Posted by yxibow on March 3, 2007, at 17:06:29
In reply to Re: The Zyprexa story ))phillipa, posted by med_empowered on March 3, 2007, at 16:40:01
> Here's the thing: I'm all for trying to get better meds for "schizophrenia" (the term is so incredibly vague and broad I think it should always been in quotes), but...how much better can they be if they're just like Thorazine, only causing fewer observable side effects?
>
> All the antipsychotics block D2. Some are more tolerable; some suck and should be banned. Aren't there other ways to go about treating psychosis? Some case studied suggest opiates. I seem to recall one of marijuana's components acting similarly in animal studies to clozaril, except it worked on some alternate pathway (glutamate, maybe?). Seriously--today's drugs are just slightly more tolerable versions of yesterday's drugs. I don't think we should be surprised that lots of patients hate them and that they have horrid side effects; blocking D2 for a long term tends to cause pretty significant problems.
But blocking D2 (and other Dx) also dampens voices and other hallucinations caused by schizophrenia. And it blocks other things caused by overactive dopamine in people without schizophrenia, such as myself.
There's quite a difference between Thorazine and Seroquel, occupation may be there, but one lets go and grabs back and lets go far more than the other.
poster:yxibow
thread:737791
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070302/msgs/737985.html