Blood Tests For Clozapine

Thanks @disciple I will try to give it a fair shot, but anything could happen.

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Glad to hear you are giving it a try. Keep us informed along the way.

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Will do I react fairly well to antipsychotics so I’m sure you guys will eventually want me to shut up about it.

I’ve heard a lot of success stories about Clozapine. My previous doctor said it was risky, but my new doctor mentioned it like she wants to maybe put me on it. She mentioned the blood tests, also. Let us know how it works for you!

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I will try to leave as many details as possible @agent101g.

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I’m on clozapine. I’m not up to the dosage the pdoc wants to get me to and he says it is very effective but takes longer than other aps. It’s for hard to treat sza. My bloodwork is always good. I’ll get a higher dose at the beginning of Dec.

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I’m currently on 200mg in the morning and 300mg at night. What is your doctor trying to get you up to?

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600 mg. I’m on 450 now

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I wonder what the max dose is. Do you know by chance?

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900 mg is what I’ve read

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@TheBest You are a strong man. I hope this med will help you. I could not endure such things as so often needles, blood tests

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Clozapine can make you super tired so it’s especially important to monitor that when you’re thinking about caffeine. You will be more tired at the beginning as you adjust. I took clozapine for ten years and slept an average of 15 hours a day and was so knocked out nothing could wake me up. During the day I was still sedated and sometimes would feel the need for more coffee than I regularly drank. I was and am still drinking 1 strong cup a day for the most part with no issue. When I am sedated from meds and would try to use caffeine to wake up I would just end up feeling heart palpitations because the caffeine doesn’t affect the med fatigue. Something to think about as you start.

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I’ve recently started Clozaril myself. Already i have noticed a big difference. I no longer get the psychotic breakthrough episodes that i was getting when i was just on the Ziprasidone alone. I can concentrate better and think better. I also think i have a little bit more motivation but it is still early days. The blood tests will go by quickly. I’ve already had a few and i don’t think they’re inconvenient or anything. Well worth it in my opinion.

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It’s better to be safe than sorry. My pdoc was saying in places like China they don’t bother. I hope it works out for you.

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If blood work wasn’t necessary I would be on clozapine

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I’m not sure if I minded the blood work the weight gain or the sleepiness the most. But clozapine was very effective if kept me sane a while after I stopped it.

I was in the hospital and rehab at the time they had the blood work people come to me so that wasn’t as bad as when I took it out of the hospital. Well when I did it out of the hospital the cutest girl ever took my blood so that wasn’t so bad either! Although that time I wasn’t really taking it I was just pretending I was to get through court.

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How long did it take to notice this?

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It really helped me, but I’m in the small minority susceptible to agranulocytosis. I skipped blood tests and nearly died of pneumonia. Don’t ever skip the tests.

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Well it stopped my positive breakthrough symptoms that i experienced with a couple of days. For the negative symptoms, it took about a week for me to notice that things had improved.

How’s it all going @TheBest ?

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