Arndog Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 Has anyone taken Clozapine for BP1. My doc got a 2nd opinion from a friend of his because he does not know what his next course of action he wants to take. New guy suggests Clozapine for an AP and a mood stablizer in place of my Lamictal and Geodon. Just scares me a little with the white blood count thing and having to get blood tests every week. Thanks Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarie Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 Clozapine isn't something to jump into when there are other promising options. What all have you tried and how effective were the cocktails? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swanny Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 Just scares me a little with the white blood count thing and having to get blood tests every week. ive got the clozapine hand pamphlet in front of me. the white blood count thing happens to less than 1% of patients taking clozapine. yes it can happen. but rare. i mean if we all worried about side effects that are rare how about tardive dyskinesia? yeah thats also rare and can happen with other antipsychotics. doesnt mean we shouldnt take antipsychotics coz of something that MIGHT happen. we've got no choice. antipsychotics is all we've got. by the way i know ill get a stern talking to about this BUT clozapine is meant to be the best antipsychotic. google says so. pdocs say so. nurses say so. its used as a last resort when nothing else works. clozapine can have life threatening side effects but you get the tests done to pick it up before it happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SashaSue Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 If the 2nd doctor is reccomending clozapine, and your doctor is kind of at a loss, I'm guessing you've tried a lot of meds, and none of them have worked out all that well. If that's not the case, then you shouldngo find a thord opinion, because it's probably not clozapine time. If that is the case, clozapine is a great med for a lot of people. For the most part, it seems like people tend tp stick with it a bit more than some of the other AAP 's, despite the inconvenience of the bloodwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swanny Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 If that is the case, clozapine is a great med for a lot of people. For the most part, it seems like people tend tp stick with it a bit more than some of the other AAP 's, despite the inconvenience of the bloodwork. i used to be on clozapine and i didnt give a damn about the blood tests the ONLY thing that bothered me was the DROOLING OMG. If you dont drool during the day youll drool when you sleep and when you wake up your whole bed will be covered in saliva. DISGUSTING. if you dont mind your bed covered with spit when you wake up after being knocked out for half the day then go ahead and take clozapine... i guess everyone says its the best coz i mean you cant hear voices or feel paranoid when it knocks you on your arse for 20 hours. this drug is not new. its from the 60's. came back in the 90's and is the first atypical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arndog Posted December 16, 2010 Author Share Posted December 16, 2010 Just scares me a little with the white blood count thing and having to get blood tests every week. ive got the clozapine hand pamphlet in front of me. the white blood count thing happens to less than 1% of patients taking clozapine. yes it can happen. but rare. i mean if we all worried about side effects that are rare how about tardive dyskinesia? yeah thats also rare and can happen with other antipsychotics. doesnt mean we shouldnt take antipsychotics coz of something that MIGHT happen. we've got no choice. antipsychotics is all we've got. by the way i know ill get a stern talking to about this BUT clozapine is meant to be the best antipsychotic. google says so. pdocs say so. nurses say so. its used as a last resort when nothing else works. clozapine can have life threatening side effects but you get the tests done to pick it up before it happens. I got tardive dyskenisia from Geodon. My toungue twitched like crazy. They backed my dosage down and it mostly went away. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netsavy006 Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 I don't have bipolar disorder (but have a MI that contains a bipolar portion), and I take Clozaril and it works very well for me. I'm on 200mg every night right now. I'm not sure if I will be on this dose long term as I've been working up the dosage over the past few weeks, but I do feel comfortable at this dosage. It's helping me in a big way. I don't have all the same manic attacks that I had before, and I don't hallucinate (see things). I use to see bugs on the floor and on the tables and dripping from the ceilings. I use to think that people didn't care about me, people didn't understand me, and that people didn't listen to me, but this medication in combination with therapy has helped save my life so I never went to the deep end. I've been on Clozaril since January and I have to say that when taken as prescribed, it can be a life saver. And while I know it shows up as a medication interaction I think on checkers, someone at my program had drooling on Clozaril and takes Cogentin to counteract this side effect and she says it works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arndog Posted December 19, 2010 Author Share Posted December 19, 2010 Does anyone know if the White Blood Count side affect if you get it is is permanant or will your counts go right back to normal if you discontinue it? Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netsavy006 Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 The white blood cell count side effect, should return to normal (I think), should Clozaril be discontinued. I think that's why they do the bloodwork. So that if the blood cell count does drop too low, the Clozaril can be discontinued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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