Thinking of changing meds

[not_so_insig]

I am thinking of changing meds. I am currently on Clopixol depot, but I am unhappy with changes with the CHMT, and I want to have as little contact with them as possible. Unfortunately that means changing meds, as currently I have to go to the CMHT every 2 weeks to have the depot.

But I have SIed in the past when my voices (my diagnosis is schizophrenia), havent been as well controlled. I am currently 19 months free of SI, and 19 months ago, I went on clopixol.

But I am unsure what meds to be on. I used to be on Quetiapine, but that caused to me to gain weight, muscle stiffness, extreme dopiness and akathesia. I get no side effects from the Clopixol, I used to have muscle stiffness but I no longer get it. I used to have blurred vision; again I dont have it.

But I am scared of throwing 19 months away. This is longest I have been without SIing. If my voices arent well controlled then I will SI. I also had terrible trouble with the chemist in the past getting meds. It used to stress me out every month and because I am a depot, it has avoided that problem. I also used to forget to take meds, at least with the depot the emphasis is on my CPN to give it, so at least I dont have that problem any more.

The trouble is that I dont know what meds I want to be on. I dont want to go back to quetiapine (even though it did keep me out of the psych unit) because I dont think I can live with the side effects. I had a bad reaction to risperidone, so that is not an option. Clozapine has been suggested in the past, but I dont think that is a good option because I am scared of needles and that requires regular blood tests. Besides I think that Clozapine is reserved for people who dont respond to other antipsychotics, and the fact I am considered stable on a low dose (I am on 150 mg every 2 weeks) means that I do respond to antipsychotics. I dont think Olanzapine is a good one either because of weight gain issues and I am already considered morbidly obese.

I have an appointment tommorow with my CPN and I will discuss the fact that I want to change meds with her then. I doubt it will be changed there and then, as she will say that she needs to talk to my psych. Which is fair enough.

I dont know what the point of this post is, but I had to say something. I had considered avoiding the CMHT entirely, but that is not possible. Mainly because I do think that I need them, but not the frequency of appointments. Which cannot change unless I change meds.

[Bear]

Does your CMHT not have a depot clinic? Most do as far as i know, they're usually held at health centres or GP's surgeries where a nurse will give you your injection x

[Aubergine]

Could your practice nurse give you your depot? I know my GP surgery offer that service.

[not_so_insig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bear

Does your CMHT not have a depot clinic? Most do as far as i know, they're usually held at health centres or GP's surgeries where a nurse will give you your injection x

They have a depot clinic, but it's held at the CMHT which means that I am no better off than my CPN giving it to me.

[not_so_insig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aubergine

Could your practice nurse give you your depot? I know my GP surgery offer that service.

I dont know about that. I suppose that I could talk to my CPN about that to see if it's possible. But the problem is that I am terribly frightened of needles and have trust issues, and I wont allow anyone but my CPN to do it.

[Leni]

It sounds as though the Clopixol is working well for you, so your psych might not be too keen to change it. I think, in your situation, I would prefer to stay on it, because apart from the fact that med changes are in themselves horrendous, you don't know if you'll be as well on other meds. Could you talk to your CPN about how the changes at your CMHT (mine too, I think!) have affected you and made you feel? There may be a way of resolving those feelings so that you feel able to stay on Clopixol.

[Cacoethes]

If its working well, then I wouldn't risk it.
I know from experience that its bloody difficult to find a med that works.
Going to the CMHT every couple of weeks is a small price to pay.

Clopixol actually does come in tablet form, might be worth asking to switch to tablets?

[not_so_insig]

Well I went to see my cpn before and I said how unhappy I was. She was pleased that I was honest with her. She said that she will do home visits every two weeks unless I become highly.psychotic because the voices have told me in the past to hit her. But atm my schizophreniais so well controlled that she feels safe in my home. She knows that if I get like that then I will be honest with her.

We have agreed that if I am still unhappy with being on clopixol despite home visits then I will discuss it when I have an appointment with my psych in May. She didn't know what meds I would be put on because that's up to my psych but she didn't think that they did clopixol tablets. She said there's a possibility of me relapsing between the discontinuation of clopixol and the transition between my new medication.

[HildaOgden]

Hi. I'm on clopixol depot injections every two weeks. My GP surgery has been giving me the injections.