Posted by med_empowered on April 2, 2006, at 17:44:18
In reply to Re: questions about perphenazine (Trilafon)? » Tiina, posted by ed_uk on April 2, 2006, at 13:59:37
Perphenazine is an old, meduim potency antipsychotic. Its moderately sedating and the EPS is greater than Thorazine but considerably lower then with Haloperidol (Haldol), and is also dose-dependant. Low-doses have been used for severe depressions (especially in Triavil, the Elavil+perphenazine combo pill) and severe anxiety, although **usually** it seems that benzos are preferred to antipsychotics (especially old ones) for this indication.
Personally, I wouldn't take Perphenazine. If you have schizophrenia and antipsychotics work for you, it could be a good option--there's minimal weight gain, and with careful dosing you can usually avoid severe EPS. BUT its still a heavy medication--it tends to sedating and can cloud your thinking. Have you tried a mood stabilizer? Some people with psychotic depression respond well to lithium...other people will respond well to combos of several antidepressants (with or without an antipsychotic).
Antipsychotics like Trilafon can cause tardive dyskinesia. Its hard to predict the risk for any one person, but as a general rule people with "affective disorders" (mood problems, like bipolar or depression, with or without psychotic features) seem to have even higher rates of TD than those with "classic" schizophrenia. For old drugs like Trilafon, the general rule seems to be that TD happens at a rate of about 3% a year (higher in some risk groups), so that by the end of 5 years 20% of patients will have diagnosable, mild-to-moderate TD. Women are at a higher risk than men; the very young and the elderly are at a higher risk than others.
poster:med_empowered
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