On Tuesday, September 26th, 2023, the BC Schizophrenia Society hosted our third members-only event of the year with Dr. Harish Neelakant, a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UBC and a psychiatrist working at Vancouver General Hospital.
In his presentation, Dr. Neelakant delved into the fascinating world of clozapine—a medication with transformative potential for individuals living with schizophrenia. Through this event, attendees gained insight into how clozapine can help manage symptoms, improve quality of life, and potentially offer hope for individuals who have not responded to other schizophrenia treatments. BCSS recognizes that prescription medications and treatments will differ from person to person and that Clozapine is one of the many medications available for the treatment of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.
We wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Neelakant for generously dedicating his time and providing us with invaluable insights during his presentation and the subsequent Q&A session. We also extend our sincere appreciation to our sponsor, AA Pharma, for their unwavering and continuous support.
Finally, we wish to express our gratitude to all our members for their active participation during the live event by asking insightful questions and contributing to the enriching discussion.
One of the benefits of becoming a free BCSS member is being able to events like this. If you would like to become a BCSS member, visit our BCSS membership form to register.
There were a few additional questions that we ran out of time to respond to. Dr. Neelakant graciously shared responses post-event. These are listed below:
Question: Are there any interactions with Ozempic? Answer: Ozempic has no contraindications with Clozapine, they can be used together.
Question: How do continued relapses (Meth, Fentanyl...) and debilitating side effects prevent Clozapine from being as effective as it could be? Hence, should someone discontinue use? Answer: Ideally stopping substance use is best. However, we do notice sometimes it is impossible for some clients to stop using, in which case, we may make a decision to continue with clozapine as long as the patient continues the same dose of recreational substance and not change the dose so as to minimize risk of harm.