Compazine and Nausea: What Users Say

• Nbc...
• September 4, 2020

For Anxiety "I went to the ER 4 days ago with what was assumed to be a horrible migraine. I’ve had them since I was 12 but had never had anything like this. When I got there, the doctor was very cold and dismissive when I was terrified. Long story short, she said she was going to order me to get Toradol, Benadryl, and Compazine (the migraine concoction). I have had Toradol before, and everyone has had Benadryl, so I wasn’t concerned. It took forever for me to get it, and within less than a minute, I felt like I was having a heart attack. I do have panic disorder, but this was different, I started sweating profusely, I was nauseous, my heart rate and my blood pressure skyrocketed, I felt that I was trying to come out of my own skin, and there was zero way to make it stop. I begged to have it reversed, and they gave me Ativan, which did not work, and I refused another dose of Ativan because I was too scared to get any other medications. After days of feeling horrible, I will never have this drug again."

• Rob...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 3, 2020

For Anxiety "Just got out of the ER with my daughter. She got the 'migraine cocktail' with Compazine as well. She became irritable at the hospital and just wanted to leave. They finally discharged her, and she started feeling nauseous on the way home. Has been vomiting for an hour now and full of anxiety. She's begging for it 'to just stop.' Nothing online for a counter agent. I am annoyed because my wife mentioned the drug gave her lockjaw as a child, but the doctor said drug allergies/reactions are not hereditary. And he also never mentioned any side effects until we got home and called back to find out if she needed to return. It may work for some people, but be wary. My family is no longer taking it. Two strikes and you are out."

• MMa...
• February 18, 2019

For Nausea/Vomiting "I went into the ER for a migraine. The nurse gave me a 'cocktail' of meds: Toradol, Compazine, and Benadryl. He told me my migraine should be gone within 15 minutes. BUT within minutes of the Compazine being given to me through IV, I felt the worst I have ever felt. Agitated, restless, scared. It was the worst anxiety/panic I have felt. I wanted to die so bad. I NEEDED help and I kept calling out, and they just told me 'it'll wear off.' I was hollering and crying and upset and absolutely terrified. I couldn't stop shaking, I wanted to rip my IV out and run out of there as fast as I could. It's been 2 weeks and I still don't feel like myself. I have these bursts of panic and nausea, I feel completely and utterly distraught. I told my doctor about it, but they just dismissed me. I'm scared this feeling will never go away. It was completely traumatizing, and I don't recommend this to anyone ever. I do not wish this on my worst enemy, and you couldn't get me to take this again for a billion dollars."

• sad...
• January 19, 2019

For Nausea/Vomiting "Background info: I have a long medical history of generalized anxiety disorder and panic attacks. This medication caused the worst mental and physical distress I’ve experienced in my entire life. I am not exaggerating; this was beyond any panic attack I’ve ever had, almost to the point that “panic” doesn’t suffice to explain what I felt. Every muscle in my body was tense and cramped, to the point that I wanted to crawl out of my skin. My stomach was clenched, and despite this being an anti-emetic, I felt like vomiting. I could not sit still or get comfortable, and I ended up pacing like a lunatic for hours. I felt horribly self-conscious and emotionally distraught, and I truly wished that these terrible feelings would end. Please, stay far away from this medication! Even if you’re not an anxious person, don’t risk it. I’ve been through some horrible things in my life, but the feelings that Compazine caused me are very near the top of the list."

• ano...
• November 29, 2018

For Nausea/Vomiting "My mother had a colonoscopy and had a vocal chord spasm, which caused her to cough during it. They gave her some medicine (I don't remember the name) to help dry up her secretions and calm down the coughing. This made her chest tight, painful, and made her feel nauseous after she got home. I took her to the ER, she is allergic to Reglan, so they gave her a mix of Benadryl and Compazine for nausea. Within 5 minutes, she was jittering around and felt like she wanted to rip her IVs out and run home. Her anxiety skyrocketed and her heart rate went up to 154 bpm. It wasn't until they gave her Ativan that her heart rate went down and she was able to calm down. We got sent home, and she was still anxious and fidgeting around for about 4 hours until she finally fell asleep. She woke up and still felt a little anxious and fidgety, but not near as bad as last night. One of the worst experiences she and I have ever had, and she is going to have it noted that she is allergic so she never has to go through it again."

