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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Tiina on April 1, 2006, at 11:44:43
Hi!I need to try something along with my Seroquel cause it isn't helping with my feelings of falling apart but I can't tolerate a higher dose of it (I'm on 125mg). I'm generally very sensitive to psych meds or at least anti-psychotics.
My doctor put me on 5mg of Truxal/Taractan which is a minimal dose and when I saw another doctor she said that I would have to take a high dose of Truxal for it to have any antipsychotic effect. She prescribed me 2mg of Trilafon (perphenazine). I took one pill the other night and it made me feel sick and it felt like a pretty strong drug and I'm afraid to take any more. So I went back to taking Truxal last night but I still felt sick this morning when I took my anti-depressant.
So all of you who have been on it I have some questions:
-What were the side-effects?
-Did it help with agitation or did it worsen or cause agitation?
-If you had a feeling of falling apart did it help?
-Did it make you feel nauseous and if so, did it pass (I'm afraid of throwing up so I can't tolerate feeling sick)?
-If you've already gotten off of it was it hard to get off? My package insert says something like don't get off of it without talking to your doctor. I don't know if this means it's hard to get off of or that you shouldn't stop it on your own cause your symptoms may come back.I would really like to get some answers!
Tiina
Posted by Tiina on April 1, 2006, at 11:54:47
In reply to questions about perphenazine (Trilafon)?, posted by Tiina on April 1, 2006, at 11:44:43
I don't know how to modify my post so I'll just add this. I also want to know if Trilafon has a sedating effect at all...as in if it helps with agitation/anxiety? And does it cause anxiety/agitation/restlessness?Tiina
Posted by zeugma on April 1, 2006, at 13:14:55
In reply to questions about perphenazine (Trilafon)?, posted by Tiina on April 1, 2006, at 11:44:43
So all of you who have been on it I have some questions:
-Did it help with agitation or did it worsen or cause agitation?>>
I was agitated at the time I took it, it replaced agitation with extreme sedation.
.
-If you had a feeling of falling apart did it help?Maybe. But I always feel like I'm falling apart, so it's a matter of degree. I would not say it exerted any effect on this variable at all.
-Did it make you feel nauseous and if so, did it pass (I'm afraid of throwing up so I can't tolerate feeling sick)?
This is why I was placed on it- I was able to keep it down (literally). One of its indications is for the acute treatment of nausea.
I hesitate to say more, because my pathology/chemistry may have nothing in common with yours, except for a tendency to suffer from nausea. It was very good for that.
-z
Posted by ed_uk on April 1, 2006, at 14:17:54
In reply to questions about perphenazine (Trilafon)?, posted by Tiina on April 1, 2006, at 11:44:43
Hi
Do you have a psych diagnosis?
Ed
Posted by Tiina on April 1, 2006, at 16:11:00
In reply to Re: questions about perphenazine (Trilafon)? » Tiina, posted by zeugma on April 1, 2006, at 13:14:55
Thank you for your replies zeugma and Ed. I forgot to ask in my message what kind of dose of Trilafon people were on. If anybody replies again (and you too zeugma) I'd like to know what kind of dose you were on.I have been given several different diagnoses but the ones in my papers are psychotic depression and inhibited and suspicious personality.
Zeugma if Trilafon didn't help you with the feeling of falling apart did it help you at all? I also always have that feeling of falling apart but it's been a lot worse lately.
I just don't know if meds can help me at all but I guess I wanna try something. I guess the sedative effect helps some if nothing else.
Tiina
Posted by Phillipa on April 1, 2006, at 21:27:38
In reply to Re: questions about perphenazine (Trilafon)?, posted by Tiina on April 1, 2006, at 16:11:00
I hope you don't mind me asking but is your diagnosis paranoid schizophrenia? And I didn't know trilafon was used anymore. Love Phillipa
Posted by Tiina on April 2, 2006, at 7:14:39
In reply to Re: questions about perphenazine (Trilafon)? » Tiina, posted by Phillipa on April 1, 2006, at 21:27:38
Philipa no my diagnosis is not paranoid schizophrenia. Why do you ask? In one doctor's statement it said I've been given the diagnoses of borderline personality and schizotypal personality in addition to the ones I already mentioned in my previous message. My main diagnosis is psychotic depression (although I've never had hallucinations).Tiina
Posted by zeugma on April 2, 2006, at 11:37:11
In reply to Re: questions about perphenazine (Trilafon)?, posted by Tiina on April 1, 2006, at 16:11:00
>
> Thank you for your replies >>you're very welcome!
