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© St. Petersburg Times, published January 15, 2002
Here are the prescriptions Chip Correll takes every day:
Taken for anxiety, Clonazepam is similar to Valium or Xanax. Common side effects are drowsiness, dry mouth, nausea, irregularity, blurred vision, headaches and a "hangover" feeling.
Topamax is typically used to control seizures, but Correll and others take it to moderate the weight gain that is a side effect of some drugs used to treat mental illness. The drug reduces appetite. Some consumers can develop kidney stones.
For treatment of OCD, the medication's side effects can include insomnia, restlessness, nervousness, nausea, diarrhea and loss of sexual desire.
Approved for the treatment of schizophrenia by the FDA last year, Geodon addresses positive and negative symptoms of the disease, from hallucinations to social withdrawal. Delays at the FDA were due to concerns about heart rhythm irregularity detected in some test patients.
Introduced in 1990, Clozaril helps as many as half of schizophrenia sufferers who try it. But the drug has a rare and potentially dangerous side effect: In less than 1 percent of consumers, it decreases the white blood cells needed to fight infection to life-threatening levels. Correll gets a blood test every two weeks to check white cell count.
A serotonin reuptake inhibitor to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, the drug is an antidepressant that affects numerous neurotransmitters. It can cause blood pressure problems, irregular heartbeat and seizures. More common side effects are the same as other drugs in this category: dry mouth, drowsiness, dizziness, vision changes, weight gain and sexual dysfunction.