Is anyone prescribed any antipsychotics (neuroleptics) such as Haldol, Thorazine, Seroquel etc. for reasons other than schizophrenia? I hear it is horrible to be on them as the have quite severe side-effect etc. If you are forced to be on one by your parents or just hate the medication for whatever reason please explain.

I believe that class of drug should only be used when it is the difference between total psychosis and functional existence. What effect have the drugs had on your lives?

antipsychotics are for fags

i would probably take a bullet to the brain or suffer though one hellish trip in a mental ward before they gave me an anti psychotic like Thorazine..

wow you suck

none of these side effects look at all like anything i would want to go through... i would rather be crazy...

Drowsiness, usually mild to moderate, may occur, particularly during the first or second week, after which it generally disappears. If troublesome, dosage may be lowered.

Jaundice: Overall incidence has been low, regardless of indication or dosage. Most investigators conclude it is a sensitivity reaction. Most cases occur between the second and fourth weeks of therapy. The clinical picture resembles infectious hepatitis, with laboratory features of obstructive jaundice, rather than those of parenchymal damage. It is usually promptly reversible on withdrawal of the medication; however, chronic jaundice has been reported.

There is no conclusive evidence that preexisting liver disease makes patients more susceptible to jaundice. Alcoholics with cirrhosis have been successfully treated with Thorazine (chlorpromazine) without complications. Nevertheless, the medication should be used cautiously in patients with liver disease. Patients who have experienced jaundice with a phenothiazine should not, if possible, be reexposed to Thorazine or other phenothiazines.

If fever with grippe-like symptoms occurs, appropriate liver studies should be conducted. If tests indicate an abnormality, stop treatment.

Liver function tests in jaundice induced by the drug may mimic extrahepatic obstruction; withhold exploratory laparotomy until extrahepatic obstruction is confirmed.

Hematological Disorders, including agranulocytosis, eosinophilia, leukopenia, hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, thrombocytopenic purpura and pancytopenia have been reported.

Agranulocytosis–Warn patients to report the sudden appearance of sore throat or other signs of infection. If white blood cell and differential counts indicate cellular depression, stop treatment and start antibiotic and other suitable therapy.

Most cases have occurred between the fourth and tenth weeks of therapy; patients should be watched closely during that period.

Moderate suppression of white blood cells is not an indication for stopping treatment unless accompanied by the symptoms described above.

Cardiovascular

Hypotensive Effects–Postural hypotension, simple tachycardia, momentary fainting and dizziness may occur after the first injection; occasionally after subsequent injections; rarely, after the first oral dose. Usually recovery is spontaneous and symptoms disappear within ½ to 2 hours. Occasionally, these effects may be more severe and prolonged, producing a shock-like condition.

To minimize hypotension after injection, keep patient lying down and observe for at least ½ hour. To control hypotension, place patient in head-low position with legs raised. If a vasoconstrictor is required, Levophed®‡ and Neo-Synephrine®§ are the most suitable. Other pressor agents, including epinephrine, should not be used as they may cause a paradoxical further lowering of blood pressure.

EKG Changes–particularly nonspecific, usually reversible Q and T wave distortions–have been observed in some patients receiving phenothiazine antipsychotics, including Thorazine (chlorpromazine).

Note: Sudden death, apparently due to cardiac arrest, has been reported.

CNS Reactions

Neuromuscular (Extrapyramidal) Reactions–Neuromuscular reactions include dystonias, motor restlessness, pseudo-parkinsonism and tardive dyskinesia, and appear to be dose-related. They are discussed in the following paragraphs:

Dystonias: Symptoms may include spasm of the neck muscles, sometimes progressing to acute, reversible torticollis; extensor rigidity of back muscles, sometimes progressing to opisthotonos; carpopedal spasm, trismus, swallowing difficulty, oculogyric crisis and protrusion of the tongue.

These usually subside within a few hours, and almost always within 24 to 48 hours after the drug has been discontinued.

In mild cases, reassurance or a barbiturate is often sufficient. In moderate cases, barbiturates will usually bring rapid relief. In more severe adult cases, the administration of an anti-parkinsonism agent, except levodopa (see PDR), usually produces rapid reversal of symptoms. In children (1 to 12 years of age), reassurance and barbiturates will usually control symptoms. (Or, parenteral Benadryl®|| may be useful. See Benadryl prescribing information for appropriate children’s dosage.) If appropriate treatment with anti-parkinsonism agents or Benadryl fails to reverse the signs and symptoms, the diagnosis should be reevaluated.

