Flupenthixol
From tomorrow, I will be taking 3 medications aimed at my depression. 1000mg Lithium, 4mg Edronax and 1mg Flupenthixol each day. The pharmacy I use didn’t give me a patient information leaflet with the flupenthixol, so I’m not that sure what to expect, except that it can definately make you very tired. 1mg is a very low dose though (can be up to 60mg) so I’m hoping it won’t cause much of a problem.
On the plus side, it usually kicks in within 2-3 days if it’s going to help, which is very nice. Also, it’s a pretty bright red pill, which makes a change from the dull white and beige ones of late.
I honestly don’t know what the next option would be. Probably an MAOI or a Tricyclic type antidepressant, both of which I should be at home to go onto, not here in London. We’ll give the flupenthixol a chance, and see what happens.
May 13th, 2006 at 10:36 am
Flupenthixol is an antipsychotic drug that I was prescribed for no good reason and
which has destroyed my health and ruined my life. I was not told what it was or
what it was capable of doing, in fact I was lied to about how safe it was. The longer
you take it the more likely you are to develop what they like to call movement
disorders, and once this has happened they may never go away, even after
stopping taking the drug. It caused me a multitude of systemic disorders, the most
damaging of which has probably been the complete loss of the ability to chew, which has
only partially returned after having stopped the drug in January 2000, and which has
given me major digestive problems that have made me so ill, and have had such
widespread effects throughout my body, that I have been a chronic invalid
for 6 1/2 years, unable to even leave the house. I have such limited use of my
hands that I can no longer even use them for mundane things, and I was an
excellent pianist who can no longer play and an excellent singer who can no
longer sing. I am typing this with one finger, which is all I can manage any more.
For heavens sake, get off those drugs before it is too late and seek alternative
help for your depression, or you will end up more than depressed.
May 13th, 2006 at 10:59 am
I don’t know what happened, but I have submitted a comment about flupenthixol,
which is found under flupenthixol, but I don’t know what is meant by saying
that I said my comment is awaiting moderation and why it says on the original
page that there is no comment about flupenthixol because I have just made one.
May 13th, 2006 at 11:01 pm
I have an excellent doctor who has explained to me all the possible side effects of flupenthixol including the dyskinesia you describe. The benefits in my case far outweigh any possible difficulties I may suffer. I am also taking a very low dose, for a very clear reason, which I understand fully.
Your comment did not immediately appear as I have a setting such that I have to approve all comments from first time commenters to reduce problems with spam.
May 15th, 2006 at 10:52 am
You have been warned, and I can assure you that there are no benefits that can possibly begin
to outweigh the harm this drug and the others can do to you or anyone else.
Doctors, no matter how ‘excellent’ are not going to offer you anything but drugs
when there are much safer alternatives. The depression you feel now is
nothing compared to the depression you are going to feel when these drugs
destroy your health and ruin your life. I think it was something like 54% of people
taking flupenthixol in some research who were afflicted with these side effects, which
as I said before can permanently affect you in absolutely horrific ways. If you are
a university student you are probably young and are still naive about what you
think doctors have to offer, and that they can be trusted to know what they are
doing and to have your best interests at heart, and that all you have to do is
take some tablets and your problems will magically be solved. At least do your
own research before you destroy your body with all those drugs. Don’t just
take some ‘excellent’ doctor’s word for it, or you are really being foolish and
taking risks the enormity of which you really don’t have any understanding.
You would be far better off abandoning the drugs and seeking a good therapist
(NOT A PSYCHIATRIST) and if you still feel the need to take something go
to a naturopath or some other practitioner.
May 15th, 2006 at 1:28 pm
Cynthia,
I assure you I am not naive as to the dangers of the drugs I am taking. I have seen 4 different therapists, and we came to the mutual conclusion that the therapy was not beneficial to my mood.
I am sorry that this drug has harmed you, but it is in general a very safe medication. Please stop your vendetta against this drug through my blog. You have aired your concerns. Any further comments of this nature will be deleted.
May 15th, 2006 at 3:36 pm
I am sorry I wasted my time and energy on trying to save you from a lot of
potential harm. If you are willing to put all control of your health and your life
into other people’s hands, you are extremely foolish. Don’t worry, you won’t hear
from me again, as it’s obvious you don’t want to hear the truth. It’s clear you haven’t been told the truth about any of the drugs you are taking,
which you can find
in any good book on drug side effects in a bookshop, but then it’s obvious you
don’t want to know if you are so ungrateful that you are going to delete anything
that isn’t what you want to hear. You haven’t found the right therapist or the right
type of therapy, of which there are many that aren’t just talking, such as EMDR,
for example. For myself, I have been doing some research on St John’s Wort and
5-HTP, and a recent study has shown that St John’s Wort is as effective as one of
the most widely used antidepressant drugs. The dosage given was 300 mg
standardised to contain 0.3% hypericin 3 times a day, but to allow at least 4 weeks
for it to build up in your system, with few mild and uncommon side effects. I suffer
now from severe depression because of all the damage that has been done to me
and I’m going to give this a try, not that lethal cocktail of drugs you are taking.
You’ve only been taking these drugs for a few weeks. It’s not too late for you to come off them before they do you harm. I’m not the only prescription-damaged
person in the world, but if you don’t care about your own health, why should I?
May 15th, 2006 at 5:11 pm
I would like to point out that the views of anyone commenting on my blog are not my own, and that Cynthia does not know my medical history or background to make such sweeping statements as she makes.
I have left her current comments visible, but any further comments will be deleted, as I feel she adequately made her point in the first.
May 15th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
Jo is a biochemist (and a rather good one at that) and so she understands the effects drugs have, in more detailed ways than I think you could find from any book. Plus I have seen she looks thoroughly into any drugs she is prescribled before taking them, and so is well aware of any possible side effects.