• mmm...
• July 11, 2016

For Nausea/Vomiting "If I could rate this lower than a 1, I would. Worst. Experience. Of my life. I had severe nausea from a dental infection in the hospital, and the doctors gave me Compazine through IV. I don't even know when this happened, but I had a crazy out-of-body experience. I saw myself laying in my bed and had no idea where I was. I thought I was in Arizona at first, at a hotel, and then freaked out because I had no clue who the people in the room were (my parents, my regular nurses). The room spun, and then I vomited everywhere. It was horrifying. I was nauseous for about twelve more hours and then had hallucinations. I saw people walking in and out of my hospital room that I knew damn well weren't real or there. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG."

• EAa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 16, 2019

For Nausea/Vomiting "I've never experienced anxiety, I don't take any medication for anxiety, but thanks to this drug, I had my first panic attack. I went to the ER for extreme nausea due to painkillers given to me to alleviate the pain of some kidney stones. Right after being given this medication, I started feeling jittery and like I couldn't breathe. Ten minutes later, I wanted to rip out my own IV, my entire body was shaking and was having facial contractions. The doctor laughed it off, saying I was being overly dramatic and I just needed to breathe. It was the worst experience I've ever had, and I thought the kidney stones were bad enough. Three days later, and I'm finally starting to feel like myself again. I will never take this drug again and have no idea why it's still on the market."

• Me2...
• January 22, 2021

For Nausea/Vomiting "I went to the doctor because of my dizziness and nausea. The doctor had prescribed Compazine to me for my nausea, which didn’t even work. Jump forward a few days, and I go to the ER to see if they can do something about it when I noticed I started having seizure-like attacks, where my body would stay in one position and my eyes would roll to the back of my head. The doctor said it was because I was allergic to the drug, even though I didn’t know. But isn’t Compazine supposed to no longer be sold?"

• Dra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 5, 2022

For Nausea/Vomiting "Was given this drug in the ER for a migraine and nausea, they didn’t tell me what they were given, and I had the worst headache and didn’t even ask. Lo and behold, this medicine ruined my life after one dose!!! Was given with Benadryl, and I felt extremely anxious, panicky, my legs and body were so restless I thought I was gonna die on the CT table. I couldn’t put words together. It’s been 5 days, and I’m still not the same: panic attacks galore, anxiety, tight band around head/headache, fear of doom, and dizziness galore. This should be illegal."

• Bri...
• June 11, 2018

For Nausea/Vomiting "I am nine weeks pregnant, and I went into the hospital last night with severe nausea and vomiting. I hadn’t eaten anything for almost 3 days and was down 5 pounds. I was having a migraine from dehydration, and they gave me IV Compazine, and within four minutes, I was feeling like I wanted to step out of my own body. I had severe anxiety, I felt like I wanted to rip out my IV and run home as fast as I could. I had this overwhelming sense of being so unbelievably uncomfortable that I couldn’t close my eyes because I was so panicky and so shaky, so uncomfortable I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. I will absolutely never take this medication again. It’s been almost 24 hours since that medication was given to me, and I’m just now starting to feel back to my old self again. Needless to say, I’m on Zofran now for my nausea, and you couldn’t pay me to take Compazine again."

• Ass...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 28, 2014

For Nausea/Vomiting "I was in the hospital suffering from post-lumbar puncture headache and nausea/severe vomiting. IV Zofran did nothing, IV Reglan did nothing, only the IV Compazine gave me relief. Granted, as soon as it ran out, I started up again, but at least it allowed me a few hours of peace to sleep."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 30, 2017

For Nausea/Vomiting "I went to the ER with nausea, they gave me Compazine immediately. I felt hot and restless. I freaked out, they moved me from the hallway to a room where I became restless and angry. My jaw locked up, and I was shaking uncontrollably. My heart raced, and I felt like I was gonna die. My symptoms lessened after about 8 hours, where I slept off and on. I went to a different ER, and they gave me a small dose of Ativan, but it didn’t make me feel any better. The next day, I still feel panicky, and my heart feels weird, and the shaking comes and goes. I also have horrible diarrhea. Worst experience of my life."

