Hidden Hazards of Modern Medications - Tardive Dyskinesia (TD) / Extrapyramidal Synrome (EPS)

Tardive Dyskinesia / Tardive Dyskinesia (Further Details) actually falls under the EPS (extrapyramidal symptoms) syndrome which may well include dystonia, parkinsonism etc.

Such EPS syndrome (especially physical movement disorders, including Hemifacial Spasms triggered by bodily chemical imbalances) in turn is caused by disturbances to the dopamine receptors (one of the main neurotransmitters) in the nervous system which is normally induced by most of the AAP's (atypical antipsychotics).

Included below is my experience of getting totally cured from a Tardive Dyskinesia-induced non-stop eyelid twitching sickness and I hope that the information provided will be useful to the intended readers. Thank you.

http://www.webportal.com.my/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4437

As with any medication, an assessment of risk versus benefit needs to made.

As with any medication, the potential for side effects is present.

Tardive dyskinesia is an extremely rare side effect usually associated with anti-psychotic medications.

EPS is a more common side effect, but can usually be effectively treated easily with another medication and is often avoided altogether by starting the patient on the medication at the same time as the anti-psychotic medication is begun.

Is the benefit of relief from symptoms of such devastating and debilitating illnesses such as schizophrenia worth the risk of contracting the rare TD? Millions of people taking anti-psychotics and their doctors seem to think so.

I don't wish to downplay the serious nature of TD. It can a horrendous condition that I've been fortunate enough to having witnessed only on extremely rare occasion. Once again, it returns to the risk versus benefit assessment between doctor and patient.

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* Mods: A nudge of this thread over to the Health Forum is in line I believe *

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Thank you for sharing your experience, ntuc and glad to hear your problem is resolved.

I have edited the title of this thread slightly since what is describedi s a well-known side effect rather than a "hidden hazard". Tardive dyskenesia occurs in about 5% of patients taking conventional anti-psychotic drugs per year, for which reason patients taking such medication should be medicaly evaluated at least every 6 months. Some of the newer anti-psychotics have a lower incidence of this....but only lower, not 0.

Doctors should tell patients of the possible side effects of drugs they prescribe but they don't always do so and in my experience Thai doctors are especially bad about this (they are also generally not very good about checking for medication allergies and interactions). There are exceptions, of course, but in general this is the case. Wherever you are -- and especially here in LOS -- take it upon yourself to become familiar with the side effects, contraindications and possible drug interactions of any medication you need to take on a long term basis. Luckily the internet makes this fairly easy to do. You can also ask for package inserts from the pharmacy where you get your meds, these are usually in English albeit in very tiny print.