Blocked Access to Clozapine is Devastating
- rachelstreiff
- Jun 20, 2023
- 1 min read
Paul Frysh is an award-winning senior health writer at WebMD. His May 24th, 2023 publication Schizophrenia: Is the FDA Hindering the Most Effective Med? spotlights the journey of Andrew and his mother Mary.
The FDA’s extortionist and inflexible “No Blood, No Drug” policy for dispensing clozapine has caused devastating consequences and lifelong disability for Andrew. As Andrew’s caregiver, Mary suffers PTSD and constant fear that her son’s clozapine could be cut off because of a technicality or logistical challenge in obtaining routine bloodwork. Mary, like all members of The Angry Moms, continues to face ongoing battles with the dangerous and deadly clozapine REMS restrictions.
This madness must end.
On behalf of The Angry Moms, we are grateful to Paul Frysh for bringing attention to this most vulnerable population. Please read, share and re-post this important feature story:
If the people that made these rules "no blood, no drug", saw their loved one in psychosis just once, things would change. There's no way to put into words the torment that our loved ones experience, or how terrifying it is for us!
My daughter's doctor told her she wouldn't want to be on clozapine because of the blood draws. I'd like to ask him if that's the reason, or if it's because he didn't want to deal with REMS. I can't say I blame him, but it was a disservice to my daughter not to use this medication.
Add another reason clozapine stops--chemo-induced low white blood cells, which twice happened to my daughter. Just a tad low, enough that she couldn't get her medicine. Source of great anxiety & misery, these REMS