Side effects - How safe is Stelazine/Trifluoperazine?

[Pachanoid]

Hello, SWIM is pretty much in the depths of depression, 2009 has not been kind to him.

He has always been mildly depressed, dysthimic, avoidant, but this time he feels he can't cope. And due to a recovering fatty liver, he has not been able to indulge in any of his preferred drugs or herbs lately.

SWIM has been on psych meds for years (in fact it's one of the causes of his liver problem) and therapy, but nothing worked, although he was able to have a relatively normal existence. So SWIM became more interested in healing plants and whatnot than chemical substances with lots of nasty side effects.

But this is an emergency, so SWIM gave up on his principles and with a lot of difficulty went to a psychiatrist last week, and the doc prescribed him Stelazine/Trifluoperazine, and upon insistence that he needed something to sleep the doc added Remeron/Mirtazapine to be taken at night.

The Doc said those meds wouldn't be bad on the liver.

So here's SWIM's problem: He's okay with the Remeron (in fact the weight gain would be an advantage to SWIM) but scared as hell of the Stelazine.

SWIM has heard about and seen TD (Tardive dyskinesia) and Stelazine is apparently one med that's infamous for causing it.

SWIM is very frustrated because he's had bad experiences with anti-depressants in the past, and sees little hope in Remeron. Stelazine was the doc's number one drug for SWIM, unfortunately.

Does any of SWIY know of this drug? Care to share any experiences, warnings, happy endings?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

[Jatelka]

One question: Is the monkey psychotic? If not, then why the hell is your medic prescribing trifluoperazine?

Seriously, this seems an extremely odd choice: If anyone has any evidence base for this, then please upload papers to the archive

[Pachanoid]

That's precisely the question.

It seems that the doctor thinks that SWIM is, indeed, psychotic. He surely could have prescribed SWIM a newer antipsych med?

Well, SWIM told the doctor about his liver, so he believes the doc chose a med that wouldn't be so bad on the liver (could that be true?).

So many meds and therapists - there was never a consensus on a diagnosis. The only two medicines that seemed to have any beneficial effects at all were Ritalin and Cannabis. SWIM did achieve his goal with an antipsychotic, though - Seroquel(Quetiapine): sleep.

In the past, SWIM has been labeled Bipolar, ADD, Borderline, Avoidant (this he agrees with) and yes, Schizo-like.

SWIM's main complaints have always been (from early teens) constant depression and lack of energy. In the last few years, however, major anxiety, panic attacks, social phobia and maybe yes, some 'psychotic'-like symptoms, like constant negative thoughts, were added to the list. Basically, the bad things got worse and some that didn't even exist came up.
SWIM doesn't really know, just venting.

SWIM will keep self-medicating for now, TD seems like too big a risk for him. But thanks for SWIY's response.

[Boca Bitch]

Is SWIY aware that the older generation typical antipsychotics can cause a severe worsening in depression? I would HIGHLY advise against taking this prescription (due to its heavy antidopaminergic properties) if SWIY is not exhibiting debilitating psychotic symptoms. Tell him to go see another psych.

[Pachanoid]

Originally Posted by Boca Bitch

Is SWIY aware that the older generation typical antipsychotics can cause a severe worsening in depression? I would HIGHLY advise against taking this prescription (due to its heavy antidopaminergic properties) if SWIY is not exhibiting debilitating psychotic symptoms. Tell him to go see another psych.

No, SWIM was not aware of that...

SWIM is glad he didn't touch the Stelazine! This med sounds like all sorts of trouble...

SWIM feels a bit better now - SWIY's suggestion to see another psych is great, that's what SWIM is going to do. thank you!