Comparing Clozapine vs Zyprexa

For Schizophrenia: My son is in his early 20'and has schitsoaffective dissorder.He has been on at least five different medications for his illness. And nothing seem to help or if it did it lasted only for a little while or he had severe allergic reactions. So he started clozapine/clozaril around a month ago. And it has made a big difference .The voices gradually are going away. He can actually sit and watch TV and have a conversation. He is enjoying things again. We do go for blood work every week which he does not mind. This medicine is working and I'm hoping his blood work comes back good every week, Because to see him getting better is such a relief . And I am hopeful for a happy productive life for him. Things are looking up.

For Schizophrenia: My son starting showing signs of psychosis right after his 14th bday. Diagnosed with schizophrenia 6 months later. He was in a constant state of his own reality and heard voices on a regular basis. Seroqel, Zyprexa, Invega, and Ability did nothing for him. His psychiatrist prescribed Clozapine as a last resort. I won't allow his dosage any higher than 300mg per day for now since the side effects worry me. This drug has been a lifesaver to allow him to participate in the regular world and quiet the voices where he can focus on real ppl. It makes him drowsy so he takes it at night. Weight gain is significant but most antipsychotics will do this. Regular blood monitoring to make sure his WBC stays normal. So good, so far.

For Bipolar Disorder: This medicine works really well as a mood stabilizer for me. The only MAJOR drawback is weight gain. I just can't control myself when the carb cravings happen. I am usually very much in control of my dietary habits, but on Zyprexa that just isn't possible. I also suffer from schizoaffective disorder and hear voices. Although Zyprexa suppresses them, it does not completely get rid of them in my case; they are quiet enough to tolerate though. I have gained 35 pounds in less than about a month and a half. I am going to wean off of these and ask the psych-doc for something else.

For Bipolar Disorder: First year on 5mg at night helped my mood, anger outbursts and anxiety a great deal. Did develop high cholesterol and gained 15 pounds, but the trade off was worth it. Also helps wonderfully with insomnia. After the year mark it was no longer handling my anger well. Started having 2-3 inappropriate outbursts a week. Pdoc started me on geodon but couldn't handle the side effects, so back to the zyprexa I went with another 2.5mg added in the morning and gained another 6 pounds. Have tried other AAPs but can't handle the side effects so I'm still on the zyprexa for now until I get brave enough to try something else again. Taking with Pristiq, Trileptal, Vistiril and Xanax.