Benzonatate for Cough User Reviews (Page 5)
Brand names: Tessalon Perles, Tessalon
Benzonatate has an average rating of 4.0 out of 10 from a total of 720 reviews for the treatment of Cough. 30% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 62% reported a negative experience.
Reviews for Benzonatate
- Ashley...
- February 1, 2018
Tessalon Perles (benzonatate) "I was diagnosed last night with influenza and acute bronchitis. My coughing fits have been TERRIBLE and make me feel like I can't breathe. Once I start coughing, it's a long time and a severe headache before I can stop. The doctor prescribed Tessalon Perles for me, and I had no idea what it would do. This is the first time I have felt relief in many days! I feel it's effect about 30 minutes after taking it....my cough becomes looser, my sinuses and airway become drier (not so full of mucus), and I lose the urge to cough. AND I can sleep! Win."
- Engte...
- Taken for less than 1 month
- June 16, 2016
Tessalon Perles (benzonatate) "Started taking this after 3 weeks of coughing so intense that I would gag and gasp and have to run to the restroom to pee. Horrible. This was the only thing that lessened the coughing, but my doctor insisted I take it with a decongestant. I still cough, but it has been fewer and less intense."
Frequently asked questions
- MrsAy...
- Taken for less than 1 month
- April 26, 2019
Tessalon (benzonatate) "Had to go to urgent care because it felt like my entire esophagus was on fire. Turns out, I have pharyngitis caused by my terrible cough. The cough has kept me up all night for the past week. Dr. prescribed the Tessalon Perles and magic mouthwash. The magic mouthwash works wonderfully, but the Tessalon does not well, it works for about 30 minutes and I am right back to coughing. Called Dr. to see if there was something else he could prescribe. Hopefully I can get a full night of sleep sometime soon."
- histo...
- April 13, 2017
"Had a persistent cough for 5+ days - traveling, allergies, etc. No fever, so antibiotics would have been useless. Doctor prescribed 100mg pearls to take during the day and the syrup with codeine for the night. These worked amazingly. A couple of coughs here and there, but they really eliminated the urge to cough (something my usual mix of Delsym and Mucinex wasn't touching). One 100mg pill did not make me drowsy at all, and I had no other side effects."
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- Yaya
- Taken for less than 1 month
- December 13, 2018
Tessalon Perles (benzonatate) "The best medicine I've taken for a cough. Told I found out that I have bronchitis. The coughing literally made my head and chest hurt. I took my first pill around 5pm, and stopped coughing minutes later. Just had my first cough so it lasted from about 5:30pm - 2:15am. It's still not as bad as it was before 5. My biggest issue are the nightmares I just had. They were vivid, and unlike any dream I've had before. Its was promoted me to seek out experiences from others."
- KLW
- Taken for less than 1 month
- November 13, 2023
"I don't know why there are so many negative reviews on this medication! I've been fighting an upper respiratory infection for over a week now, and the coughing has kept me up all night. I was coughing so much, it was giving me horrible headaches. The first night I took one of these capsules, it only took about half an hour to start working, and I've finally been able to get some sleep! I'm prescribed it twice daily. It does last almost the full 12 hours for me. Usually, when the coughing starts to get bad again, it's around the time for another dose. It does make me a tad bit dizzy and drowsy, but the drowsiness just helps me sleep a bit better, anyway. 10/10 for sure."
- LadyS...
- Taken for less than 1 month
- January 10, 2016
Tessalon Perles (benzonatate) "This stuff caused me not to think clearly and I suffered a lot of side effects but I still coughed. Not what it is supposed to be. Would not wish this stuff on anyone. I am still recovering from just taking it for 3 days."
- MrCough
- Taken for less than 1 month
- February 14, 2020
"benzonatate is utterly useless. Did nothing to stop nagging relentless dry cough as part of a bad cold. Used to be able to get Hycodan years ago from my doctor to stop a cough like this straight away. Now, everybody is so afraid to prescribe opioids that they let people suffer and hack, miss weeks of work, and tear up their lungs from 24 hours a day coughing. Benzonatate? What a joke. Bring on the codeine and the opiate cough medications. Those work. This does NOT."
- Vee
- Taken for less than 1 month
- May 14, 2023
"I have an upper respiratory virus (not COVID) that has me coughing all night long. Haven't slept much in 3 nights. Did a telemedicine appointment with some doctor yesterday and she prescribed this drug. It was completely useless. Felt like I had taken nothing at all. No relief whatsoever. I am dumping the remaining pills. Will try to talk to a pharmacist today and get something OTC."
- pauls...
- March 17, 2015
"I purchased this medicine this morning at 7 however due to side effect warnings I waited until 3pm to take it when someone would be home. It is working wonders. My cough has stopped. This was given to me for a cough due to bronchitis. I will keep this in my arsenal of medicines because it seems now that I am 60 years old I have a cough most times I get sick. I am very satisfied with this and will recommend to others."
- Anony...
- Taken for less than 1 month
- December 4, 2019
"Urgent care clinic doc prescribed 100mg benzonatate pearls in addition to prednisone for bronchitis. Did nothing to stop cough, which worsened over a few days. Raging headache/earache on day 2, tongue slightly numb/no taste on day 3, still coughing all the time, and on the morning of day 5 became confused while out in public and had difficulty understanding what was being said and could not remember a few conversations. Medical center ER doc says this is a "normal" side effect of benzonatate and discontinued use immediately. Never again."
