So they are saying it should be more available? 
Are they @#$% joking??? I didn’t get tested when I should have and had it wipe out my white blood cells. Nearly killed me. Yeah, you can discontinue REMS after a couple of years but you’ve got to have blood draws in that first year. There’s a reason for it.
Jayzus.
You’re in REMS I assume
The Clozapine Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) is a program mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure the safe use of clozapine, an antipsychotic medication used to treat treatment-resistant schizophrenia43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054. Clozapine can cause a serious side effect called neutropenia, which is a dangerously low level of white blood cells, increasing the risk of severe infections43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054.
Key Components of the Clozapine REMS:
- Certification: Physicians and pharmacists must be certified to prescribe and dispense clozapine43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054.
- Patient Enrollment: Patients must be enrolled in the REMS program43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054.
- Monitoring: Regular monitoring of the patient’s absolute neutrophil count (ANC) to detect neutropenia early43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054.
- Documentation: Monthly submission of patient status forms to ensure ongoing safety43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054.
The REMS program aims to balance the benefits of clozapine with its risks by ensuring proper monitoring and management43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054. However, there have been discussions about whether the program is overly burdensome and limits access to this life-saving medication43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054.
It may be considered a life changing medication but i want off of it! It makes my heart race and messes with my heart rhythm. Hopefully, tomorrow when i see my pdoc i will be told i can stop the clozapine and start Cobenfy.
I think I read that Cobenfy can cause tachycardia and high blood pressure. Not the best for your heart.
Yeah…i worry about that, too. It just seems like my body doesn’t agree with any APs lately. I wish i knew exactly what to do, i just don’t know…
Consider for a moment how many people are allowed to shoot themselves up with semaglutide-based medicines these days. Now consider what you may have heard about possible long term effects on eyesight.
I think they are giving people more legalized access to medications with serious possible side effects. It seems to be the way we are heading.
I have also heard that eggs are bad for me and that ulcers are caused by stomach acid and that covid was a plandemic and the vaccines are a plot by Bill Gates. Oh, and my Diet Coke is killing me. I’m not worried about my injections. I’m worried about my heart failing from being overworked by carrying too much pericardial fat.
I trust in my doctors and in the science behind them.
And, it is your right to trust the current state of science. Don’t be too surprised if the science is revised upon the gathering of additional data.
yeah i agree. one of my blood tests caught low white blood cells. im glad they did blood tests
That’s how science is supposed to work.
A few of those things you mentioned were science: eggs, ulcers, diet coke.
Anyway, since Covid-19 was mentioned in this thread:
Some really amazing data was made available online on November 8th, 2024 regarding what is colloquially called long-covid: