Is Clozapine dangerous?

I’ve been on Clozapine for a year and a half. Currently I take 500mg daily.

People have told me this medicine is dangerous. I get a blood test once every four weeks. So far the blood tests have all been fine.

Clozapine is a very effective medicine and I would like to continue taking it.

What is there that I should know about regarding safety, or lack thereof? Lots of people take this drug and surely they would not be prescribed it if there was significant risk.

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it can alter your white blood cell count and kill you- thats why theyre making you take blood tests.

Other than that, it’s a pretty reputable drug. Im glad to hear that it works for you!

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My son has been on it for over a year now. If you have not had issues in this amount of time I see no reason why it should become an issue and the monthly monitoring should catch this. From my point of view most drugs come with certain risks and overall you will hear about the bad experiences before you hear about the good ones.

Clozapine is a concern for a small percentage of people but this is monitored by blood tests so these risks are minimal to none as if you are at risk of being one of those people at risk, your blood tests will show have shown this up and you will be taken off the med. So, I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you as you seem to be doing fine as you’ve been on it for a year and a half, and if there was any problem it would have shown up by now. And in any case, you say youre doing well on the drug, so you gotta weigh up the positives against the negatives. And when you consider it, the negatives don’t really apply to you as the your blood tests have been grand up til now.

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The real danger of Clozaril is not just the white blood cell issue, but massive weight gain and diabetes.

I thought most AP’s could cause weight gain and diabetes?

Not most, but a fair number.

All of the typical, first-generation drugs have no metabolic side effects, nor do Geodon, Spahris, Fanapt, or Latuda. Risperdal, Invega, Zyprexa, Seroquel, and Clozaril, with Clozaril in particular being the worst offenders.

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Sometimes it’s dangerous, but sometimes it’s the best thing in the word for someone. It’s the most effective antipsychotic for positive symptoms and probably for negative symptoms. Only small amount of people experience serious side effects(less than 1% of population experiences agranulocytosis).

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