Haldol and Drowsiness: What Users Say

• eri...
• September 14, 2017

For Psychosis "I have been taking 50mg decanoate every 28 days, and 10mg/day orally for schizoaffective. This has been the most effective medicine I have ever used! (I have tried all the atypicals with no luck except olanzapine and lurasidone.) I have been taking it for over 10 years now. Absolutely no side effects for me, not even weight gain. When I get the shot, I usually take a nap in the afternoon because it makes me sleepy. If I don't take Haldol, I normally get very religious (but a twisted type of religious) and tortured with psychosis, and generally feel awful with bags under my eyes, acting weird, and not being able to sleep - usually landing me in the hospital. Haldol balances me almost exactly, and I am able to program computers, read, and be happy."

• Mic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 29, 2020

For Nausea/Vomiting "Sometime after my same-day surgery to treat a cancer tumor, I was given some unspecified amount of Haldol through my IV line. I was shocked when I heard I was given Haldol since it is known as an antipsychotic drug with very severe side effects. I had no idea it was ever used for the prevention of nausea and vomiting over all standards such as Zofran. Since I had the same procedure several weeks earlier, I was amazed to define the effects of what I thought was just the anesthesia were so much more severe. I had disorientation, restlessness, anxiety, memory problems, tiredness, sleepiness, constipation, and even some depression. I can only attribute the difference in my reaction to the use of Haldol. It's been about 48 hours since I was discharged from the hospital, and I still don't feel right. My advice to any patient who may be given this drug to treat/prevent nausea and vomiting is to request something else that's much safer. I would certainly never take this again."

• Anonymous
• March 3, 2010

For Nausea/Vomiting "Haldol was given to my mother for nausea/vomiting in her final days/weeks of battling colon cancer. Haldol worked great for nausea, but the side effects were horrible. She was not drowsy, she was out! Not coherent, confused, wasn't able to eat, and at times was agitated. Be very careful using this medication. It took two days after stopping the medication for it to leave her system and return to a normal state of mind."

• Sta...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 16, 2013

For Nausea/Vomiting "Experiencing horrible nausea/vomiting with Dilaudid for pain associated with Stage 4 breast cancer. My normal anti-nausea medication was Zofran, but it started to not work. I was given 0.5 mg I.V. of Haldol every hour for nausea. It worked, but did 'knock me to nap' for a little while. After I woke up, I did feel groggy and was able to eat and drink without incident."

• Noc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 10, 2021

For Psychosis "Haldol gave me extreme akathisia that I couldn’t bear, so I had to go off of it. Wasn’t on it long enough to experience many other side effects that could come with it, but I will say it helped with my paranoid thoughts a bit, but also made me feel drunk and not myself."

• mmm...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 15, 2023

For Nausea/Vomiting "Was given for nausea that didn’t respond to Zofran. Almost immediately after the IM injection, I became drowsy and agitated and had such bad anxiety I felt like I needed to leave the hospital. I was up all night with muscle twitches and anxiety, I couldn’t stop pacing. Ended up going back to the hospital for Ativan and Benadryl, and I was told my reaction was a common reaction to Haldol. It took me days to feel back to normal. I’d rather be sick than take this ever again!"

• Roc...
• January 6, 2021

For Nausea/Vomiting "Was in for laparoscopy procedure and was very nauseous after the surgery. Initial treatment with Zofran wasn’t helpful, so they then injected Haldol to relieve the emesis and nausea. It made me feel drowsy and restless at the same time. I can’t tell if I’m thankful it helped as an antiemetic or if I absolutely hate it because of the restless legs, anxious, crawling out of my skin feelings. It made resting and sleep very difficult after a really long day at the hospital. My advice: see if the doctor has exhausted all other medications/solutions first! The side effects may make you regret taking it."

• Log...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 18, 2021

For Nausea/Vomiting "I experience nausea/vomiting related to my epilepsy after I have seizures. Sometimes it will last for over a week, and I mean vomiting lasting 4+ hours at a time. Luckily, this has no side effects for me besides sleepiness. Makes me feel better within a half hour. Zofran, Reglan, and Phenergan did me no good. It’s been a lifesaver for me."