Although the repetitive and uncontrollable muscle movements of tardive dyskinesia (TD) may be difficult to live with, it’s possible you’ll worry that it's not value taking steps to treat it. Or possibly you don't know where to begin. Before you hand over on getting help, know that TD affects each physical and mental health for many individuals. These effects can often result in isolation, which may further impact your personal well-being. Support and treatment may help with each the physical and emotional effects of TD. Living with TD
Although TD has no cure, it’s possible you’ll give you the chance to scale back its impact in your life by maintaining your overall health and stress levels. If you haven't already, it could be helpful:
- Stop smoking
- Stop using illegal substances
- Get diabetes under control
- Do sports often
- Treat yourself to a great night's sleep
- Stay in contact together with your doctor
It is equally essential to guard and maintain your mental health. To feel good, add the next practices to your life:
- Don't go it alone. Talk to people you trust about what you're going through.
- Use online resources and support groups to attach with other people living with TD.
- Find a counselor or therapist who can assist you to take care of the mental health challenges of your condition.
Treatment options
If your TD is causing you to isolate at home, it might be time to think about treatment. Isolation can worsen your mental health, and the stress can worsen your TD.
Doctors may offer medications and other methods to treat your TD. Your doctor may suggest the next:
Make sure you may have TD. Your psychologist who prescribes your medication may assess your movements using a tool called the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) to substantiate that your symptoms are TD. This is a vital first step because if you may have one other movement disorder, it’s possible you’ll need different treatment than TD. You can even get a second opinion in case your first doctor doesn't know much about TD or isn't sure.
Change the medications which can be causing symptoms. Antipsychotics for certain mental illnesses are essentially the most common reason behind TD. Your doctor may give you the chance to regulate your medications to stop your involuntary movements.
Your doctor might:
- Lower your dose
- Switch to a different medication with a lower risk of TD as a side effect
- Stop taking your medication completely
If you might be currently taking a first-generation antipsychotic, your doctor may suggest a second-generation medication as a substitute. Studies show that TD rates could also be lower with these newer medications. Note that although symptoms may improve after you reduce, change, or stop these medications, it is feasible that they could persist.
Changing or reducing your medications could be a difficult decision. You are probably taking a selected medication because it really works well for the condition being treated. You could have tried several other medications before finding this one. And since mental health medications mostly cause TD, it’s possible you’ll worry that changing your treatment will affect your well-being.
Some people don’t experience TD symptoms until they begin stopping antipsychotic medications. If that is your problem, it’s possible you’ll have to stay in your medication. Also note that some medications cause withdrawal symptoms that include involuntary muscle movements, but these often improve over time. The longer you are taking a medicine, the more likely you might be to feel these effects.
Take medication to treat TD movements. The FDA has approved two medications specifically to treat TD symptoms in recent times. They work by adjusting dopamine levels in your brain, which helps reduce the additional muscle movements in your body. They are:
- Deutetrabenazine (Austedo)
- Valbenazine (Ingrezza)
The potential downside to those medications is that they may be expensive. You may have concerns about adding a medicine to your each day regimen. Talk to your doctor about possible negative effects and financial support options.
Try other therapies. Some people profit from botulinum toxin (Botox) injections within the face. These injections block the facial nerves in order that they can not move involuntarily. The treatment only lasts a couple of months but may be repeated. You may be a candidate for deep brain stimulation. This is a procedure during which a surgeon implants tiny electrodes into your brain that block the abnormal nerve signals that cause your involuntary movements.