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Benztropine for Extrapyramidal Reaction User Reviews

Benztropine has an average rating of 6.5 out of 10 from a total of 30 reviews for the treatment of Extrapyramidal Reaction. 53% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 33% reported a negative experience.

Benztropine rating summary

6.5 average rating out of 10

30 ratings from 32 user reviews.

Compare all 45 medications used in the treatment of Extrapyramidal Reaction.

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3%
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7%
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7%
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13%
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Reviews for Benztropine

  • Bip...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • June 13, 2014

Cogentin (benztropine) "Absolutely the ONLY way I can take Latuda (life-saving me for me) is by taking three small doses of Cogentin a day. I had excruciating muscle pain, a strange kind of dizziness, brain fog, and restlessness. I thought it could be some presentation of akathisia. It was unbearable until I started Cogentin. Wonder if those with side effects are prescribed too high of a dose. I'm taking half of the 0.5 pill three times a day."

10 / 10
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87 Report
  • coc...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • August 5, 2019

"Took this for extrapyramidal side effects (EPS) caused by a very small dose of Abilify (1 mg) that had me jumping out of my skin and gave me horrible tremors. It helps with the akathisia, but the side effects from the Cogentin are just as unbearable. My vision is completely blurred, my mouth is so dry that my throat hurts, I'm getting migraines, and I can't remember anything I did five minutes ago. I don't feel safe driving. I have flushed my Abilify down the toilet, and the Cogentin is about to receive the same fate. Dosage is 0.5 mg twice a day. I only took my nighttime dose last night before bed and fell asleep immediately, it sedated me. I'm so angry about these meds. Done with feeling like a pharmaceutical experiment. I refuse to take them anymore. Hopefully, they wear off quickly."

3 / 10
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41 Report
  • Jes...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • July 21, 2019

"I recently started taking benztropine because my Seroquel was adjusted to a higher dosage. For several nights of crying because I was so sleepy but couldn't sleep because I had developed restless leg syndrome after my dose adjustment. After a week of doing this, I called my psych, and she prescribed benztropine to me. It took a few days, but each night the RLS wasn't as severe as the night before, and now I don't have it at all. It has been a blessing, but one thing I don't like is it's giving me blurry vision, brain fog, and just making me loopy, lol, which I hope will go away soon."

5 / 10
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34 Report
  • BBP...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • February 2, 2018

"I literally took Cogentin for one day (0.5 mgs twice a day), and I'm done with it. Was prescribed to help the restlessness and stiff muscles from Rexulti. My anxiety went through the roof along with throwing me into an awful, scary rage. I felt like I had turned into the female Hulk. Also caused my heart to pound like crazy, and I was shaking from head to toe. Had to take 5 mg Zyprexa and 1 mg Xanax together to calm me down just enough so I wasn't afraid of really going insane. Was an all-around scary experience for me. Of course, this won't happen to everyone...just be careful."

1 / 10
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29 Report
  • ama...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • May 6, 2016

"I was prescribed 1 mg 2 days ago to help with side effects I was having since increasing my Abilify to 10 mg a day. The first day, I could tell my restlessness and agitation had decreased by about 90%. Today is the 2nd day, and I feel even better! Now, I feel like the Abilify is actually working. I did not give 10 stars because I've had two side effects: dry mouth and blurry vision. I'm hoping as my body gets used to this medicine, those side effects will dissipate."

9 / 10
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32 Report

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  • Mar...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • April 7, 2020

"I took this new medication with haldol and it freaked me out! I couldn't sit still and had about 4mgs or 2 pills I think but they could have been 1mg pills. Nevertheless within hours of taking it with haldol, I experienced extreme agitation and was literally crawling out of my skin. Everytime I lied down I had to get back up. Couldn't sleep and kept walking around with lying down breaks in between. That's how bad it was. Felt like I was going to go into cardiac arrest with respiratory depression. At least that's what it felt like. Use precaution! Not taking ever again!"

1 / 10
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15 Report
  • veh...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • June 13, 2016

"I use to tacke morphine and I was addictit of it I went to the emergency the Dr precribe me this medication help me soooooooo much only 3 pills thats all I was perfect but now I try to withdraw the depression medicament I took 1mg I feel Super. I don't know in the future for now I am a young man again thank"

10 / 10
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23 Report
  • Mis...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 26, 2021

"I've used this medication benztropine for two different occasions of Extrapyramidal Reaction (EPR's). One was involving Geodon - which was horrific and caused acute cervical dystonia (neck spasms involving horrible cramping and locking up of the muscles where I couldn't move) - and the other was involving Abilify - which was minor and involved restless legs (akathisia). Cogentin worked well in helping the dystonia from Geodon but it did not stop the akathisia from Abilify."

5 / 10
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12 Report
  • Sun...
  • Taken for 2 to 5 years
  • May 1, 2021

"Been taking this med benztropine at 1mg for about three years for EPS - started when I got restless on Abilify, kept it when I switched to Latuda and Prolixin. Honestly, it has been a life saver for extrapyramidal movements. I also have Tardive Dyskinesia which I feel is also helped by the benztropine. No more jutting tongue, spasms, or restlessness. I’m able to take all my meds as directed with this little pill."

10 / 10
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9 Report
  • K-M...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • August 10, 2018

"I was on this medication for about 1 week and stopped taking it myself. It gave me more anxiety than I had anticipated. I was on a few other psychotropic meds at the time and couldn't deal with adding another one. I can't attest to whether or not this drug is good for what it is intended for, as I didn't use it for my full prescription."

