phenergan shot vs. pill?

shanwalk2 · May 2011

I have been incredibly sick. I went to the doctor yesterday and they gave me a shot of phenegran to help with my nausea. It did (sort of) help with my nausea - but it made me feel like a drunk crazy woman for at least 6-8 hours. I couldn't even hold a glass of water.

After a lot of testing that came back clear - they said I have a horrible bacterial infection and gave me some meds and a prescription for phenergan in the pill form.

Honestly, I don't want to take the pill again if it's going to make me feel like the shot did. Anyone else had both and can speak for the strength of one vs. the other? I guess I could start with half a pill... but I'm feeling a little better from yesterday, and I don't want the pill to make me feel worse.

PrincessBrideSarah · May 2011

Phenergan also comes in a suppository (just saying in case that is what your prescription is for).

Did the shot have the same amount of medicine in it that your prescription is for?

I have taken phenergan in both the 12.5 mg dose and the 25 mg dose, and it makes me feel sleepy and tired. I only take it if I know I can lie down and sleep off the queasiness. I have broken the 25 mg tablet in half if I didn't want to be quite as sleepy.

I don't plan on doing anything other than lying down after I take phenergan.

lrb · May 2011

Phenergran made me feel cuckoo crazy. I couldn't take it- dizzy, lightheaded, sleepy. Like pp, I had to sleep it off every time. The dr rx'ed it for me with first baby when I was still working and there was NO way that I could use it. I told them that and they rx'ed me generic Zofran instead. MUCHO better. See if you can get your hands on that instead. They usually try to rx Phenergran first b/c Zofran is very expensive and some insurances won't cover too many pills. I've never had a problem with my insurance covering it but that's why the nurse explained the Phenergran first method.

shanwalk2 · May 2011

PrincessBrideSarah:
Phenergan also comes in a suppository (just saying in case that is what your prescription is for).
Did the shot have the same amount of medicine in it that your prescription is for?
I have taken phenergan in both the 12.5 mg dose and the 25 mg dose, and it makes me feel sleepy and tired. I only take it if I know I can lie down and sleep off the queasiness. I have broken the 25 mg tablet in half if I didn't want to be quite as sleepy.
I don't plan on doing anything other than lying down after I take phenergan.

hmmm. maybe they should have run all those tests and talked about important medical information BEFORE they gave that shot to me. Thank goodness DH came around because I couldn't even keep my eyes open to talk to the doctors. (plus I hadn't slept in 24 hours because I had been up all night).

I don't know how much they gave me in a shot, but they gave me the 25mg tablet. I def. break if half I need to resort to the pill again.

labbielover07 · May 2011

Phenergan knocked me out! I was given that and the Zofran during my first trimester because I was sick all the time. I couldn't really take the phenergan because it made me so tired and weak. I only took it if I was feeling really sick and I could lay down and not worry about anything for awhile. Could you be given Zofran for nausea instead? I'm sorry you have been so sick

PrincessBrideSarah · May 2011

People do swear by Zofran, but it is unbelievably expensive, even if generic. You can get a bottle of phenergan for the cost of one Zofran.

PrincessBrideSarah · May 2011

PrincessBrideSarah:
People do swear by Zofran, but it is unbelievably expensive, even if generic. You can get a bottle of phenergan for the cost of one Zofran.

If you are really miserable, though, the cost of Zofran may be worth it.

labbielover07 · May 2011

Not sure what insurance you have, but under my insurance at the time the Zofran (generic) was free and under DH's insurance (United healthcare) it was only $10. Even retail cost of that is like $20 or $30. Def. no more than $50. That drug has been around awhile. Just like phenergan.

MrsBeckO · May 2011

labbielover07:
Not sure what insurance you have, but under my insurance at the time the Zofran (generic) was free and under DH's insurance (United healthcare) it was only $10. Even retail cost of that is like $20 or $30. Def. no more than $50. That drug has been around awhile. Just like phenergan.

When I was pg we paid $70-something (with insurance) for each refill of zofran and I was only allowed to get a certain # of pills each month.

labbielover07 · May 2011

MrsBeckO:
labbielover07:
Not sure what insurance you have, but under my insurance at the time the Zofran (generic) was free and under DH's insurance (United healthcare) it was only $10. Even retail cost of that is like $20 or $30. Def. no more than $50. That drug has been around awhile. Just like phenergan.
When I was pg we paid $70-something (with insurance) for each refill of zofran and I was only allowed to get a certain # of pills each month.

Ugh not cool. I guess it all depends on what insurance you have.

intheatx · May 2011

Re: Zofran - This may be TMI, but while zofran doesn't knock you out like Phernergan, for me, zofran had the nasty side effect of causing some pretty serious constipation. To the point that, while pregnant, I preferred the lovely sensation of morning (all-day) sickness. On the weekends and in the evenings I'd take phenergan, and would just plan to go right to bed. Hope you get to feeling better soon!!!

PrincessBrideSarah · May 2011

labbielover07:
Not sure what insurance you have, but under my insurance at the time the Zofran (generic) was free and under DH's insurance (United healthcare) it was only $10. Even retail cost of that is like $20 or $30. Def. no more than $50. That drug has been around awhile. Just like phenergan.

I was curious about the price/restrictions, so I looked it up on my pharmacy plan's website. Zofran (even generic) used to require a coverage review to be covered at all. The generic was also really, really expensive, and we have a 20% drug co-pay so that can also get pricey.

According to my pharmacy plan, they now only require a coverage review/approval over a certain # of pills. The generic price has also gone way, way down since I last checked a couple of years ago. The generic used to cost like $10 per pill.

The costs listed were:

Zofran 4 mg pills--quantity of 30--full retail price is $698

For 30 generic pills, full retail price is $27.00.

If I had known that, I wouldn't have asked my doctor to give me phenergan the last time around. I didn't want to deal with the act of Congress required for authorization plus pay a big co-pay.

Dang it. I could have had a lot better relief from morning sickness, but my thrifty self was trying to do the fiscally responsible thing.

PrincessBrideSarah · May 2011

I do hope you feel better soon!

GI stuff is misery.

shanwalk2 · May 2011

thanks for the help, guys. I'm holding off on take phenergan today and seeing how I do.

They said "this might make you a little sleepy" so I wasn't prepared for the weakness and EXTREME tiredness. I felt like I had been drugged to the point I couldn't complete sentences.

Thankfully, I don't feel like I'm going to die (like I did yesterday), so I see today as a huge improvement and I've already started my antibotics.

brideonjuly8 · May 2011

shanwalk2:

thanks for the help, guys. I'm holding off on take phenergan today and seeing how I do.

They said "this might make you a little sleepy" so I wasn't prepared for the weakness and EXTREME tiredness. I felt like I had been drugged to the point I couldn't complete sentences.

Thankfully, I don't feel like I'm going to die (like I did yesterday), so I see today as a huge improvement and I've already started my antibotics.

I took it after my surgery last fall to get a good nights sleep and I stayed in bed for 48 hours. It knockd me on my ass. I won't take phenegren again unless I absolutely have to!

misjenn · May 2011

I took the pill while I was pregnant and my husband had to stay home for 2 days because I couldn't get out of bed. I was hallucinating, itchy and felt as if I had been hit by a truck. It was the worst reaction to a drug I have ever experienced.

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