Clozaril, Schizophrenia, and Bipolar Disorder

Clozaril, a very powerful sedative and anti-psychotic, is very effective in the treatment of some of the symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It is considered by some if not most psychiatrists in the community to be the "gold standard" in the treatment of certain symptoms relating to hallucinations and where other anti-psychotic medications have failed to yield results. In my case, it was very effective in quieting auditory hallucinations.

The administration of Clozaril is not done lightly for it involves weekly blood tests for the first six months of use, then bi-weekly tests for the next six months, and, finally, monthly tests from then on. The blood tests are to ensure the drug does not cause agranulocytosis, or a drop in the white blood cell count. Getting into the habit of weekly blood draws is the most difficult aspect of this burden. One gets used to the needle punctures over time.

In addition to agranulocytosis, Clozaril also lowers one's blood pressure. In my case, I had to stop taking a hypertension medication because my blood pressure became too low. Once I did this, all was well and I could continue on with Clozaril as part of my personal pharmacological regimen.

After three months of use, my auditory hallucinations began to subside to a more tolerable level. Prior to this, the voices in my head were a near-constant cacophony, a din that was both very distracting and extremely annoying. Not only did the voices affect my ability to hear real sounds, the negativity they promulgated dragged my self-esteem down to very low levels.

One welcome side-effect of Clozaril is its sedating effect. As a chronic insomniac anything that helps me sleep is welcome. One 25 milligram pill put me out for six hours. It was comfortable sleep, too. There were no night terrors or nightmares.

My psychologist agrees with my psychiatrist in that I should keep on taking Clozaril. But he thinks that over time talk therapy can eliminate the voices all by itself obviating the need for the drug. This would be a nice thing indeed.