Cyclizine - Very Dangerous Side Effects

I had cyclizine IV recently and had an immediate adverse reaction to it. I seemed to go bonkers for a bit, felt 10 times sicker than before being given it, couldn't think straight and had what felt like an ice cream headache. My heart rate was erratic and then I started to shiver uncontrollably which went on for ages. The doctor administering it didn't seem bothered by this reaction but the doctor who saw me the next day noticed the changes in my heart rate (tachycardia? I think he said) on my chart and I told him that I'd had cyclizine. He realised immediately that I'd had an allergic reaction and took it off my meds list. He said some people react as if they've been given adrenaline.

i was amazed and disgusted to read these experiences. in may 2009 i was admitted to hospital with sickness and given cyclizine by iv within 10 secs i knew something was wrong my heart was pumping faster than it could manage and my boyfriend said he could see my neck pulsing way too fast and hard. i honestly thought i was going to die and the nurses left me for 5 mins alone and didn't believe how bad my heart was until they felt my wrist and then wired me up to ecg and admitted me. my records stated gastro not reaction. now in december and i have just been diagnosed with atrial tachycardia i have had non stop reactions to meds and palpatations since may thanks to what i beleive to be totally caused by cyclizine 100% its completely ruined my health please feel free to contact me with same experience 01214232991

I was given cyclizine IV in hospital. I started feeling much more sick (I would have been sick if I had had anything in my stomach), I was shaking uncontrollably, I was so dizzy I couldn't move my hand, I felt like I was floating (not in a good way) and I couldn't feel my legs. It was the worst I have ever felt in my life. The nurses didn't care. I felt awful for the rest of the day until they gave me half dose of ondansetron IV which helped. Don't know why I reacted like this to cyclizine. I'm scared of trying other medications now.

i was prescribed cyclizine and the first tablet i took within the hour i felt like i could not move and just laid on the sofa for 1 hour as if i was spaced out(not in a good way). i managed to get up and my heart rate was very fast and i was having bad palpitations thinking i was going to die. it took 12 hours to feel a bit better. im only 30 and very fit. i know the tablet was the cause to this...

If you feel that a symptom is due to a side effect of a medicine that you have taken then you may wish to report it to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) via their yellow card scheme -

yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

Patient Admin Team

[quote:3e5cf346d1=\"pants\"] i was prescribed cyclizine and the first tablet i took within the hour i felt like i could not move and just laid on the sofa for 1 hour as if i was spaced out(not in a good way). i managed to get up and my heart rate was very fast and i was having bad palpitations thinking i was going to die. it took 12 hours to feel a bit better. im only 30 and very fit. i know the tablet was the cause to this...[/quote:3e5cf346d1]

More or less exactly the same here. Prescribed for nausea, but it took a couple of days for the palpitations / tachycardia to arise, but they were serious enough to be admitted to hospital twice in as many days...

I had appendicitus when I was 15, and to cut a long story short, they screwed the op and I got septisemia and was in hospital for a few weeks hooked onto a morphine iv. The morphine caused nausea and so I was given an antiemetic but my body grew used to this and I was moved on to cyclizine. From what I can remember - I was pretty spaced out as you can imagine - they gave it me through an IV and within seconds I had uncontrolable shakes, a cold sweat and an utter feeling of imminent vomiting. The shakes were the worst part with my eyelids fluttering and my entire body in convulsions; I was catching glimpses of doctors and med students looking at (and I hope trying to help) me. And then to top it off I started with another morphine-induced out of body experience, watching myself shaking from above. I thought I was going to die. It's just catching up with me now some years later how much of a scary impact that had on me and I think there needs to be a great deal of research into cyclizine as from what I can see, many people have allergic reactions to it, from mild to severe, and this cannot be acceptable.

I fell and hit my head and started vomiting and I passed out.

