Benztropine Tablet: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects, Precautions and Alternates

Quick overview

Benztropine Tablet, known generically as benztropine mesylate, is a prescription anticholinergic antiparkinson medicine commonly known by the brand name Cogentin. It is used to treat movement problems caused by Parkinson's disease and certain other medicines by blocking a natural brain chemical called acetylcholine to help restore muscle control. It is available as a tablet and an injectable solution, and dosing depends on age, with careful use required in older adults and children.

What is Benztropine Tablet

Benztropine is a prescription medicine, commonly known by the brand name Cogentin, that treats movement problems caused by Parkinson's disease and certain other medicines. It works by blocking a natural brain chemical called acetylcholine to help restore muscle control.

Benztropine Tablet uses

• Helps treat Parkinson's disease, used along with other medicines, to reduce stiffness and tremors and allow more normal movement
• Treats movement problems (extrapyramidal symptoms) caused by certain medicines used for nervous, mental, and emotional conditions, such as phenothiazines or haloperidol
• It does not treat tardive dyskinesia (a movement disorder with repeated, uncontrolled movements) and may make it worse

Benefits of Benztropine Tablet

• Reduces muscle stiffness, tremors, spasms, and poor balance in Parkinson's disease, making movement easier
• Relieves severe muscle spasms, restlessness, and stiffness caused by certain psychiatric medicines
• May reduce tremors associated with Parkinson's disease
• Helps relieve muscle stiffness and rigidity
• Can improve muscle control in selected patients

How Benztropine Tablet works

Benztropine blocks a natural brain chemical called acetylcholine, which helps balance brain signals that control body movement and coordination. This reduces stiffness and tremors.

Benztropine Tablet dosage

Take this medicine by mouth with a full glass of water, exactly as your prescription label says. Keep taking it unless your care team tells you to stop; do not stop suddenly, as your symptoms may return or get worse. It is usually taken at bedtime. It is often used together with other Parkinson's disease medicines, so take all medicines your doctor prescribes at the right times. Drink plenty of water to help prevent dry mouth while taking this medicine.

Talk to your care team about using this medicine in children; it may be prescribed for children age 3 and older for certain conditions, but extra care is needed.

If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember, unless it's almost time for the next dose — in that case skip the missed dose and go back to your regular schedule. Never take two doses at once.

Available forms and strengths

• Tablet
• Injectable solution

Side effects of Benztropine Tablet

Common

• Dry mouth
• Blurred vision or dilated pupils
• Nausea and vomiting
• Constipation

Serious

• Difficulty or pain when urinating, or little or no urination
• Fast or pounding heartbeat
• Dizziness, drowsiness, or confusion
• Memory problems, visual hallucinations, or confusion, especially in older adults
• Severe worsening of urination problems if you have an enlarged prostate or bladder blockage
• Signs of allergic reaction: skin rash, itching, hives, swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat
• Signs of anticholinergic toxicity: flushed face, blurry vision, dry mouth and skin, confusion, fast or irregular heartbeat, trouble passing urine, constipation
• Fever that does not go away, or decreased sweating
• Sudden eye pain or vision changes, such as blurry vision, seeing halos around lights, or vision loss
• Muscle weakness
• Uncontrolled muscle movements

Warnings and precautions

• This medicine reduces sweating, which can lead to dangerously high body temperature or heat stroke in hot weather or during exercise.
• Do not stop taking this medicine suddenly, as your Parkinson's or movement symptoms could return sharply. Your doctor may want you to lower the dose gradually before stopping.
• This medicine can cause confusion, memory problems, visual hallucinations, or other mental changes, especially in older adults.
• This medicine should not be used in people with tardive dyskinesia, a movement disorder, and may make its symptoms worse.
• If taken with certain other medicines like phenothiazines, haloperidol, or some antidepressants, this combination has sometimes led to serious, even fatal, bowel blockage or heat stroke.
• It is not known if benztropine will harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Safe use in pregnancy has not been established.
• There isn't enough research on whether this medicine is safe during breastfeeding. Talk with your doctor about the risks and benefits before using it while breastfeeding.
• No established renal-specific dosage adjustment is available. Patients with significant kidney impairment require individualized assessment.
• Limited dosing information is available for hepatic impairment. Patients with significant liver disease require medical evaluation and monitoring.
• Drinking alcohol with this medicine can increase side effects like dizziness and drowsiness, and may add to the sedating effects of other similar drugs.
• This medicine may affect your coordination, reaction time, judgment, or ability to think or see clearly. Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how it affects you.

Storage

• Store at room temperature between 20 and 25 degrees C (68 and 77 degrees F)
• Keep from freezing
• Store in a closed container, away from heat, moisture, and direct light
• Keep out of the reach of children and pets
• Get rid of any unused medication after the expiration date
• Take unused or expired medication to a take-back program if possible
• If a take-back program isn't available, check the label or ask your care team whether it's safe to throw away in the trash; if so, mix it with something like cat litter or coffee grounds, seal it in a bag, and put it in the trash

When to see a doctor

• Get emergency help right away for signs of a serious allergic reaction: hives, difficulty breathing, or swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat.
• Call your doctor right away if you have dry mouth so severe it causes trouble talking or swallowing, little or no urination, uncontrolled muscle movements, severe vomiting or constipation, fast heartbeats, muscle weakness, vision changes such as blurred or tunnel vision, eye pain, seeing halos around lights, confusion, hallucinations, or a severe skin rash.
• If you think you've taken too much of this medicine, contact a poison control center or go to an emergency room right away.
• Seek emergency care if you notice signs of overdose, such as drowsiness, confusion, nervousness, hallucinations, fast heart rate, vomiting, numbness in your fingers, hot or dry skin, or fainting.

Alternatives

• Amantadine
• Biperiden
• Procyclidine
• Trihexyphenidyl