EricO
06-09-2008, 02:31 AM
Hi.
I am 21 years old. After 8 years of several psychologists & psychiatrists, treatment programs & almost every antidepressant & anti-psychotic med on the market, there has been little change for the better in my OCD, social anxiety & paranoia. Now my doctor wants me to take clozapine (clozaril). I've researched it extensively & am very concerned about its serious side effects.
If any of you have tried this med or are taking it currently please tell me about your experiences & its effects on your life. Thanks.
EricO
I am 21 years old. After 8 years of several psychologists & psychiatrists, treatment programs & almost every antidepressant & anti-psychotic med on the market, there has been little change for the better in my OCD, social anxiety & paranoia. Now my doctor wants me to take clozapine (clozaril). I've researched it extensively & am very concerned about its serious side effects.
If any of you have tried this med or are taking it currently please tell me about your experiences & its effects on your life. Thanks.
EricO
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GatsbyLuvr1920
06-09-2008, 01:06 PM
I've never been on an atypical anti-psychotic for my OCD, and thus, I've never taken clozapine. Out of all of the atypical anti-psychotics, clozapine is one of the strongest serotonin antagonists. The atypical anti-psychotics work both as a dopamine antagonist and a serotonin antagonist, and recent studies have linked OCD as possibly resulting from abnormally high amounts of dopamine (like schizophrenia), and that is why the atypical anti-psychotics are now a secondary means of treatment (if the SSRIs fail). OCD also is strongly thought to be related to low amounts of serotonin, hence, why the SSRIs are often effective. Some OCD-ers do very well on an atypical anti-psychotic alone, but for some, the fact that it's a serotonin antagonist actually worsens symptoms, since it's decreasing the amount of serotonin (and the serotonin is already low in OCD-ers' brains).
Being one of the strongest serotonin antagonists, clozapine has more of a risk, when taken alone, of worsening OCD symptoms than other atypical anti-psychotics. You may not be affected at all by this, but you may want to talk to your doctor about taking it with an SSRI. In some OCD patients, adding an atypical anti-psychotic to a current SSRI treatment program works wonders, because the anti-psychotic works on the dopamine, and the SSRI works on the serotonin (while counteracting the serotonin antagonistic effects of the atypical anti-psychotic). Hope this helped, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
Being one of the strongest serotonin antagonists, clozapine has more of a risk, when taken alone, of worsening OCD symptoms than other atypical anti-psychotics. You may not be affected at all by this, but you may want to talk to your doctor about taking it with an SSRI. In some OCD patients, adding an atypical anti-psychotic to a current SSRI treatment program works wonders, because the anti-psychotic works on the dopamine, and the SSRI works on the serotonin (while counteracting the serotonin antagonistic effects of the atypical anti-psychotic). Hope this helped, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
EricO
06-10-2008, 01:58 AM
Thanks for your very informative response to my question. What you say makes sense, but I have this element of paranoia as well as OCD. These two "issues" seem to feed on each other. An emotional sting lasts forever...and I try to avoid further such stings by avoiding people. This is NOT how I want to live.
I might add that I've tried CBT treatment, but this involves working with people, and then my paranoia heightens.
Any other comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
EricO
I might add that I've tried CBT treatment, but this involves working with people, and then my paranoia heightens.
Any other comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
EricO

