Before Using This Medicine

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For thiethylperazine, the following should be considered:

Allergies—Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to thiethylperazine or other phenothiazine medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy—Thiethylperazine is not recommended during pregnancy. Other phenothiazine medicines have been reported to cause unwanted effects, such as jaundice and muscle tremors and other movement disorders, in newborn babies whose mothers took these medicines during pregnancy.

Breast-feeding—It is not known if thiethylperazine passes into breast milk. However, thiethylperazine is not recommended for use during breast-feeding because there is the chance that it may cause unwanted effects in nursing babies.

Children—Children are usually more sensitive than adults to the effects of phenothiazine medicines such as thiethylperazine. Certain side effects, such as muscle spasms of the face, neck, and back, tic-like or twitching movements, inability to move the eyes, twisting of the body, or weakness of the arms and legs, are more likely to occur in children, especially those with severe illness or dehydration.

Older adults—Elderly patients are usually more sensitive to the effects of phenothiazine medicines such as thiethylperazine. Confusion; difficult or painful urination; dizziness; drowsiness; feeling faint; or dryness of mouth, nose, or throat may be more likely to occur in elderly patients. Also, nightmares or unusual excitement, nervousness, restlessness, or irritability may be more likely to occur in elderly patients. In addition, uncontrolled movements may be more likely to occur in elderly patients taking thiethylperazine.

Other medicines—Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking thiethylperazine, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

• Amoxapine (e.g., Asendin) or
• Antipsychotics (medicine for mental illness) or
• Metoclopramide (e.g., Reglan) or
• Metyrosine (e.g., Demser) or
• Pimozide (e.g., Orap) or
• Promethazine (e.g., Phenergan) or
• Rauwolfia alkaloids (alseroxylon [e.g., Rauwiloid], deserpidine [e.g., Harmonyl], rauwolfia serpentina [e.g., Raudixin], reserpine [e.g., Serpasil]) or
• Trimeprazine (e.g., Temaril)—Side effects of these medicines, such as uncontrolled body movements, may become more severe and frequent if they are used together with thiethylperazine

• Central nervous system (CNS) depressants (medicine that causes drowsiness) or
• Tricyclic antidepressants (medicine for depression)—CNS depressant effects of these medicines or thiethylperazine, such as drowsiness, may be increased in severity; also, taking maprotiline or tricyclic antidepressants may cause some side effects of these medicines, such as dryness of mouth, to become more severe

• Contrast agents, injected into spinal canal—If you are having an x-ray test of the head, spinal canal, or nervous system for which you are going to receive an injection into the spinal canal, thiethylperazine may increase your chance of having seizures

• Epinephrine—Side effects, such as low blood pressure and fast or racing heartbeat, may occur more often or may be more severe

• Levodopa—When used together with thiethylperazine, the levodopa may not work as it should

• Quinidine—Unwanted effects on the heart may occur or become more severe

Other medical problems—The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of thiethylperazine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Alcohol abuse—This medicine, if taken together with alcohol, may lower the blood pressure and cause CNS depressant effects, such as severe drowsiness

• Asthma attack or
• Other lung diseases—Thiethylperazine may cause secretions to become thick so that it might be difficult to cough them up, for example, during an asthma attack

• Blood disease or
• Heart or blood vessel disease—This medicine may cause more serious conditions to develop

• Difficult urination or
• Enlarged prostate—This medicine may cause urinary problems to get worse

• Glaucoma—This medicine may cause an increase in inner eye pressure

• Liver disease—Thiethylperazine may accumulate in the body, increasing the chance of side effects, such as muscle spasms

• Parkinson's disease or
• Seizure disorders—The chance of thiethylperazine causing seizures or uncontrolled movements is greater when these conditions are present