• Amy...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 10, 2021

For Anxiety "Never EVER again. I had just gotten back to my inpatient room after having my kidney removed. I was gutted like a fish and in a lot of pain. I was having some nausea due to surgery messing with my IBD. She put Compazine in my IV, and I immediately sat up and screamed, 'What did you give me??' I was literally crawling out of my skin and started with this full-body restless leg thing and could not stop moving. Which was horrible because I had JUST come out of surgery and had multiple abdominal incisions. It went on for hours, sleep was out of the question, and they didn't bother to speak with the pharmacy to see if there was something that could reverse it or alleviate the symptoms. The resident was like, 'Gee - not sure what that's all about.' I later told my PCP, and she immediately listed it as an allergy in my chart. Never. Ever. Again."

• Mis...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 18, 2019

For Nausea/Vomiting "I was given Compazine for nausea and vomiting when I was having monthly (girls) problems, which almost always included throwing up with pain. Violent spasms, like tetany lockjaw. I did thousands of dollars of damage to my teeth, and my whole jaw was crooked for days after. But doctors all told me it was 'stress,' all in my head, not the meds. One time when I was in the hospital and they gave me Compazine by injection, it started within a few minutes, yup, it was the Compazine. Also, have to be careful with other meds that may contain it. I had Tigan, which worked pretty well, but is no longer made. Last time, the doctor gave me Zofran, but I had a tough time getting the insurance to approve it, as they wanted to give me the cheaper Compazine generics. Be very, very careful, as I have had a few pharmacists tell me some other meds were not related, only to find out that they were. Be sure to do your homework and double, triple check what is in what."

• 1au...
• September 29, 2017

For Nausea/Vomiting "I took this during my first trimester of pregnancy for nausea. It worked wonders for about two days. On the third day, I started to feel strange at work and took a break. My forehead and throat felt like they were tightening. I decided to go home, and about halfway there, I felt my jaw forcing itself to the left while my top teeth forced to the right. I couldn’t control my face or tongue whatsoever. I should have gone to the emergency room, but instead, I decided to call it a day and try to fall asleep. I didn’t fall asleep until 2 a.m. or so when the flexes in my face finally subsided. The strangest experience of my life. My neck and jaw were so sore for days afterwards."

• Anonymous
• July 28, 2009

For Nausea/Vomiting "I am an older adult in good health. I originally had dizziness (possibly from a virus or sinus bug), which caused nausea. This medication took away both symptoms within 1-2 hours, and I was able to carry on with my normal activities."

• Pse...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 21, 2017

For Nausea/Vomiting "Look up 'dystonic reaction' before taking this med and be prepared to go to the ER if your muscles start freezing up. Taking this med led to one of the scariest experiences of my life. It definitely worked for the nausea, but at the cost of becoming a squawking, paralyzed contortionist. I must have looked like I needed an exorcism by the time I arrived at the ER, but I only took an ambulance ride and several IV shots of both benztropine and Valium to get me back to normal."

• Jam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 17, 2019

For Anxiety "I was given Compazine this while in the ER for my appendix. I was still nauseous and couldn’t have Zofran yet, so they started this. This drug made me crawl out of my skin. One of the worst feelings I have ever had."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 23, 2023

For Anxiety "Couldn't stop a migraine due to spinal stenosis. Went into ER and my blood pressure was super high. They gave me Compazine to help stop nausea and vomiting. It felt like I wanted to jump out of bed. Lasts a few days where it's just a really bad anxious feeling I had never had before. I never want to experience that again."

