
Clozapine’s Side Effects Scare Doctors, but It Can Be Good for Schizophrenia - DanBC
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvgdj3/the-psychiatric-wonder-drug-that-almost-no-one-is-using
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DanBC
Correct title is "Clozapine’s Side Effects Scare Doctors, But It Can Be A
'Wonder Drug' For Schizophrenia".

Clozapine is interesting. It's over-used in people with learning disability
(because of the sedative effects when used in large doses) but under used in
people with schizophrenia because doctors are scared of agranulacytosis.

But this imbalance in use means that in fact more people die of constipation
as a side effect of clozapine than from agranulacytosis.

In England there is a campaign to reduce medication usage in people with LD.
That's called STOMP (stop over medicating people) and there's information
here: [https://www.england.nhs.uk/learning-
disabilities/improving-h...](https://www.england.nhs.uk/learning-
disabilities/improving-health/stomp/)

There's also some work being done to raise awareness of constipation as a side
effect and how to tackle that. (Better food; more exercise, monitoring of
bowel habits) -- and this has knock on benefits by reducing behaviour that
challenges.

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chovy
tardive dyskinesia would suck.

