood work is what turns people off and it is scary to think about a bad reaction but from what I have read and heard, it is quite rare.

Sorry for the ramble. I will try to keep you informed on how this works for my daughter if you want me to. The Doctors are telling me they are certain this will give her relief where other meds only lessened the symptoms.

Punky you should know that when they pull anybody off of a long term AP including controls without mental illness there is a decent probability that they will experience super sensitivity psychosis....it's not an indicator of underlying illness or wellness it's because they didn't taper off over months/years so the receptors in the brain never had a chance to adjust. The D2 receptors in the brain tend to increase during AP treatment to compensate for being blocked. If you just remove the drug then you're going to end up with more signal than normal from the dopamine which can now freely interact with those receptors...thus inducing psychosis...

Thank you for this Sometimes.
I questioned the doctors about this. Several actually.
They always go back to her having psychosis between 9-12 years old without medication. I am at a loss of what to do. I am asking the questions but getting the same answers. Any advice on this would be much appreciated. You are the psychosis guru!

I dont want to ruin Beans life with heavy meds. Ya know?

.....or are you just saying she is being taken off Zyprexa so suddenly and that is what is giving her severe psychosis. I am misreading your post?

Well given what you've said she already has a certain level of psychosis but getting pulled off so fast can make that way worse. So what I'm saying is what you're seeing right now isn't representative of what level she is really at. Personally at this point I would try the clozaril.....it doesn't matter if it was the drug removal or an underlying base state she needs to be stabilized at this point and nothing else has been effective. The APs are in general good for a couple of years but beyond that well there is no consensus but for me recovery starts with getting your functioning back to normal even if that means a couple of years of APs. Clozaril is sort of heralded as a miracle drug for some people and like matterly said it actually has a good side effects profile aside from weight gain and the blood problem...

Thank you.
Stabilize and then work on therapeutic level.
It would be nice to see her eventually off. I am hoping by her 20's she may have more function than she does now and this may help.

Exactly---I really hope this one works for her and there is every reason to believe it should....