Suitable supportive measures such as maintaining a clear airway and adequate hydration should be employed when needed. If therapy is reinstituted, it should be at a lower dosage. Should these symptoms occur in children or pregnant patients, the drug should not be reinstituted.

Motor Restlessness: Symptoms may include agitation or jitteriness and sometimes insomnia. These symptoms often disappear spontaneously. At times these symptoms may be similar to the original neurotic or psychotic symptoms. Dosage should not be increased until these side effects have subsided.

If these symptoms become too troublesome, they can usually be controlled by a reduction of dosage or change of drug. Treatment with anti-parkinsonian agents, benzodiazepines or propranolol may be helpful.

Pseudo-parkinsonism: Symptoms may include: mask-like facies, drooling, tremors, pillrolling motion, cogwheel rigidity and shuffling gait. In most cases these symptoms are readily controlled when an anti-parkinsonism agent is administered concomitantly. Anti-parkinsonism agents should be used only when required. Generally, therapy of a few weeks to 2 or 3 months will suffice. After this time patients should be evaluated to determine their need for continued treatment. (Note: Levodopa has not been found effective in antipsychotic -induced pseudo-parkinsonism.) Occasionally it is necessary to lower the dosage of Thorazine (chlorpromazine) or to discontinue the drug.

Tardive Dyskinesia: As with all antipsychotic agents, tardive dyskinesia may appear in some patients on long-term therapy or may appear after drug therapy has been discontinued. The syndrome can also develop, although much less frequently, after relatively brief treatment periods at low doses. This syndrome appears in all age groups. Although its prevalence appears to be highest among elderly patients, especially elderly women, it is impossible to rely upon prevalence estimates to predict at the inception of antipsychotic treatment which patients are likely to develop the syndrome. The symptoms are persistent and in some patients appear to be irreversible. The syndrome is characterized by rhythmical involuntary movements of the tongue, face, mouth or jaw (e.g., protrusion of tongue, puffing of cheeks, puckering of mouth, chewing movements). Sometimes these may be accompanied by involuntary movements of extremities. In rare instances, these involuntary movements of the extremities are the only manifestations of tardive dyskinesia. A variant of tardive dyskinesia, tardive dystonia, has also been described.

There is no known effective treatment for tardive dyskinesia; anti-parkinsonism agents do not alleviate the symptoms of this syndrome. If clinically feasible, it is suggested that all antipsychotic agents be discontinued if these symptoms appear. Should it be necessary to reinstitute treatment, or increase the dosage of the agent, or switch to a different antipsychotic agent, the syndrome may be masked.

It has been reported that fine vermicular movements of the tongue may be an early sign of the syndrome and if the medication is stopped at that time the syndrome may not develop.

Adverse Behavioral Effects–Psychotic symptoms and catatonic-like states have been reported rarely.

Other CNS Effects–Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) has been reported in association with antipsychotic drugs. (See WARNINGS.)

Cerebral edema has been reported.

Convulsive seizures (petit mal and grand mal) have been reported, particularly in patients with EEG abnormalities or history of such disorders.

Abnormality of the cerebrospinal fluid proteins has also been reported.

Allergic Reactions of a mild urticarial type or photosensitivity are seen. Avoid undue exposure to sun. More severe reactions, including exfoliative dermatitis, have been reported occasionally.

Contact dermatitis has been reported in nursing personnel; accordingly, the use of rubber gloves when administering Thorazine liquid or injectable is recommended.

In addition, asthma, laryngeal edema, angioneurotic edema and anaphylactoid reactions have been reported.

Endocrine Disorders

Lactation and moderate breast engorgement may occur in females on large doses. If persistent, lower dosage or withdraw drug. False-positive pregnancy tests have been reported, but are less likely to occur when a serum test is used. Amenorrhea and gynecomastia have also been reported. Hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia and glycosuria have been reported.

Autonomic Reactions

Occasional dry mouth; nasal congestion; nausea; obstipation; constipation; adynamic ileus; urinary retention; priapism; miosis and mydriasis, atonic colon, ejaculatory disorders/impotence.

Special Considerations in Long-Term Therapy

Skin pigmentation and ocular changes have occurred in some patients taking substantial doses of Thorazine (chlorpromazine) for prolonged periods.

Skin Pigmentation–Rare instances of skin pigmentation have been observed in hospitalized mental patients, primarily females who have received the drug usually for 3 years or more in dosages ranging from 500 mg to 1500 mg daily. The pigmentary changes, restricted to exposed areas of the body, range from an almost imperceptible darkening of the skin to a slate gray color, sometimes with a violet hue. Histological examination reveals a pigment, chiefly in the dermis, which is probably a melanin-like complex. The pigmentation may fade following discontinuance of the drug.

