Haloperidol - Do you know what this is and if not, you need to...

[SherriW]

Hi - I am rather new here and so far, am liking it a lot. I was misdiagnosed with lupus when I was 32 and eventually was correctly diagnosed with YOPD. Looking back, I can see the progression of PD, while thinking it was lupus and why was I not seeing a change while being treated. Tricky diseases.

Anyhow, I try to be encouraging, offering hope, insight, and wisdom obtained through my journey with PD. I seek to do that through my website, Parksinson's Journey (parkinsonsjourney.com). I bring this up, as one of the big issues I am concerned about and am trying to bring awareness to the PD community is the drug Haloperidol. If you have never heard of this drug or its side effects for people with PD, please go here to read about it and please, pass the message on.

First article: parkinsonsjourney.com/urgen...

Second follow-up: parkinsonsjourney.com/ill-s...

Last/latest article: parkinsonsjourney.com/updat...

And, just last week I received another letter from a grieving son re: a woman (his mother) who died from being given Haldol (another name for the drug Haloperidol) after it specifically said not to administer it to her via her dr. in her hospital chart but the nurse thought better. The woman had PD.

If you have any info/personal experience with this drug, can you share your thoughts with me? Thanks.

p.s. - There are several broken links on my site right now, so if you click on something that doesn't work, I apologize!

[reverett123]

A similar danger exists with the drug REGLAN. An idiot neuro put me on it for gastroparesis (slow stomach). I took one and was reading the package insert where it said don't give it to PWP. I suddenly realized two things- 1) I had a problem and 2) One should do the homework before taking the test. I had eight hours of misery but at least I knew what was going on..

From pdcaregiver.org/DrugsCauseP...

Drugs That Cause Parkinson By Dr. Joseph Jankovic

Article modified by Dr. Abe Lieberman to make it more readable for lay people

Parkinson caused by the antipsychotic drugs has been recognized since the early 1950s. These drugs include the older major tranquilizers such as Haldol, Prolixin, Stelazine and Thorazine, the newer major antipsychotic drugs such as Risperdal, Orap, and Zyprexa, and drugs used for nausea, vomiting, and acid reflux such as Compazine and Reglan. The drugs have in common an ability to block dopamine receptors in the brain. In effect, they cause Parkinson symptoms by making the receptors unavailable to the brain's own dopamine. The reported incidence of drug caused Parkinson varies from 15 -61%. The more potent the dopamine receptor blocking drug, the more likely it is to cause Parkinson. Age is a risk factor; older people are more likely to develop Parkinson symptoms. This may be related to the normal age-related loss of dopamine nerve cells.

[SherriW]

Thanks for the added information, reverett123 -

[DeParkiePoet]

Very helpful, thank you both...