2 / 10
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13 Report
  • raw...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • February 21, 2023

"I was initially prescribed Rexulti 2mg, but the serious side effects prompted my doctor to reduce the dosage to 1mg and add Benztropine 2mg to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, after taking Benztropine at bedtime, I woke up the next morning with an inability to read or think. Despite going to work as usual, I felt disconnected from myself and struggled to complete tasks or even form coherent sentences. My cognition was severely impaired, and I experienced memory loss and confusion. Even four days after discontinuing the medication, I still suffer from side effects, which include blurred vision, bloating, constipation, difficulty speaking, and even hallucinations. I strongly advise against using this medication, as it can be extremely debilitating and negatively impact one's ability to function in daily life."

1 / 10
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4 Report
  • Anonymous
  • Taken for 2 to 5 years
  • January 4, 2022

"I was prescribed benztropine after experiencing quite severe akathisia as result of taking Abilify. I have schizophrenia and the Abilify works wonders for that so I didn't want to swap to another antipsychotic. I was really struggling but benztropine really does take the edge off the adverse effects and helps me to calm down and get back to work. I also suffer from ADHD and so the akathisia really distracted me. I'm happy to be on this combo."

9 / 10
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6 Report
  • Car...
  • February 28, 2021

"I was on this medication for about a week but found that it didn’t help with my jaw clenching it all. It really dried out all parts of me. My throat was always dry, my eyes would become super dry and red and I would have pain behind my eyes. My lips were also incredibly chapped during the time I was on this. Wasn’t ideal"

3 / 10
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6 Report
  • Anonymous
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • July 5, 2022

"I have been having random, all over muscle spasms for 11 days now, since upping my dosage of Latuda for a manic episode of bipolar disorder from 20 mg to 40 mg. My psychiatrist doesn't think this is extrapyramidal syndrome, but obviously it is. I don't think I randomly developed MS. Anyway, the pain from constant muscle spasms was unbearable, and Cogentin helped lessen my pain immediately. I have been having this awful tightness in a thick band around my ribcage keeping me from taking a deep breath, and this fades as soon as I take the pill. Muscle cramps are still there, but much less severe. More like an annoyance than debilitating pain. 8/10 because my dry mouth is so bad I got oral thrush, and combined with baclofen (muscle relaxant) I am so incredibly tired and weak, everything is so heavy I can't lift a mug of tea to my lips, or walk properly without enormous effort. Stairs seem near impossible. But, overall positive experience for help with terrible muscle spasms side effect."

8 / 10
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4 Report
  • Ess...
  • July 24, 2022

"I have been taking Latuda for awhile now, close to three years probably. I can’t remember when the Latuda started to make me restless, but when it did, especially on weekends at home, I could not sit still, moving back and forth, and when it was really bad I’d go to bed until I would fall asleep. Fast forward to about 2-3 months ago and my new physician talked to me about cogentin. He put me on .5mg and within one or two days the side effects came but so did the calmness in my mind. I take it along with my Latuda and within an hour I’m knocked out. Sometimes I’ll wake up around 9:30 and get off my couch and go grab the bed. No more Latuda side effects thank goodness. A few of my side effects include sleepiness, a very dry mouth, and first thing in the morning my nasal passages are all clogged but some simply saline gets rid of that for the rest of the day. Also, my throat is pretty much always dry but I drink a lot of water does help."

10 / 10
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4 Report
  • Cel...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 29, 2023

Cogentin (benztropine) "I took 0.5mg Cogentin for residual akathisia at about 3PM which helped. Unfortunately it also gave me a general feeling of unwellness, nausea with occasional dry-heaving and loss of appetite. These went away at about 6:00 but left me with a general indescribable (but not overwhelming) feeling of fear."

3 / 10
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2 Report
  • mel...
  • Taken for 10 years or more
  • January 3, 2024

"Because of antipsychotics that I've taken over the years, benztropine has been a Godsend for me. I use it every day to combat akathisia. It doesn't always get rid of akathisia completely, and if I take too much of it, it causes hallucinations, so I give this 7 out of 10. It has a sedating effect for me, so I've taken a small amount before bed, and it helps me get to sleep. All in all, it has helped me immensely."

7 / 10
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1 Report
  • Anonymous
  • August 24, 2009

Cogentin (benztropine) "It helped me a lot with akathisia."

10 / 10
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84 Report
  • leo...
  • September 26, 2010

Cogentin (benztropine) "After two days of taking this, I got blurred vision."

3 / 10
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70 Report
  • Eri...
  • June 2, 2013

Cogentin (benztropine) "This medicine worked. Took my akathisia away the moment I took it."

10 / 10
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59 Report
  • MJP...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • December 16, 2018

Cogentin (benztropine) "Currently taking 1 mg two times a day, but considering taking 1 mg at bedtime since I have side effects like brain fog. Hopefully, it will stop the restlessness that is caused by Risperdal."

9 / 10
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32 Report
  • Anonymous
  • January 12, 2010

"Totally works every time. Gets rid of almost all restlessness and agitation."

10 / 10
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53 Report
  • Anonymous
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • August 6, 2017

Cogentin (benztropine) "I took this for the side effects from Seroquel. This drug made me disoriented, confused, and forgetful. It also didn't help with my side effects."

1 / 10
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28 Report
  • Sus...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • March 28, 2014

Cogentin (benztropine) "I have just started this medicine, 100 mg, to help my tremors (head to toe). I take 2 a day. So far, it is working, even with the increase of mg."

7 / 10
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34 Report
  • rub...
  • December 8, 2015

"The medication did take care of restlessness and mild tremors caused by my bipolar and depression medication."

10 / 10
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26 Report
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.