Trihexyphenidyl or Artane

[Pezo]

Hi all, I was recently prescribed this med , read a lot of 'horror stories' about it , but for me it seems to have a tangible effect , anyone else think this med is ok ?

[Despe]

My husband took Artane, but the side effects were horrible. It caused him a lot of confusion. Later on we made an appointment with Mayo Neurology. The MDS there asked us WHO WAS THE DOCTOR who prescribed Artane. He said that Artane is a century old medication! My husband stopped it as he was advised by our Mayo doctor.

[sharoncrayn]

an anti-spasmodic and anticholingeric drug repurposed for PD. Long in the tooth approved by FDA in 2003. CTs began in 1950s. Some history of use by drug addicts.

Half life = 3-6 hours.

Abrupt withdrawal can be dangerous. Known to be a drug of abuse. Anticholingerics have history of causing dementia. Not very effective in reducing tremors.

"There was nearly a 50% increased odds of dementia associated with total anticholinergic exposure of more than 1095 TSDDs within a 10-year period, which is equivalent to 3 years' daily use of a single strong anticholinergic medication at the minimum effective dose recommended for older people." Coupland 2019

"During a mean follow-up of 7.3 years, 797 participants (23.2%) developed dementia (637 of these [79.9%] developed Alzheimer disease). A 10-year cumulative dose-response relationship was observed for dementia and Alzheimer disease (test for trend, P < .001). " Gray, 2015

sharon

[Despe in reply to sharoncrayn]

Wow! Fortunately, he was not very long on it, 2-3 months, I believe.

Sharon, I wasn't in the deep waters when he was prescribed Artane. I started learning how to swim in the shallow waters and little by little I learned to swim in the ocean. . . of PD!

[sharoncrayn in reply to Despe]

with lots of waves

[Despe in reply to sharoncrayn]

[LAJ12345]

It is anticholergenic. My husband had procyclidine suggested by someone on their site which is also anticholergenic. He started on 1/4 per day then 1/4 x2 per day and I think that helped offset the overwhelming anxiety feeling he was getting from levodopa. He is supposed to increase until on 1/2 x 2 per day but he decided not to due to supposed side effects and because he was feeling a bit better.

He hasn’t had side effects at the lower dose. My theory is side effects might mean the dose is too high. He is an over reactor in general to every drug known to man so he always goes low now on anything.

My approach now is only take the bare minimum to offset your symptoms. If you can chop it safely then start on tiny amount of anything new and slowly increase until it feels slightly worse then pull back a bit. Better 90% better on half the amount than take the full amount and risk side effects.

[Pezo in reply to LAJ12345]

Yes , it seems to work for me on my tremor , but I do feel a little 'high' on them , like your husband though I am sticking to the bare minimum , I am supposed to take 3 per day , but one seems to suffice

[LAJ12345]

Can you cut them or are they capsules. Try 1/4 twice a day

[Pezo in reply to LAJ12345]

they are 2 mg tablets , so yes , it may be better to have a half of one twice a day ... I will try it

[LAJ12345]

or even slowly cut down from there if you can until you are on the minimum needed to help so you don't feel as wired. Then you have room to move up again if you need to! and you have a secret stash the GP doesn't know about in reserve in case there is a shortage!

[Pezo in reply to LAJ12345]

exactly that ...I take it only when I need to , I find it more effective if I dont have a tolerance to it ... so far I have found it to really help when needed

[healthabc]

I have been taking it for 1/4 tab 2x/day for 4 yrs, with sinemet. Definitely helps my tremor. .. no terrible side effects, just relief. Some days I up it to 1/2 tab depending on how much tremor control I need.

[TheGimba]

My mother in law was prescribed this at 75 by a doctor who then went on holidays for a month over the Christmas holiday. Full blown hallucinations, strangers in the room, spiders on the walls, you name it. Terrifying for us, she seemed to take it in stride. The rest of the family were ready to have her put in a nursing home. Make sure that you have family and friends around you to assess you, objectively. I read that it is not recommended for the elderly.

[Farooqji]

I have experimented with it and found to be more effective than C/L especially for dystonia and rigidity.

[Pezo in reply to Farooqji]

ditto , it works for me , but I dont think I need the 3x pills a day that they prescribe me ..I dont take it at all when I am on a 'good spell' .. I find it works better if only taken when needed

[Farooqji in reply to Pezo]

I first experimented with 2 mg twice daily which caused extreme dry mouth. Cut it to half tablet twice daily which still is effective without dryness of mouth