by ladybug » Dec 13, 2004 3:39 am
There are several anti-emetic drugs that belong to a class called "phenothiazines." Compazine and Phenergan both belong to this class. A number of people will have adverse reactions to phenothiazines, the worst being something called extrapyramidal reaction, which is basically when your muscles tighten and contract, and if severe enough, can cause respiratory arrest. The most common reaction is severe anxiety and muscle twitching, but since it can progress to the more serious reaction, it is necessary to get treatment right away. Usually treatment is a hefty dose of Benadryl, taken for a couple of days until the phenothiazine clears the system.
Now, the interesting thing is, that even though Phenergan belongs to this class of drug, it has a slight difference in its chemical structure that makes it much LESS likely to cause extrapyramidal reactions. I myself have ended up in the ER with an extrapyramidal reaction after a single dose of Compazine, but was able to take Phenergan without any problem many times. The exception was in one pregnancy where I had been taking Phenergan round the clock for several weeks, and started to get vague muscle twitching, so knew it was time to call it a day and move on to something else.
I think that many doctors and nurses are unable to recognize adverse reactions to phenothiazines until they get extreme. I know this is true, because I was a nurse for many years and have watched countless patients complain of "anxiety" only to have the doc or nurse pat them on the shoulder and say "relax." Only when their tongue is hanging out of their mouth does the medical staff scratch their heads and say "hmmm, what medicine do you suppose could have caused that?" So when I hear doctors saying that Compazine is perfectly safe and not to worry, my guess is that they have tons of patients out there who are feeling slightly on edge (or maybe not so slightly!) but the doctors are not making the connection, or perhaps they have no clue in the first place of what the patient is feeling.
Many people do just fine on Compazine. I just think that Phenergan works just as well, is just as safe, and has fewer side effects, so why bother with Compazine??? If you do decide to try it, just be on the lookout for feelings of anxiety, restlessness, muscle twitching, or anything that doesn't feel right. Good luck.