Dangers of long-term Phenergan usage?

[nuclearpowerpants]

Hi, I have severe allergies and the resulting nasal congestion and asthma makes it very hard for me to sleep at night. I have tried dozens of sedatives and sleeping drugs (as well as the whole meditation, therapy angle) and surprisingly, the most effective solution has been 20 - 25mg of phenergan each night. My immunologist expressed concern about me taking phenergan every night, but I have been doing so for about 3 months now will no ill effects.
Does anyone know if there is a danger of taking this strong dose of Phenergan regularly for a long period of time?
Thanks!

[frenchy20770]

I have been taking 25mg Phenergan for the last 8yrs for help in trying to stay asleep in the early mornings and have found it to do wonders-if i miss a night i will be awake at 3am!!!! - i have had no side effects but am now finding if i have a dream or something that i have to do at work the next day, which wakes me up, that will be it...i'm awake!..too bloody early

[nuclearpowerpants]

Please, I'm very concerned by your post. I have now been taking Phenergan 25mg for almost a year and I'm finding it extremely hard to ween myself off of it.
It helps me sleep so well (even better than any sleeping pill) and without it I find I have a huge amount of energy and wakefullness well into the night.

Are the side-effects and damages you mentioned permanent? Especially the nasal congestion, because I find this the most disruptive symptom that I have generally because it interrupts my breathing.
Thank you for your advice!

[nuclearpowerpants]

Holy moly! Were you taking pills or injections?

[CrohnsDiseaseSN]

I have been taking phenergan ONE HUNDRED mgs for 3yrs now for Crohn's Disease- and it has been hell. YESTERDAY 2/19/09 I leanred of the dangers of long term phenergan, reglan, and compazine usage. It started with minor hand tremors ...then it progressed to not sleeping well. After that over the years I started to become increasinly restless. The last 2 months have been utter just horrible. My legs were constantly moving or flexing/twitching uncontrolably when I was at a state of rest/relaxion - which is often since I am fatigued a lot from Crohn's (I have an acute case). this spread to my arms and then neck/head. It is NEVER painful but a feeling of restlessness - like I want to crawl out of my skin ...like I have energy building up and if I don't move or twitch it drives me mad. After talking with a fellow patient I saw my doctor and talked to them and sure enough .... the phenergan has caused neruological damage. The question now is it permanent. I am OFF phenergan and on Zofran now. They gave me klonopin for the restlessness and it has helped for now. Hopefully the damage is not permanent but time will tell.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Well, there is no clear cut definition for long term use. Also in patients with asthma and nasal congestion it is advisable to not take the medication for too long as it can precipitate an asthma attack after chronic use. You have not suffered any side effects after 3 months of use (which can be considered long) whereas another person may feel the effects earlier. Hence the pros and cons can be decided on case to case basis. Please discuss with your doctor. Take care!

[nuclearpowerpants]

Wow! Thanks for the info... it's interesting to note that my GP did not mention these long term side effects even after I asked about the effects of long term use.
My question is: how long is too long? A few weeks, months, years?
Thanks!