Please don’t assume you know about her and the effects these drugs will have on her, as the effect will be different for everyone. Just because it didn’t work for you doesn’t mean it won’t work for her, just in the same way something which does work for you may not work for others. All drugs have side effects, even common ones such as paracetemol, but its a different effect on everyone.
You don’t know Jo, so please don’t say she doesn’t care for her own health; if she didn’t care for it why would she even be on these drugs!? She wouldn’t care enough to try and make herself better if she didn’t.
June 9th, 2006 at 9:35 pm
My daughter has been on flupenthixol for more than 10 years, and is doing very well. Intitially, she was a little stiff and wooden, and suffered from akathisia. But after two reductions in the dosage – both within the first five years of treatment, if I remember correctly – she loosened up and lost most of her restlessness. She resumed her studies, and graduated with a BA in psychology last year. She has also been successful in her work as an administration assistant in the regional office of a leading charitable organization. We are putting together a website on her case at nzsf.com.
June 16th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
I was wondering how you are doing on the flupenthixol ?
June 16th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
I came off the flupenthixol as it was not providing me with any benefits. I didn’t have any major side effects either though.
June 16th, 2006 at 9:36 pm
As mentioned above, tardive dyskinesia can be a problem. But even after 10 years of treatment with flupenthixol, we have seen no signs of it. We are careful, though, to ensure that our daughter eats well, and gets all the recommended nutrients (B vitamins, omega-3 oils, etc.). And she takes no other drugs – not even alcohol or caffeine. Fortunately, she accepts that she will always have to live carefully. I have started to post articles on the side effects of anti-psychotic medications on my website at nzsf.com.
September 25th, 2006 at 3:37 pm
My brother has been taking 1mg which is a low dose of flupenthixol for 14 years for anxiety. 2 years ago he developed tardive dyskinesia which went undiagnosed by his GP, and this has now developed inton respiratory dyskinesia. Believe me no-one wants this terrible illness. You have no choice but to give up work and every other interaction with other people because of the very loud and disconcerting noises that you make along with the facial grimacing and the difficulty in speaking and breathing.
Please be aware of this side effect because it has ruines my brothers life along with my mothers who is heartbroken at what has become of him
January 6th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Well, I am quite horrified to read about what this drug has done to you. I have been on it for the past three months and everything is fine, I take it in a shot once each fortnight.
Denis
January 9th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
i am currently having 150mg fortnightly of flupenthixol injections, ive neither heard of any of the above mentioned side affects nor have i been told about them. this worries me. should i of been told? maybe not as my mental health state at the time required this dose and may i add i am now stable. but what does the future hold for me? does anyone know? and surely like all side affects some people will get all some will get none.
January 9th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
like denis im horrified to hear what flupenthixol has done to you but still believe that its the luck oof the draw who gets what side affects and like denis i also recieve mine in a shot fortnightly
February 28th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
ive recently started getting the jitters in my legs and wonder is this a side affect to the flupenthixol shots i recieve, does antone know?
April 19th, 2007 at 6:46 am
after trying diffrent antidepresens im about to start flupenthixol other tablets have made me put on weight and feel like a zombie do u think these could be any diffrent
May 16th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Gosh, I have just been prescribed these tablets in 1mg form which is low dose, but after reading what they POSSIBLY could or couln’t do to me, I think I will decide not to take them. Admitably my doctor said it was my choice whether to take them or not, and he knows that I didn’t want to go onto anti-depressants, as I expressed this. He probably has a inkling that I will research before I try.
Depending on the degree of how you are feeling, we must remember the more depressed we feel, the higher the dosage they will give? The more side effects we have will be down to body chemistry and the longevity that we take these products.
Please research St Johns wort also before taking. I am not a doctor and cannot judge whether someone is right or wrong, as we all know we are all different, so things are bound to affect us differently. Try camomile tea, if you like it sweet put some natural honey in. This can calm down. It has a number of good qualities and my mum swears by it. Good for insect bites, nervousness, IBS, sunburn, panic attacks, period pains the list is endless, natural anti-inflamitry, antihystimen etc
My doctor also suggested looking on websites to help, look up http://www.landmarkeducation.com and also try and look into cognative beahvioural therapy. I am not saying this work for you, but at least give it a read over. Counselling in the traditional sense will not do me any good, it will drag up things that I cannot change. A book also prescribed was ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’ also look into this if you think it may help.
I am not saying that your doctors are wrong or that one of you is right or wrong, but you should be given a choice on a varying number of things, and these people on this site are here to tell you of their experiences whether good or bad. That gives you the choice. I have decided not to get on the loop of this drug even in the small dose, I just wouldn’t want to take the risk as I dont know whether it will affect me one way or another.
At the end of the day it’s the individuals choice. Best wishes for the future.
August 20th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Hi,
I have been on Flupenthixol for 3 years (40mg) a fortnight. I have schizophrenia. It works for me – i take 15mg abilify as well every night and together they keep me stable and ok. I havent had any side effects as yet although i watch my weight. I got a bit scared reading about some of the side effects and talked to my doctor who was upfront and realistic about the real chances of stuff happening. He said the good they do outweigh the chance of getting anything serious although he accepts that it is possible. All i can judge it on is how stable i am. I hold down 2 jobs and a good relationship with partner and friends of which there are many. So as i said it works for me, certainly better then when i was on tablets which i kept forgetting to take.
January 26th, 2008 at 6:13 am
I am the mother of three and have been on 60mg of injectable flupenthixol for about one year now. Anyone with alternative or complementary medicine ideas or suggestions for schizophrenia can contact me at selki67@hotmail.com