Promethazine and Hallucinations: What Users Say

• Mar...
• August 13, 2020

Promethazine for Sedation "Please be careful with these. About 3 years ago, I took some to get a few hours of sleep. I had to ask the pharmacist for them as they were kept behind the counter. I got the 25mg tablets and had no idea how strong they were. I’m embarrassed and still feel humiliated by what happened. I took 2 at first, I honestly thought they would just give me a few hours of sleep and nothing else. I was hallucinating! I won’t go into great detail, but I thought my family were in the house with me, they weren’t. My family and neighbor told me some of the things I did. They ended up calling an ambulance. I wrote to the company and also did a long internet search which I discovered that one rare side effect was, in fact, hallucinating. Please be careful with them. A big lesson learned, always take as prescribed."

• Cla...
• June 7, 2020

For Sedation "I’ve been prescribed benzos for sleep whenever I’m too anxious, on and off since I was about 20. I wanted to stop using benzos and switch to something weaker and non-prescription. I took 2 25 mg promethazine tablets the first night. I woke up 2 hours later wheezing and felt like my throat was closed up. I was so groggy I couldn’t get out of bed. I don’t remember falling asleep again, but I woke up late the next morning. My anxiety that day was worse than the anxiety I felt before sleep. I tried promethazine again a week later, this time only 1 25 mg tablet. I slept through the night, woke up groggy, and felt that intense feeling of anxiousness and paranoia again. This drug should not be sold over the counter! This drug has worse side effects than benzos! Awful drug! I will never touch it again! If you have anxiety, DO NOT take this drug! It is not safer than prescription anxiety medication, and I would consider it the worst drug I’ve tried."

• She...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 4, 2021

Promethazine for Sedation "I took two to get some sleep as I suffer from insomnia, and we had a family gathering the following day. Still hadn't fallen asleep by 5 am, so I took another one. Family turned up, I don't remember. I thought there were worms crawling in my carpet, I was talking to a mop, which I thought was a person, thought I saw millions of baby spiders on the walls. I lost track of about 36 hours and was hallucinating the entire time! After doing an internet search, I found out they can cause hallucinations! They should have it on the box. I wrote to the company but never heard back. I was so embarrassed and felt humiliated in front of my family. At one stage, they phoned for an ambulance. PLEASE be careful with them."

• A t...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 28, 2022

Promethazine for Nausea/Vomiting "Do not use this medication for anyone over 60. My mother was given this in the hospital for a mild nauseous feeling. I think they thought she would be sedated by it. She is elderly. This drug put her into a terrible state of hallucinations, delirium, and all-around restlessness for about 8 hours. It’s awful. She would have been better off with Tums. Be aware of all the side effects."

• Don...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 10, 2016

Promethazine for Allergic Reactions "My son was given a one-time dose of 25 mg of this drug intravenously for nausea in the hospital, while on IV drips which included nitroglycerin, blood pressure medications, and pain opiates. He had a *severe* reaction, which included extremely high BP spikes (over 200 systolic), seizures, disorientation, and hallucinations. The blood pressure spikes and seizures were extremely dangerous, as he had just suffered aortic dissection. It was fortunate that this drug reaction was not fatal. This drug should have a huge warning against usage with blood pressure meds, as that is a potentially fatal combination. The pharmacy should reject any request to use this drug in such a combination."

• Anonymous
• February 11, 2012

Promethazine for Nausea/Vomiting "My wife has taken this medicine in pill form to combat nausea due to chemo, with no adverse side effects. Last week, she was given a dose via her central line. She became psychotic and combative. Phenergan via IV was not good for her. Zofran is an excellent alternative."

• Kee...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 8, 2014

"I see others call this their miracle and lifesaver, and so do I. I have no idea what is wrong with me, but since an antibiotic reaction a few years ago, I have become sensitized to a million things. I get what I call 'body storms,' with anxiety, gut issues, heat flutters, loss of temperature control, strange skin and internal sensations, and hallucinations. For some reason, Phenergan seems to fix the lot! I don't think I'd still be here without it! I take 10 mg if I feel the reaction mildly, and have occasionally gone as high as three 10 mgs in one night. On one 10 mg, I sleep well but don't have any dopiness the next day. On 20 mg, I do feel a bit sleepy, and my mood is down in the morning, but it beats the body storms!"

• Lba...
• November 13, 2019

For Nausea/Vomiting "I had been given promethazine for nausea during a C-section. I had a severe allergic reaction, my blood pressure spiked dangerously high, I lost control of my body, and I couldn’t breathe. Hallucinations, thrashing around the bed immediately after being stitched up. I felt like it was the end of my life and was begging everyone around me for help. Horrendous experience :("

• Chr...
• July 19, 2023

For Light Sedation "I was recommended this by a pharmacist to take with 200 mg sertraline because the sertraline was causing insomnia. I live alone, and when I started taking one promethazine at night to help me sleep, I didn't recognize that I was feeling strange. After 4 days of taking it at night, I had been seriously hallucinating (visual and audio). Paranoid and feelings that my hallucinations (family, friends, and colleagues) were all against me and that everyone in the world hated me. At one point, I believed something was so real and that I was in danger that I called the police. It wasn't until I'd messaged a close friend with my concerns for my safety and my explanations and claims that I actually realized something was wrong with my head/mind. I'd been seeing things coming out of my wall, hearing people talk about me (while I was alone), creepy music playing, and much more. I was taken to the hospital. The docs and psychiatrists told me it was the mix of promethazine and sertraline. I thought I'd gone insane! It was petrifying :("

• Kev...
• May 20, 2013

Promethazine for Nausea/Vomiting "It took care of the nausea, but the hallucinations that came with it were a very unwelcome side effect."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 10, 2015

Promethazine for Motion Sickness "Hallucinations, nausea, irritability, and exhaustion."