Ocular Changes–Ocular changes have occurred more frequently than skin pigmentation and have been observed both in pigmented and nonpigmented patients receiving Thorazine (chlorpromazine) usually for 2 years or more in dosages of 300 mg daily and higher. Eye changes are characterized by deposition of fine particulate matter in the lens and cornea. In more advanced cases, star-shaped opacities have also been observed in the anterior portion of the lens. The nature of the eye deposits has not yet been determined. A small number of patients with more severe ocular changes have had some visual impairment. In addition to these corneal and lenticular changes, epithelial keratopathy and pigmentary retinopathy have been reported. Reports suggest that the eye lesions may regress after withdrawal of the drug.

Since the occurrence of eye changes seems to be related to dosage levels and/or duration of therapy, it is suggested that long-term patients on moderate to high dosage levels have periodic ocular examinations.

Etiology–The etiology of both of these reactions is not clear, but exposure to light, along with dosage/duration of therapy, appears to be the most significant factor. If either of these reactions is observed, the physician should weigh the benefits of continued therapy against the possible risks and, on the merits of the individual case, determine whether or not to continue present therapy, lower the dosage, or withdraw the drug.

Other Adverse Reactions

Mild fever may occur after large I.M. doses. Hyperpyrexia has been reported. Increases in appetite and weight sometimes occur. Peripheral edema and a systemic lupus erythematosus-like syndrome have been reported.

Note: There have been occasional reports of sudden death in patients receiving phenothiazines. In some cases, the cause appeared to be cardiac arrest or asphyxia due to failure of the cough reflex.

I know someone on Abilify and they find it extremely difficult to stay awake through the school day.

No one has any personal experiences with these sadistic "medications"?

I have a thread somewhere on the 1st or 2nd page about seroquel.

I was just prescribed seroquel for being "bipolar manic" . Anyways, i decided to give it a try since so much pressure was being put on me to "get help". It's the start of my 4th day, and i'm an emotionless zombie. I have been just going about all day not giving a shit about anything or anyone. I'm more productive it seems because i just dont give a shit if i have to spend 3 hours on some shitty paper or something. After a week of giving it a try, i'm guessing im just going to stop taking it. I feel so disconnected from people, But we'll see.... that might change.

They tried forcing me some in this mental ward for "psychosis" ( long story )
But the good thing about being crazy is.... well, being crazy

I take 1 mg of Risperdal every night (along with all my other meds.) But I actually take it to help me sleep. My doctor didn't want me on an addicting sleeping pill so I was put on Risperdal and it actually works pretty well. I've never had any negative side effects that I can remember. But I'm also on a combination of other drugs including: 1 mg Xanax, 2 mg Klonopin, 100 mg Zoloft, 300 mg Wellbutrin XL, and 30 mg Adderall XR daily. I've been diagnosed with dysthymia (constant mild form of depression that never changes), ADD, and anxiety/panic disorder.

Do you notice a reduced ability to feel pleasure, slower thinking, involuntary movements or reduced physical activity?

Yea I have a couple scripts for sleeping, seroquel and benodryl i believe. Not sure about the seccond one but they give me pretty sevear hallucinations when I'm trying to fall asleep. Its alright unless you have shit to do but they arnt bad just to chill out on I wouldent reccomend them for sleeping though

Do you notice a reduced ability to feel pleasure, slower thinking, involuntary movements or reduced physical activity?

I would say I have reduced my ability to feel pleasure because I can't really say anything that i liked before is as enjoyable right now. I feel blank. Not happy, but not depressed. Just apathetic. The second day after starting, my gf wanted to have sex and i just had absolutely NO interest. And yes my thinking is definately slowed down, especially early in the day (i take it at night).

No involuntary movements, and i can't say i've noticed a reduction in physical activity. But it's only my 4th day, i dunno. The shit sucks.

I was on several of those drugs at times in the past. They simply didn't work for me, for the most part (for bipolar disorder).

I had, and still keep around, a supply of low-dose Thorazine (50 mgs -- it's used medicinally up to around 1.2 g, so that's a pretty low dose) because it's a good medication in the event of a sudden acute manic episode OR a panic attack (and I have anxiety disorders also).

The side effects aren't all that common, especially in lower doses. I've never had any severe side effects, except with Seroquel -- but that was mainly a 27-hour sleep, 3 minutes awake, 27-hour sleep cycle. The other drugs didn't seem to cause any problems to me.

