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Does Clozaril Cause An Enormous Amount Of Weight Gain?

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Posted on Tue, 20 Apr 2021
Question: Hello, I am taking 20 mg of abilify once a day, 20 mg of propranolol three times a day, 15 mg of buspar three times a day, and 0.5 mg of klonopin three times a day. I don't really feel like this is working. So do you think switching from abilify to clozaril would be a good idea? Does clozaril cause an enormous amount of weight gain or does it cause a small amount of weight gain? Does clozaril cause seizures or have any other dangerous side effects? Please tell me if you think clozaril is a good choice and how much weight gain it causes and what the other side effects are.
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Answered by Dr. Seikhoo Bishnoi (52 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Clozapine has great efficacy but some serious side effects.

Detailed Answer:

Hello,

I can understand your concern. Abilify is Aripiprazole and is a good drug. The drug has good efficacy and least metabolic side effects. The drug doesn't cause much weight gain and other serious side effects.

Clozaril or Clozapine is also of same drug group as Aripiprazole. But the drug has great efficacy and is commonly used in resistant cases of schizophrenia and also in resistant depression or anxiety sometimes. The drug is known to cause weight gain as side effect and this is commonly seen. The drug also lowers seizure threshold but the risk of seizure is more in individuals who has seizures prior to starting the drug. Regular blood count monitoring is must while on this drug because of risk of serious agranulocytosis.

So only if your symptoms are resulting in persistent dysfunction in social or personal functioning then you can talk with your doctor to shift on this drug. Alternately you can discuss with your doctor to increase the dose to 30 mg and this should help you.

Thanks. I hope this helps.

You are welcome to ask again for more clarifications.
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad
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Answered by
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Dr. Seikhoo Bishnoi

Psychiatrist

Practicing since :2007

Answered : 5192 Questions

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Does Clozaril Cause An Enormous Amount Of Weight Gain?

Brief Answer: Clozapine has great efficacy but some serious side effects. Detailed Answer: Hello, I can understand your concern. Abilify is Aripiprazole and is a good drug. The drug has good efficacy and least metabolic side effects. The drug doesn't cause much weight gain and other serious side effects. Clozaril or Clozapine is also of same drug group as Aripiprazole. But the drug has great efficacy and is commonly used in resistant cases of schizophrenia and also in resistant depression or anxiety sometimes. The drug is known to cause weight gain as side effect and this is commonly seen. The drug also lowers seizure threshold but the risk of seizure is more in individuals who has seizures prior to starting the drug. Regular blood count monitoring is must while on this drug because of risk of serious agranulocytosis. So only if your symptoms are resulting in persistent dysfunction in social or personal functioning then you can talk with your doctor to shift on this drug. Alternately you can discuss with your doctor to increase the dose to 30 mg and this should help you. Thanks. I hope this helps. You are welcome to ask again for more clarifications.