Does Clozapine really make you gain more weight than other antipsychotics?
I cannot tolerate any antipsychotic (Abilify, Olanzapine, Vraylar, Seroquel, Risperdal) they all give me severe akathisia! So bad that during my first psychotic break and hospitalization I was rejected from outpatient after being inpatient because I was so incredibly agitated. They sent me to a dual diagnosis substance abuse/mental health 30 day residential facility where they finally realized I had akathisia and the psychiatrist an actual MD who was also a professor told me to my face “you can never take antipsychotics again”…
I have had 2 more hospitalizations since then and every time I get akathisia!!! I finally refused Risperdal after 7 days during my most recent hospitalization. I told them it only works the first few days like 4-5 days then the severe akathisia sets in!!
My psych NP said we could try Clozapine that it has the lowest risk of causing akathisia but she said I have to warn you it can cause a lot of weight gain and heavy sedation and requires weekly blood draws…
My mood stabilizer Depakote doesn’t seem to be sufficient anymore in stabilizing my mood. I am at the highest end of the therapeutic dose. I just had my blood drawn to check my levels again but I don’t expect there to be any more room in the therapeutic range for me but we’ll see…