- Still...
- Taken for less than 1 month
- April 29, 2023
"These were prescribed by an urgent care center to help with a cough I’ve had for over two weeks. There’s no relief and now am coughing so hard that I pee. What happened to Codiene?! Something that works"
- FedUp
- Taken for 1 to 6 months
- January 18, 2020
"As everyone else says, these do nothing. I've had both a doctor and now nurse practitioner prescribe these and swear by them. Why can we not get codeine any more? Something that actually works to stop a bad cough. I've thrown everything and the kitchen sink at my cough and nothing calms it. It's affecting my sleep and keeping me in pain from the chest up through my head. Gah!"
- Jojo
- Taken for less than 1 month
- December 14, 2019
"After having cold for 3 weeks, received prescription for benzonatate from urgent care for my cough. Coughing became significantly worse within an hour of taking a dose. Stayed with it for 2 days with no improvement. Missed a dose and felt better within a few hours. No more of this for me. At least mucinex improved my symptoms."
- Sky
- Taken for less than 1 month
- August 21, 2019
"This does not work!!!! Don't even waste your time filling the prescription. This is the second time I have been prescribed this drug and both times it has been ineffective. I swear I cough more when I take it. Another sleepless night..."
- Susan
- May 30, 2017
"This has helped my cough from bronchitis a lot. I've only been taking it for two days with no side effects so far. My coughing went from hours day and night to very rarely. My dosage per pill is 200mg and I can take every eight hours if necessary. I cough somewhat more when I'm laying down but not enough to keep me up all night like it was. I think it's worth a try but everyone is different and, as expected, results vary from person to person."
- Harpo
- Taken for less than 1 month
- February 14, 2019
Tessalon Perles (benzonatate) "I can relate to the reviews "I kept the house awake all night ... couldn't finish a sentence." This medicine didn't seem to work for me either...for the first 4-5 days, then a tiny improvement each day. The coughs were completely unproductive until day 10 or 12. (productive = phlegm) Improvement was slight but still noticeable each day. Today is day 21 and I still cough a bit , lots of phlegm. I run out of medicine tomorrow and have notified the doc that I'm still coughing a bit (nothing like the cafeteria-clearing jags that had people fleeing for their health... "He might be contagious!" I wish the doc had warned me that it might not seem to work for a while."
- Cyndi
- Taken for 1 to 6 months
- October 20, 2023
"This is a miracle for me. I had pneumonia and was still coughing my head off until the Dr. wrote this prescription. I stopped constantly coughing so my throat, lungs, and entire body could get some rest. I stopped taking them after about a week or so because I didn't need them. I think it is a great medication."
- Anonymous
- November 21, 2012
"I absolutely love this medicine. It works better than codeine for my cough, which I've had over a week. After 2 doses I was finally able to sleep and woke up completely recovered. My chest feels lighter!!"
- Brand...
- Taken for less than 1 month
- October 20, 2023
Tessalon Perles (benzonatate) "These have worked amazingly for me when nothing else did for chest cough. You can also take them with a ton of other cough suppressants without any danger of overlapping side effects. See a lot of people complaining these give no relief, but I must say Mucinex DM and Dayquil Severe by themselves don't do much for me at all. Add this on top and it's a major change."
- Molly
- March 18, 2017
Tessalon Perles (benzonatate) "I had the flu and was prescribed to take these pills for a bad cough. It seemed like every time I took one my cough got worse. I stopped taking them and went to over the counter cough syrup. Worked much better!"
- Colle...
- Taken for 1 to 6 months
- March 28, 2023
Tessalon Perles (benzonatate) "I have been prescribed these on three different occasions and they do not work for me at all. I am not sure why they are ineffective but it seems to me someone needs to return to the drawing board on this one."
- kahth
- Taken for less than 1 month
- November 24, 2022
Tessalon (benzonatate) "I have been very sick with flu for 6 days and have coughed almost non-stop for the last 3. This medication does nothing for me at all. I was prescribed this a few years ago and got the same result. My eyes burn and my throat burns from the constant coughing. I wish I had been prescribed something that actually works."
- Anonymous
- November 5, 2009
"I have had the worse cough I have ever had in my whole life. My doctor prescribed benzonatate to me and I thought it would really help. UNFORTUNATELY for me it did not help at all. I really needed some relief to sleep and it just did not help at all. Taking Mucinex helped more."
Reviews may be edited to correct grammar/spelling or to remove inappropriate language and content. Reviews that appear to be created by parties with a vested interest are not published. This information is not intended to endorse any particular medication. While these reviews may be helpful, they are not a substitute for the expertise, knowledge, and judgement of healthcare professionals.
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Tessalon Perles (benzonatate) "I was prescribed these “cough pearls” for bronchitis and my new doctor said to continue taking Robitussin DM along with the pearls every 6 hours. That was 3 weeks ago and I’ve taken them religiously, but, still coughing my head off. Last year when I had bronchitis I was prescribed cough medicine with Hydrocodone which helped immediately. I’m going back to doctor and ask for the same cough medicine. I don’t think the cough pearls and robitussin are very effective with my bronchitis."