Cogentin (benztropine mesylate) Side Effects, Uses Dosages
Side Effects for Cogentin (benztropine mesylate)
This drug causes me SEVERE fatigue! I take it at night and getting up in the morning feels like pulling my brain up out of quicksand. I am also napping during the day most days. The dry mouth is also no joke, but the fatigue makes it so I can't even function properly. I feel heavily sedated all day.
The worst experience of my life...dry mouth to the point I had no saliva despite sipping water all day,nausea,no appetite,agitation,heightened anxiety,worse depression unable to think clearly,poor memory. From just one dose...
Worsened depression and anxiety, terribly blurry vision, nausea, diarrhea, loss of appetite, foggy brain, difficulty forming sentences and thinking of words, fatigue, hopeless, listless, worried.
I only took it for 2 nights and woke up and suddenly had blurry vision. Reading glasses helped, but will this ever get back to normal? 36 hour half-life. 10 1/2 days for it to be out of my system?!?!?!
Muscle stiffnessLoss of memoryVery bad sleep paralysisConfusionVomitingSense of reality impacted for less than a dayIrritabilityDepressionUnable to speakRestlessness while sleeping
Horrible side effects. Wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy. While you're going through withdrawal/side effects, you can't even describe how you're feeling because you don't have any sense. You can't even talk properly. That's what I went through.
This drug was a complete nightmare I experienced inability to speak, psychotic delusions, extreme paralysis and walking causing me to collapse. I couldn’t remember anything and loss any sense of reality. I was terrified that the side effects were going to be permanent. Luckily I was only on the drug for a week. I will never go on this drug again and I warn anyone that it’s very important to review side effects with a psychiatrist.
This drug can cause muscle stiffness and can cause serious falling.
Made my joints crack and hurt. Was suppose to treat muscle stiffness/weak walking caused by abilify. Took it for 1 day and I’ve had enough.
I take Seroquel 100mg as a sleep aid. It works really well in low doses with few side effects but as you go up with dosage on antipsychotic, bad things can happen....but Cogentin was pretty nasty all way around...First of all, it didn't really help...I got almost no sleep last night because I was so restless...I will list the really crappy side effects below
drowsiness, difficulty urinating, EXTREME dry mouth and its a thirst I couldn't quench, feeling quite foggy and just dragged out along with difficulty/slow speaking. However, I know that Cogentin is a first line treatment to the EPS side effects caused by anti-psychotics...so I'm sure it works for many people but I personally had a bad reaction
5 mg. - This worsened Cervical Dystonia. It could be due to the antihistamine (diphenhydramine) in it. I'm not sure. It also caused tiredness, insomnia, acid reflux, blurry vision, headache, indigestion and loss of appetite. I also had a slightly bad taste in my mouth. [Note: I was still on Clonazepam at the time]. I tried it three times.
This did not help out the Cervical Dystonia at all, but actually worsened it. This could be due to the antihistamine in it. I have noticed that certain antihistamines worsen Cervical Dystonia.
side effects risperdal and geodon
Don't think it worked with geodon. Not sure if was effective with risperdal
Involuntary movements from haldol
Just pure sleepiness, and slowness!
I am taking it for about 1-2 weeks because the ER doctor gave me an injection (via "rear" muscle, OUCH!) on 02/18, for a HEADACHE! That was an anti psychotic, very high in potency tranquilizer. Not for me, and I was left sleeping for two days and having RLS, and my tongue was tightening up.. I was also repetitively saying "something is wrong" like a broken record. I now have to take Cogentin to eliminate these uncontrollable movement, after only one does of Haldol. So far, day two (too soon to give more info) It did it's job, but I still feel slightly restless. Not everyone reacts to the same meds the same way.. but for me, it calmed me down and made me feel REALLY relaxed.
Poor memory, extreme dry mouth and swollen glands.
horrible, couldn't think, couldn't move, release me from delusions that mental health professionals were intelligent creatures. I was wrong-the devil advocates they are.
Psychotic psychiatrists at Benedictine Psych in Kingston,NY said I suffered from delusions, rage, explosions. I agreed so I could get out of the hospital & to take defense. These nut doctors are horrible. /what are they talking about?Some crazy alcoholic claiming to be my father said I must leave my wonderful career and work in a dusty, dirty factory as a favor. said I was delusional about crimes against me. Horrible drug-how is a pill suppose to change the past reality. Make the psychiatrists eat this for breakfast. Thanks for a lost life. My apologies to all for ever manufacturing these poisons. Poison, Poison and more Poison. Is this a real psych drug????
Extreme dry mouth to the point I could barely swallow and felt like I was choking! Could barely think or form a sentence.HORRIBLE..made my agoraphobia come back!
Lost my eyesight for seeing near. I've discontinued taking it and I still can't read my mail or a book. I even got reading glasses and they help some, but it's still blurry. Also, dry mouth.
Great for solving my akathisa due to another med. But the side effects are a deal breaker. They're awful. That said, I'm sensitive; if a med has side effects I'm sure to get them. So other people might not even get these side effects.
Dry mouth! Like someone else said, it makes it hard to eat. I have to take a sip of water with every bite in order to swallow. Also, ringing in my ears now and then.
This is a TERRIFIC med to treat Akathisia. I was having night time restlessness from taking Latuda, to the point that I couldn't stay asleep and wanted to crawl out of my skin. I'm trying to decide if the dry mouth is a fair trade off for sleep. It's really unpleasant.
Very dry mouth, so much that it affects my speech and ability to eat. Some dizziness and constipation
I would recommend this drug for help with the terrible side effects of Abilify. No more muscle cramps or restlessness. I was able to sit through an entire movie.
This was a miracle drug. My akathesia was so intense but it just melted away 100 percent when I took this drug. I only quit it when I quit the antipsychotics. I would sometimes get dry eyes or itchy skin from it but that's about it...I didn't notice the constipation like others are saying.
trembling hands, off-balance, memory loss, difficulty with speech
I took this med for the tics that I have. The side-effects are horrible, especially the speech problem. I'm afraid to go out of the house, because I honestly can't talk to anyone and make any sense at all. Just trying to form a sentence is very hard and people know that something isn't just right. Embarrassing!!
Dry mouth, Could not swallow food.
Cogentin helped with akathisia associated with an antipsychotic drug, but the side effects are horrible. I would recommend this medication to anyone cause the side effect akathisia is to me is terrible.
COGENTIN (BENZTROPINE MESYLATE): Benztropine is used to treat symptoms of Parkinson's disease or involuntary movements due to the side effects of certain psychiatric drugs (antipsychotics such as chlorpromazine/haloperidol). Benztropine belongs to a class of medication called anticholinergics that work by blocking a certain natural substance (acetylcholine). This helps decrease muscle stiffness, sweating, and the production of saliva, and helps improve walking ability in people with Parkinson's disease. Anticholinergics can stop severe muscle spasms of the back, neck, and eyes that are sometimes caused by psychiatric drugs. It can also decrease other side effects such as muscle stiffness/rigidity (extrapyramidal signs-EPS). It is not helpful in treating movement problems caused by tardive dyskinesia and may worsen them. Benztropine should not be used in children younger than 3 years. (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)
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Anxiaty and Panick attacks, OCD