Tardive dyskinesia is a side effect of antipsychotics. These medications are used to treat schizophrenia and other mental disorders.
TD causes stiff, jerky movements of your face and body that you simply cannot control. They might blink their eyes, stick out their tongue, or wave their arms without intending to.
Not everyone who takes an antipsychotic will get it. But when TD occurs, it is typically everlasting. So if you will have movements that you simply cannot control, tell your doctor immediately. To relieve your symptoms, your doctor may do the next:
- Reduce the dose
- Add one other medication to counteract the movements
- Switch to a different medication
Tardive dyskinesia causes stiff, jerky movements that you simply cannot control. They include:
Orofacial dyskinesia or oro-buccolingual dyskinesia: Uncontrolled movements in your face – especially your lips, jaw, or tongue. You could:
- Stick your tongue out without trying
- Blink your eyes quickly
- Chew
- Smack your lips or curl your lips
- Puff up your cheeks
- frown
- Grunt
Limb dyskinesia: It may also affect your arms, legs, fingers and toes. This may cause you to:
- Wiggle your fingers
- Tap your feet
- Flail your arms
- Stretch your pelvis outwards
- Swing backward and forward
These movements may be fast or slow. You may find it difficult to work and stay energetic.
Antipsychotics treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other brain disorders. Doctors also call them neuroleptics.
They block a brain chemical called dopamine. It helps cells communicate with one another and keeps muscles moving easily. If you don't have enough of it, your movements can develop into jerky and uncontrolled.
You can get TD if you happen to take an antipsychotic. Normally you will have to maintain it for 3 months or more. However, it has occurred in rare cases following a single dose of an antipsychotic. Older versions of those medications usually tend to cause this problem than newer ones. However, some studies find that each types have an analogous risk.
Antipsychotics that may cause tardive dyskinesia include antipsychotics corresponding to:
- Haloperidol (Haldol)
- Fluphenazine
- Risperidone (Risperdal)
- Olanzapine (Zyprexa)
Your risk of developing TD increases the longer you’re taking an antipsychotic.
Some medications used to treat nausea, reflux, and other stomach problems may also cause TD if you happen to take them for greater than 3 months. These include:
You're more more likely to get it if you happen to:
- Are a lady who has passed through menopause
- Are over 55 years old
- Abuse of alcohol or drugs
- Are African Americans or Asian Americans
TD may be difficult to diagnose. Symptoms may not appear until months or years after you begin taking antipsychotics. Or you simply notice the movements after you will have already stopped taking the medication. The timing may make it difficult to find out whether the medication caused your symptoms.
Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS): If you take medication for mental illness, your doctor should evaluate you at the very least annually to make certain you would not have TD. They can have a physical exam called the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale to assist them assess abnormal movements.
You might also do tests to search out out if you will have one other condition that causes abnormal movements, corresponding to:
To exclude these conditions you’ll be able to get:
- Blood tests
- Brain imaging studies, corresponding to a CT or MRI scan
The goal is to stop TD. If your doctor prescribes a brand new medication to treat a mental health disorder, ask in regards to the unintended effects. The advantages of the drug should outweigh the risks.
If you will have problems with movement, tell your doctor, but don’t stop taking the medication on your individual. Your doctor may stop you taking the medication that caused the movements or reduce the dose.
You may have to modify to a more moderen antipsychotic that could be less more likely to cause TD.
There are two FDA-approved medications to treat tardive dyskinesia:
Both drugs work in an analogous way by regulating the flow of dopamine in areas of the brain that control certain sorts of movements. Both can sometimes cause drowsiness. Austedo has also been shown to sometimes cause depression when utilized in patients with Huntington's disease.
There's no evidence that natural remedies can treat it, but some might help with movements:
Talk to your doctor before taking supplements on your symptoms.