Anti-depressants and benzos are more bothersome to me than most antipsychotics, TBH.

thats odd. seroquel is probably the weakest of all above listed. also seroquel is in the same family of respirdal. they use serouquel to aid in sleep. ive never heard of anyone experiencing that. maybe you were on a ridiculously high dose but if that was the case you shouldve been given respirdal. in my experience all the others did to me was what you experienced with seroquel. it lasts for a few days like that or every time you up dose. also all of the others above gave the that i dont give a fuck state up to zombie like. thorazine isnt used that much now but just as bad as haldol. both gave me horible side affects. the worst for me though was zyprexa. gave me full body spasms and serious weight gain and no sex drive. but that couldve been the interaction with the haldol dont know. on occasion i get full body spasms from it. i will never take any of them again.

I've taken Seroquel for a little while now, and can't remember any problems. I like my thinking being a little slower; good for anxiety. It does knock you upside the head when you begin taking it. I still feel a bit drowsy, but nothing worth the relief it gives me.

Fuck, I don't know though-supposed to be some nasty drugs.

I would say I have reduced my ability to feel pleasure because I can't really say anything that i liked before is as enjoyable right now. I feel blank. Not happy, but not depressed. Just apathetic. The second day after starting, my gf wanted to have sex and i just had absolutely NO interest. And yes my thinking is definately slowed down, especially early in the day (i take it at night).

No involuntary movements, and i can't say i've noticed a reduction in physical activity. But it's only my 4th day, i dunno. The shit sucks.

My friend went through that too. Got better after about a month.

That actually sounds pretty nice.

If you don't give a shit, then what is stopping you from not doing the paper all together? You must have some motivation to succeed then.

I was on 0.5mg/day for anxiety for about two years. It worked well enough, not as well as benzos, but good enough to get me out of the house, get a job and a gf. There were some expoected side-effects: Decreased IQ/general cognitive function, weight gain, and sexual apathy. There were also some weird-ass permanent side-effects: I can no longer feel real euphoria from any drug (IV coke is meh), I think my sex drive got permanently lowered as well, and (this is the freaky one) anti-depressants suddenly work for me. They used to make me feel suicidal and zombie like, now they give me a lot of energy. They still didn't work while I was on the risp, just after I had stopped taking it for about three months.


I've been diagnosed with dysthymia (constant mild form of depression that never changes), ADD, and anxiety/panic disorder.

Nice to see someone else stuck with the hell that is dysthymia is on here.

thats odd. seroquel is probably the weakest of all above listed. also seroquel is in the same family of respirdal.

I know about Risperdal -- that's what they switched me to after Seroquel. Risperdal didn't do jack shit to me except give me another thing to swallow.

And yes, I did mention the atypical antipsychotics, so you didn't need to try to educate me that Risperdal and Seroquel are both atypical antipsychotics. I'm not totally retarded as you seem to believe -- maybe more like 99%.

they use serouquel to aid in sleep. ive never heard of anyone experiencing that. maybe you were on a ridiculously high dose but if that was the case you shouldve been given respirdal.

I was on one of the lowest doses that is currently manufactured. I just don't tolerate it well, I guess.

And as I said above, they tried Risperdal on me, as well as Abilify, Invega (a new Risperdal derivative), Zyprexa and a number of other medications in the same class. Each one either didn't work at all or did the opposite of what it was supposed to do -- they're supposed to make mania less intense and less frequent, whereas some of them (those that did something) made be become manic instead.

in my experience all the others did to me was what you experienced with seroquel. it lasts for a few days like that or every time you up dose.

My Seroquel-induced heavy sedation lasted for over a month, until I saw the psychiatrist and got my prescription changed. I never got above the dose they were starting me on.

also all of the others above gave the that i dont give a fuck state up to zombie like. thorazine isnt used that much now but just as bad as haldol. both gave me horible side affects.

That's unfortunate. I actually rather like Thorazine in low doses -- it's a good anti-anxiety drug, and I have anxiety problems along with mood swings. I've often found that when I'm having a panic attack or manic episode, the only things that seem to reliably knock me out of it are Thorazine pills or Zyprexa injections.

the worst for me though was zyprexa. gave me full body spasms and serious weight gain and no sex drive. but that couldve been the interaction with the haldol dont know. on occasion i get full body spasms from it. i will never take any of them again.

That sounds like it sucks. I can't really say much other than that.

I know that for me, Zyprexa didn't do anything at all unless injected. Make of that what you will.

HAHAHAHAHAH