Posted by SLS on December 4, 2016, at 22:13:32
In reply to Re: Questions about antipsychotics - ., posted by baseball55 on December 4, 2016, at 19:59:50
> My nephew took clozapine for a couple of months and it was the only drug that completely relieved his symptoms, both positive and negative. But he did develop the blood problem and had to go off it. He was so disappointed.
I don't know. I wonder if he might try building a treatment around Zyprexa (olanzapine). Zyprexa is often considered to be the next best thing to Clozaril (clozapine). Both are weight-gainers, with Clozaril being somewhat worse than Zyprexa. Perhaps Zyprexa should be initiated up to 10-20 mg/day. Then, evaluate which symptoms persist and add drugs that are known to improve those symptoms. If negative symptoms are to be addressed, adding Abilify (aripiprazole) or Saphris (asenapine) are worth considering.
Is anxiety a major component of your nephew's condition?
Is there any cycling of symptom clusters involved?
If your nephew suffers from schizoaffective disorder, he might do better to combine Zyprexa with an antidepressant like Lexapro (escitalopram), Effexor (venlafazine), or Nardil (phenelzine).
There may be more alternative treatments than you were unaware of. I would not be so quick to consider Clozaril to be the only treatment to produce robust therapeutic results.
- Scott
Some see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1093408
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20160928/msgs/1093425.html