Side Effects of This Medicine
Along with their needed effects, phenothiazines can sometimes cause serious
unwanted effects. Tardive dyskinesia or tardive dystonia (muscle movement
disorders) may occur and may not go away after you stop using the medicine.
Signs of tardive dyskinesia or tardive dystonia include worm-like movements
of the tongue, or other uncontrolled movements of the mouth, tongue, cheeks,
jaw, body, arms, or legs. Another possible serious unwanted effect is the
neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS). Signs and symptoms of NMS include severe
muscle stiffness, fever, fast heartbeat, difficult breathing, increased sweating,
and loss of bladder control. You and your doctor should
discuss the good this medicine will do as well as the risks of taking it
.
Stop taking this medicine
and check with your doctor immediately
if any of the following side
effects occur:
Rare—Symptoms of neuroleptic malignant syndrome
Confusion (severe) or coma; difficult
or fast breathing; drooling; fast heartbeat; fever; high or low (irregular) blood pressure; increased
sweating; loss of bladder control; muscle stiffness (severe); trembling or shaking; trouble in speaking or swallowing
Also, check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the
following side effects occur:
More common
Blurred vision, change in color vision, or difficulty in seeing
at night; fainting; loss
of balance control; mask-like face; restlessness or need to keep moving; shuffling walk; stiffness of arms or legs; trembling and shaking of hands and fingers
Rare
Abdominal or stomach pains; aching muscles
and joints; agitation, bizarre dreams, excitement,
or trouble in sleeping; bleeding or bruising (unusual); chest pain; clumsiness; confusion (mild); constipation
(severe); convulsions (seizures); dark urine; fever and chills; hair loss; headaches; hot,
dry skin or lack of sweating; itchy skin (severe); muscle weakness; nausea,
vomiting, or diarrhea; pain in joints; prolonged, painful, inappropriate erection of the penis; redness of hands; shivering; skin discoloration (tan or blue-gray); sore throat and fever; sores in mouth; unusual bleeding or bruising; unusual
tiredness or weakness; yellow eyes or skin
|
Note:
|
Phenothiazines may cause your urine to be dark. In most cases, this
is not a sign of a serious problem. However, if your urine does become dark,
discuss it with your doctor. |
Other side effects may occur
that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away
during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. However, check with
your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome:
After you stop using this medicine, your body
may need time to adjust. The length of time this takes depends on the amount
of medicine you were using and how long you used it. During this time, check
with your doctor if you notice dizziness, nausea and vomiting, stomach pain,
trembling of the fingers and hands, or any of the following signs of tardive
dyskinesia or tardive dystonia:
Inability to move eyes; lip smacking
or puckering; muscle spasms of face, neck, body,
arms, or legs, causing unusual body positions or unusual expressions on face; puffing of cheeks; rapid
or worm-like movements of tongue; sticking out of
tongue; tic-like or twitching movements; trouble in breathing, speaking, or swallowing; uncontrolled chewing movements; uncontrolled twisting
or other movements of neck, trunk, arms, or legs
Although not all of the side effects listed above have been reported for
all of the phenothiazines, they have been reported for at least one of them.
However, since all of the phenothiazines are very similar, any of the above
side effects may occur with any of these medicines.
Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. If
you notice any other effects, check with your doctor.
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