MandJane Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I'm on risperdal consta injection but my pdoc is pushing for clozapine, every time I see him he brings it up. Why is clozapine so good? Is it an old drug? What are the common side effects? I don't know what I will do... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Personally I didn't do well with Clozaril. But there are many people who it is a life savor for. Side effects are different for everyone. Mine were sedation (which ultimately messed up my sleep overall), insatiable appetite, low WBC, and I'm sure a lot of other things I can't think of at the moment. But those 3 stick out because that is why I had to go off of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagar Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 It's touted as one of the most effective atypical antipsychotics, especially for treatment-resistant schizophrenia and people who haven't been helped on other APs. I think you have to have regular blood checks because of the risk of agranulocytosis. I haven't taken it, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Yes, you do have to get weekly blood work done to check levels and WBC. I only got one week of meds at a time. Eventually my WBC count went down to close to 0 which is the main reason I had to go off of it, along with the other 2 I mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiaB Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 FWIW, I never had weekly blood draws while on clozapine. I can't recall how often my pdoc ran the tests, but it was probably every few months. I have no idea if she was being negligent or if the protocol for the drug is different in my country. I never took well to it though, and the side effect that bothered me most was excessive salivation - to the extent where I had to put a towel on my pillow at night, and even that would be soaked through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifluous Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 (edited) It's touted as one of the most effective atypical antipsychotics, especially for treatment-resistant schizophrenia That what my situation is and part of why I took it and is overall what I understand it to have been developed for. It's also supposed to be useful for negative symptoms in particular and was, I think, the first atypical developed. It also, I know for certain, some studies have shown it's the only antipsychotic that statistically is proved to decreases suicidality. That would be the other main reason I was put on it, along with the whole being treatment resistant thing. As far as side effects other than agranulocytosis, there's the standard atypical shit with the potential eps flares and weight gain is significant for many. Also hyper salivation, which I feel like got better but wasn't ever entirely resolved. Personally, I came off because 1. It wasn't working on either of points I started it for after at least three months 2. Orthostatic hypotension was getting worse and once I hit my head when I dropped like a sack of shit simply from standing up 3. I couldn't crap. It was bad. I didn't get a bowel obstruction or whatever that's called, but it sucked I would say you should try it if other things aren't working though. I had none of the typical side effects (blood draws were fine, no eps flares on it, no weight gain) AND it is truly amazing when it does work. It gives people life options and if your doctor recommends it, they monitor the fuck out of your health, like, they only even--in the states at least--give you a weekly supply to require you to go in, until you have months of successful draws and then monthly after that, so they can catch stuff right away. If risperdal isn't working, or isn't working well enough, I would go for it. Good luck to you x Oh, and I wrote this on a phone that sometimes autocorrects weirdly. Soz in advance if that happened in this post Edited May 28, 2014 by mellifluous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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