Side Effects of Thorazine for Bipolar Disorder

If you or a loved one has bipolar disorder, your doctor may have mentioned Thorazine to you as a possible medication option. Thorazine, generic name Chlorpromazine, is an antipsychotic drug that is prescribed for the treatment of bipolar disorder, as well as for schizophrenia and other disorders involving psychotic symptoms. In people with bipolar disorder, thorazine is often prescribed to treat the symptoms of mania, which include agitation, aggression, and impulsivity—as well as the symptoms of psychosis, such as grandiose delusions or paranoia.

Antipsychotic medications such as Thorazine, an older drug, as well as some of the newer antipsychotics, can be life-saving for people with bipolar disorder. For these people, the benefits of these drugs typically outweigh their risks.

Here are some of the reported side effects from Thorazine.

Check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome:

• Constipation
• decreased sweating
• dizziness
• drowsiness
• dryness of mouth
• nasal congestion

Check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome:

• Changes in menstrual period
• decreased sexual ability
• increased sensitivity of skin to sunlight (skin rash, itching, redness or other discoloration of skin, or severe sunburn)
• swelling or pain in breasts
• unusual secretion of milk
• weight gain (unusual)

SPECIAL WARNING: Along with their needed effects, phenothiazines can sometimes cause serious side effects. Tardive dyskinesia (a movement disorder) may occur and may not go away after you stop using the medicine. Signs of tardive dyskinesia include fine, worm-like movements of the tongue, or other uncontrolled movements of the mouth, tongue, cheeks, jaw, or arms and legs. Other serious but rare side effects may also occur. These include severe muscle stiffness, fever, unusual tiredness or weakness, fast heartbeat, difficult breathing, increased sweating, loss of bladder control, and seizures (neuroleptic malignant syndrome). You and your doctor should discuss the good this medicine will do as well as the risks of taking it.

More Common: Lip smacking or puckering; puffing of cheeks; rapid or fine, worm-like movements of tongue; uncontrolled chewing movements; uncontrolled movements of arms or legs

Rare: Convulsions (seizures); difficult or fast breathing; fast heartbeat or irregular pulse; fever; high or low blood pressure; increased sweating; loss of bladder control; muscle stiffness (severe); unusually pale skin; unusual tiredness or weakness

More common: Blurred vision, change in color vision, or difficulty in seeing at night; difficulty in speaking or swallowing; fainting; inability to move eyes; loss of balance control; mask-like face; muscle spasms (especially of face, neck, and back); restlessness or need to keep moving; shuffling walk; stiffness of arms or legs; tic-like or twitching movements; trembling and shaking of hands and fingers; twisting movements of body; weakness of arms and legs

Less Common: Difficulty in urinating; skin rash; sunburn (severe)

Rare: Abdominal or stomach pains; aching muscles and joints; confusion; fever and chills; hot, dry skin or lack of sweating; muscle weakness; nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea; painful, inappropriate penile erection (continuing); skin discoloration (tan or blue-gray); skin itching (severe); sore throat and fever; unusual bleeding or bruising; yellow eyes or skin

Dizziness, nausea and vomiting, stomach pain, trembling of the fingers and hands, or any of the following symptoms of tardive dyskinesia: Lip smacking or puckering; puffing of cheeks; rapid or fine, worm-like movements of tongue; uncontrolled chewing movements; uncontrolled movements of arms or legs

Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your doctor.