• Mel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 13, 2019

For Anxiety "Went to the ER for a migraine and was given Compazine in IV. Within a couple of minutes, I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I literally was ready to rip my IV out. My husband went and got the nurse. I told her to get my IV out, and I didn’t care what she had to do, but I was leaving. She acted like I was a nut job but went and got the doctor. He instantly knew what it was. He said, 'Oh, I’ve seen people run out of here on this stuff.' Then why would you give it to anyone??? He gave me a big dose of Benadryl, and it did help, but I had to walk for hours. Strangely, Raglan does the same thing to me. I’ve taken Phenergan for years and had no problem until 2 months ago, and now it does the same thing. Anyone experience this with these drugs? For someone with chronic migraines with nausea, this is a problem. So far, Zofran seems to be okay, but this is one of the scariest feelings. You literally want to die and can’t stop moving. Be cautious if all these drugs they give you for nausea."

• Cys...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 24, 2019

For Nausea/Vomiting "I have cystic fibrosis, so I am constantly in and out of the hospital and have been through various drugs throughout my life. I struggle with severe anxiety, panic attacks, and OCD. I was admitted for routine IV antibiotics, and the meds made me extremely nauseous. I was given Zofran, and that didn't help, so they decided to give me Compazine. The nurse injected this drug into my port, and the effects were instant. I felt anxious, jumpy, and thought I was going crazy. My room was so small, which made it worse, and I was pacing around, ready to pass out. I thought I was going to have to be admitted into the psych ward. I rang my nurse and let her know what was happening, and she had me lay down, my legs started shaking uncontrollably. She got the doctor, and that's where my legs started locking in place and I couldn't move them. They pumped me full of Benadryl and Ativan to calm me down. It took a good 24 hours to feel relief, this induced severe PTSD from this experience."

• Bee...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 28, 2021

For Anxiety "I went to the ER for a post-lumbar puncture headache and was given a Toradol, Benadryl, and Compazine cocktail. As soon as the Compazine went in, I immediately started shaking and couldn’t stay still. It’s like I was fighting myself inside. I couldn’t figure out why I was so jittery. I kept making excuses to get up and move. I wanted to take my IV out and leave. I’m home after 5 hours, and I still can’t rest. I’ve had both Benadryl and Toradol plenty of times, so I knew it wasn’t those. I just took 2 Benadryl to try and calm down enough to sleep. Man, I will never try that again. I had no idea it would do that! I regret every second of it! I’d rather have the headache and nausea. Bad drug!"

• Wen...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 25, 2023

For Nausea/Vomiting "I’m sure this drug does work for some people, but as for the majority of us, it is a nightmare. When I was pregnant with my last child, I vomited several times a day, and in the end, I only managed to gain 14 pounds. I was very ill. Compazine was one of the few drugs that they can offer pregnant women. After I took the first pill, my nausea subsided. In its place, I had the worst anxiety that I have ever experienced. I couldn’t keep still. I wanted to just escape from my body, but of course, I knew it was the pill, and I just paced and wrung my hands until it wore off. I decided after that I would rather deal with the vomiting for the rest of my pregnancy. Fast forward 20 years. Since my encounter with Compazine, I made certain that I always had it listed with all of my physicians, right after shellfish as something I was allergic to and should never be given. I was given some in an IV since then and had the same issues."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 13, 2018

For Nausea/Vomiting "I went to the ER for a migraine that was causing me to vomit every 15-30 minutes and eventually threw my heart rate out of rhythm. They gave me IV saline and Compazine. I have mixed feelings because it worked like a miracle for the nausea, but within minutes I felt like my skin was crawling and I would die if I couldn't get out of there right away. It was like restless legs but all throughout my body. I only waited about another hour to get discharged, but it was the longest hour of my life, just absolutely miserable. My mom was with me and said the effect came on visibly, quickly, and a bit scarily. The drug did what it was intended to, but the side effect was bad enough that I don't think I will ever take it again."

• Kal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 23, 2023

For Nausea/Vomiting "They gave it to me to help with the anxiety and nausea from being in severe pain and the like. It felt like I was going crazy, couldn’t sit still, groggy but restless and antsy, pulling on my hair, wanting to throw things and rip my IV out. Benadryl didn’t help. Ativan did. Now, after 6 or so hours, I’ve only got a smidge of grogginess now."