Precautions and Warnings With Perphenazine (Cont.)

• The medication can cause a life-threatening condition called neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS). Some symptoms of NMS include:

o A high fever

o Stiff muscles

o Confusion

o An irregular pulse or blood pressure

o A fast heart rate (tachycardia)

o Sweating

o Irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias).

Tell your healthcare provider right away if think you might have NMS.

• Perphenazine can cause tardive dyskinesia, a condition involving unusual and uncontrollable body or facial movements. The condition can become permanent even if perphenazine is stopped. The best way to prevent this is to tell your healthcare provider right away if you notice any abnormal movements (including abnormal movements of the tongue) while taking the medication.
   
• Perphenazine can impair your mental or physical abilities to drive a car or operate heavy machinery. Make sure you know how the drug affects you before you do any activities that require mental concentration or physical coordination. Combining perphenazine with medications or substances that cause drowsiness (such as narcotics, alcohol, or barbiturates) can be dangerous (see Alcohol and Trilafon).
   
• The medication can increase the level of prolactin (a naturally occurring hormone) in the body. This can cause side effects such as breast changes or breast discharge, menstrual changes, or sexual problems.
   
• Since the kidneys help remove perphenazine from the body, be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have kidney disease. You may need to be monitored more closely or may need a lower perphenazine dosage if this is the case.
   
• Let your healthcare provider know if you have breathing problems, as perphenazine can make these problems worse.
   
• The medication can increase your sensitivity to the sun, which may increase your risk of sunburn. You should use sunscreen before sun exposure while taking perphenazine.
   
• Perphenazine can cause liver damage or eye problems when used for a long time.
   
• Perphenazine is considered a pregnancy Category C medication. This means that it may not be safe to take during pregnancy. Be sure to talk with your healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of using the drug while pregnant (see Trilafon and Pregnancy).
   
• Perphenazine passes through breast milk. Therefore, if you are breastfeeding or plan to start, discuss this with your healthcare provider prior to taking the drug (see Trilafon and Breastfeeding).
   
• Perphenazine can interact with certain other medications (see Drug Interactions With Perphenazine).