I forgot to ask in my message what kind of dose of Trilafon people were on. If anybody replies again (and you too zeugma) I'd like to know what kind of dose you were on.>>
I don't remember what dose I was started on, probably very low, it was literally the only pill they could give me that did not wrack me with nausea, so its antinauseant effects did not require anything beyond a minimal dose, for me.
>
> I have been given several different diagnoses but the ones in my papers are psychotic depression and inhibited and suspicious personality. >>It sounds like some of my diagnoses. I have social phobia, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, ADHD, and narcolepsy. These are official diagnoses I have been given by professionals over the past four years. At the time I was given Trilafon my official diagnosis was "agitated depression."
>
> Zeugma if Trilafon didn't help you with the feeling of falling apart did it help you at all? I also always have that feeling of falling apart but it's been a lot worse lately.>>I took it while hospitalized and the low dose immediately improved nausea. Unfortunately it made me so sedated that I became even more reclusive and inhibited (mainly because I couln't get out of bed, which is hard for me anyway) so they increased the dose over a period of months to 48 mg, which I would not recommend to anyone, and which is likely not done anyway any more. it does illustrate the poor practices of psychiatrists of the time (which was not all that long ago), as I believe the sedating properties of Trilafon have been known for a long time. But there is an unfortunate tendency to blame the patient for a poor response, not the drug, unless of course the drug is one of 'abuse', in which case the patient must be kept aware from the drug for his/her own good, rather than simply escalate the dose until CNS poisoning is practically assured, as was done with the older AP's, and is done now, for all I know, with atypicals, SSRI's, etc. Sorry for the rant.
>
> I just don't know if meds can help me at all but I guess I wanna try something. I guess the sedative effect helps some if nothing else.>true!
I did read a study in which low dose Trilafon plus buspirone had a good effect. I take buspirone, it works well in combination with nortriptyline for me.
-z
>
> Tiina
Posted by ed_uk on April 2, 2006, at 13:59:37
In reply to questions about perphenazine (Trilafon)?, posted by Tiina on April 1, 2006, at 11:44:43
Hi T
Perphenazine normally reduces nausea. In some people however, nausea has been reported as a 'paradoxical' side effect.
Did Truxal make you feel sick?
Ed
Posted by med_empowered on April 2, 2006, at 17:44:18
In reply to Re: questions about perphenazine (Trilafon)? » Tiina, posted by ed_uk on April 2, 2006, at 13:59:37
Perphenazine is an old, meduim potency antipsychotic. Its moderately sedating and the EPS is greater than Thorazine but considerably lower then with Haloperidol (Haldol), and is also dose-dependant. Low-doses have been used for severe depressions (especially in Triavil, the Elavil+perphenazine combo pill) and severe anxiety, although **usually** it seems that benzos are preferred to antipsychotics (especially old ones) for this indication.
Personally, I wouldn't take Perphenazine. If you have schizophrenia and antipsychotics work for you, it could be a good option--there's minimal weight gain, and with careful dosing you can usually avoid severe EPS. BUT its still a heavy medication--it tends to sedating and can cloud your thinking. Have you tried a mood stabilizer? Some people with psychotic depression respond well to lithium...other people will respond well to combos of several antidepressants (with or without an antipsychotic).
Antipsychotics like Trilafon can cause tardive dyskinesia. Its hard to predict the risk for any one person, but as a general rule people with "affective disorders" (mood problems, like bipolar or depression, with or without psychotic features) seem to have even higher rates of TD than those with "classic" schizophrenia. For old drugs like Trilafon, the general rule seems to be that TD happens at a rate of about 3% a year (higher in some risk groups), so that by the end of 5 years 20% of patients will have diagnosable, mild-to-moderate TD. Women are at a higher risk than men; the very young and the elderly are at a higher risk than others.
Posted by Phillipa on April 2, 2006, at 21:07:46
In reply to Re: questions about perphenazine (Trilafon)?, posted by Tiina on April 2, 2006, at 7:14:39
Sorry I missed where you gave your dx. I just couldn't figure out why you were being given such an old antipsychotic. Again my apologies. I shouldn't assume. Love Phillipa
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