I had to be ambulances to the hospital and they gave me cyclazine I.V which it turns out I'm allergic to and my heart beat went up to 189 bpm and I flatlined then went back up, For 10 seconds 

it was so weird, I could feel myself being pulled out of my bed and the ceiling was covered in words, 

there was a orange light  and then the doctors put an oxygen mask on me and my heart was okay but I was shaking and cold.

also I could feel myself leaving me body when I flatlined,

my arms/hands and legs/feet became numb and paralysed.

I remember a feeling like I was tripping.

This drug caused my Mum to be paralised and unable to walk for six months. The drug company managed to get a letter from the hospital saying they don't think the drug caused it so they dropped the investergation and would not look into it any further (As they would...) The hospital has edited notes and lied in many letters as it was given intravionously very fast (probably causing the effect). None of the doctors will admit it in writing although on the phone they say the drug caused it. Lawers want a win before investergating. I really am having trouble getting to the bottom of this grug and getting it exposed for how dangerous it really is, especally in the wrong hands who do not have the experiance on how to administer it correctly. If anyone has had a result from a case or investergating this drug, please let me know.

I had this Cyclizine given to me via IV when I was admitted in the hospital back 4 months ago. That time I was having nausea hence been given this. Seconds after they injected via IV, my heart started beating extremely fast and I could not move at all and even could not make any sound to draw attention of the nurse who just injected this to me. What I could remember before I lost my consciousness completely was that nurse running approaching me again because I almost fell out of my bed. When I regained my consciouness later, I've been surounding by doctors and machines. I heard one doctor reported to another doctor that my GCS score was 12 out of 15. When I asked explanation they said that is Glasgow Coma Scale, that my condition before quite frightening and that's mean I allergic to this medication. To be honest I thought I almost died, this experience was really scared me.

I think this is crazy that this drug is not used by the NHS responsibly, if they are going to use this drug with IV then tests should be run first, apparently all they look for is past history, and in my case they could not get hold of the information so they gave it anyway. The doctor said it had to be given orally, it was given by IV then the notes were edited after the effects. Somebody out there must know if this is behaviour that the Doctors can get away with!

Hi All - as one of the posts above says, please, please, PLEASE report your experiences to the MHRA, using the Yellow Card scheme.

The MHRA are responsible for licensing drugs in the UK and this Yellow Card scheme is open to the general public and doctors alike, so that we can give feedback on the side effects of drugs. The problem is that not many people know about this scheme, so the MHRA won't be getting back much feedback and thus drugs like this will seem to be "safe" when perhaps they are not at all safe!! But without the data, it's not possible for the MHRA to make a decision and the drug will continue to be marketed.

You can do this online - type MHRA yellow card into Google.

I can't stress enough how important this is. Doctors often don't have time to do this themselves, so it's DOWN TO US to make sure the MHRA know about these side effects. I am pretty convinced that drugs like this, which cause "extrapyramidal effects" (please Google this) should not be on the market (also metoclopramide, domperidone, etc). I am going to do more research into it and will be following up with the MHRA, as I am having some side effects from metoclopramide and domperidone. I am just a normal member of the public, but I happen to work in the pharma industry, which is how I know about the Yellow Card scheme.

It's really important that, once drugs are licensed, we report the side effects we're having. When clinical trials are performed (which, contrary to popular belief, are very tightly regulated and generally well executed - I have every faith in the industry and have seen nothing but "good practice" during my career), they don't necessarily include patients who are taking lots of other medications. This is rightly so, as otherwise it would be impossible to understand the trial results. But, once the drug is marketed and people like us take them, we need to let the MHRA know of any side effects. For example, I am taking painkillers, antacids and HRT, so will that make me more prone to side effects? We will only know if we all send in our side effects.

I am going to try and campaign to get the government to let more people know about the Yellow Card scheme. In the meantime, please do report your side effects and tell all you family and friends to report theirs too. Let's start helping to create a big database of information on side effects, so that, if a drug is dangerous, it can be taken off the market.