Tardive Diskinesia

Battlebuddy

   Well DH has been struggling with various symptoms . It looked like he was restless, twitchy . And anxious. We thought he was struggling with constipation ( he is ) or maybe it was related to the seizures he has been having this year. 

   His symptoms include: blinking his eyes,smacking/ licking his lips , moving his tongue out and from side to side. He also groans in discomfort and pain.I googled the tongue issue and all the symptoms came up for Tardive Dyskinesia.   It’s a side effect from taking anti psychotics . It can be permanent.  

  So The hospice team is going to meet tomorrow and discuss his case. I assume they are going to want to pull his Serequel . To be honest the whole thing is very scary. The thought of my husband without the support of Serequel is scary, but the thought of him having the TD and being in pain scares me too. 

   I just feel very inadequate for the job of pain management on top of everything else. 

   At least I have Hospice to help and advise. 

  If anyone has any thoughts or experience with TD I would love to hear from you.

     Thanks for listening  

toolbeltexpert

Battle buddy I had notice some of those types of symptoms, when my dw started take olanzapine, they haven't  progressed to the level your seeing. But I certainly understand your concerns. Without the Ned's behaviors are not manageable, but any side effect is also a concern. Sorry I am not much help, I just wanted to emphasize with you. I hope they can work this out with other meds that are as effective.

Stewart

MaryG123

It could also be focal seizures, which have the symptoms you describe.  I hope the team comes up with a good solution.

David J

My wife had Tardive Disconesia and the neurologist put her on a medication (can’t remember name of drug). Her symptoms were mostly in her jaw, opening and closing and moving side to side. Her tongue also moved in and out and side to side. The neuro also noted that her feet and hands were affected. That was hard to notice, since she also had an essential tremor. 

The Disconesia went away, but my wife, who was not verbal at that point, had a frantic expression on her face all the time, walked around the MCF at a fast pace, sometimes breaking into a run. She could not sit down or lie down until she was physically exhausted, and as she neared exhaustion, her walking became extremely unsteady, with her leaning to one side and backwards. This caused her to fall a few times. We decided to take her off the med, and she calmed down, but the Disconesia returned. Even with the TD, she seemed more at ease.