clozapine.info

training and resources for medical professionals who care for people with schizophrenia

Phone: 330.325.6848 Email: clozapine@neomed.edu

Before I started taking clozapine, I had racing thoughts and acute psychosis. I was tormented 24 hours a day and could get no relief. Within weeks of starting clozapine, I began to feel a kind of tranquility starting to set in. After five months of gradually increasing the dosage, my psychotic symptoms began to subside. After two years, I was discharged from the hospital with medical consent. The year was 1991, and I have been a functioning member of society since then. I have a college degree and a paralegal certificate, and I have been employed full time for four years. – Kirk

Clozapine restores lives for people with schizophrenia in ways that other medications just can’t. People report that clozapine makes it possible for them to leave the hospital, live independently, obtain employment and socialize more easily. Eighty-one percent of those surveyed said that clozapine was better or much better than their previous treatments. (Source: Taylor et al., 2000).

Clozapine is the best medication for about 20 percent of people with schizophrenia, yet in the United States it is used with just 4 percent of the intended patient population. Sixteen percent of the people with schizophrenia – almost half a million individuals – are denied the quality of life that can be realized with this unique medication.

The next virtual live Clozapine: When and How to Safely Prescribe this Uniquely Effective Medication

Please contact bestcenter@neomed.edu for the date of the next training.

The Clozapine Assistance Line, frequently asked questions and resources, the Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) Clozapine Assistance Service motivates, trains, coaches and supports licensed prescribing clinicians, or individuals about to acquire such licensure, to learn about clozapine and to prescribe it to patients who are likely to benefit from this medication.

Hope and Help: Meaningful Recovery from Schizophrenia with Clozapine

The NEOMED Department of Psychiatry, Peg’s Foundation and the BeST Center presented the 2019 Drs. Fred and Penny Frese Lecture, “Hope and Help: Meaningful Recovery from Schizophrenia and Serious Mental Illness with Clozapine” by Robert S. Laitman, M.D., and Daniel Laitman Oct. 14, 2019.

Dr. Robert Laitman, a self-described “optimistic nephrologist,” spoke about discovering a passion for helping patients with serious mental illness, and developing a regimen for the treatment of psychosis based on the optimal use of clozapine, a valuable, but frequently underutilized, medication, as part of helping his son Daniel achieve the best life possible following his diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Daniel Laitman is showing the world what is possible – just by being himself. He will share how his schizophrenia diagnosis hasn’t stopped him from finding success as a stand-up comedian. When he is not performing in New York comedy clubs, he is advocating for mental health through his favorite charities: Team Daniel, Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America, Brain &Behavior Research Foundation and Mental Health America.

View Hope and Help: Meaningful Recovery from Schizophrenia and Serious Mental Illness with Clozapine

Clozapine has helped me lead a life full of meaning, purpose and fun. Clozapine is the drug that saved my life. I remember a swift increase in the quality of my life once I took clozapine. I could think. I could do comedy. I could make friends. If that is not what a happy life is, then I don’t know what a happy life entails.

Thank you, clozapine. – Daniel Laitman