Trihexyphenidyl

[Karmaone]

Hello all,

I've been prescribes Trihexyphenidyl and I'm worried about the repercussions, my consultant said shouldn’t affect me as I’m young but it has links with memory problems and dementia, something I know Parkinson’s is already increases the risk of.

It’s also supposed to be addictive and hard to come off. My tremor isn’t fully stopped by levodopa, and he said this would be good for me. Also saying that a tremor dominant presentation has a good prognosis long term, and this may improve my memory by allowing me to pay attention more because the tremor will be gone.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks

[PixelPaul]

My MDS prescribed me Trihexyphenidyl, but after researching it a bit I decided against taking it for the reasons you mentioned. It's my understanding that it's a very old medication that's rarely prescribed anymore.

[LAJ12345]

”Trihexyphenidyl is used alone or together with other medicines (e.g., levodopa) to treat Parkinson's disease. By improving muscle control and reducing stiffness, this medicine allows more normal movements of the body as the disease symptoms are reduced.”

my husband takes a small amount of procyclidine which sounds similar. He only takes 1/4 twice a day so less than prescribed and it hasn’t had any bad effect. I’m not sure if it has any positive effect either tbh

[jocelyng]

I have TD PD and started with Amantadine to control my tremor., it worked great until some side effects kicked in after a few months. Switched to 1/2 Trihexyphenidyl once a day, with no ill effects. It’s been about two years.

[Shlim]

Hi, yes, unfortunately....

My mother in law was prescribed this drug. She was in her mid 70's. It was around Christmas time. She started hallucinating right away. Spiders up the walls, people that were not in the room, etc. She wasn't scared or in distress but scary for us. Neuro who prescribed was on a long holiday unfortunately. I'm not sure if this can happen to a younger person or not? Your loved ones should be made aware of possible side effects. My husband has been prescribed drugs that almost destroyed our marriage, employment, relationship with children, etc. Maybe we were just unlucky...?

[Farooqji]

I have taken it for a month or two. It helped with no serious side effects except dryness of mouth and eyes

This medicine is not as dangerous as has been mis-advertised

[Karmaone]

Thanks for all your replies and experiences. I've since tried it several times. The first time I was at a university lecture and I felt waisted, dry mouth and eyes and racing heart, but my tremor had gone completely. After a few times the dry mouth/eyes and heart are hardly noticeable. One evening my wife was holding my bad hand and was shocked that it was still.

I'm taking half in the morning and half in the evening, not every day, just when I need to be symptom free. I'm supposed to be on 3x whole tablets a day but that seems extreme. I have a friend who works in medicine and he said the biggest risk he can see for me is that I may enjoy it too much, it is tempting to just be on it 24/7 just because it makes me feel nearly normal.

I'll keep using it in moderation and see how it goes 🤞

[Farooqji in reply to Karmaone]

you are taking a very low ( and hence safe) dose. Keep using it if it helps you! Long term use ( 5 years plus) of higher doses cause memory weakness