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Treatment for tardive dyskinesia
Making changes to your medication or coming off medication may help to treat tardive dyskinesia (TD). But it's important to speak to your doctor first. There are also other treatments that may help.
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Over a period of a couple of years my psychiatrist made medication changes and the symptoms eventually abated. I know I run the risk of them returning as I still am on quite a lot of medication.
Changing or coming off your medication
Antipsychotic medication is one of the main causes of tardive dyskinesia (TD). Making changes or coming off this medication can help some people.
If you identify the signs of TD early you might be able to stop or change your medication. Your TD might eventually go away completely. But it could take a long time.
For some people, TD may never go away, even after stopping or changing medication. And coming off medication entirely might not be an option for everyone.
Changing medication
If you've found an antipsychotic that helps you manage your mental health problem, you may not want to stop taking it.
This can be a difficult decision, especially if you feel unsure about what will help you the most in the long term.
Before you decide to stop taking medication, you and your doctor may consider changing medication instead. You might be able to:
- Take a lower dose of medication.
- Change your medication, particularly from a first generation to a second generation antipsychotic. We have more information about first and second-generation antipsychotics.
Your doctor should then monitor how you're getting on with the medication changes.
There's no single medication that works best for everyone – we all respond to them differently. You may need to try different things to find out what medication works best for you.
I gradually stepped down my antipsychotics over two months using diazepam to help with the muscle pain/spasm and mindfulness to help focus my moods and anxiety.
Deciding whether to come off medication
If changing your medication doesn't work for you, you might consider coming off medication altogether.
You might want to think about these questions before you do this:
- How does TD affect me and my day-to-day life?
- How does my medication help me and my day-to-day life?
- Do I experience other unwanted side effects from my medication, as well as TD?
- How likely am I to relapse if I come off my medication entirely?
Talk these over with your doctor. They may have suggestions to help you cope with or minimise problems. For example:
- If you're taking Parkinson's drugs, coming off these may reduce the risk of getting TD
- Learning self-care tips might help you cope better with your symptoms
Coming off medication
If you decide to come off your medication, it's important to do it safely.
It's also important to remember:
- Sometimes, withdrawal can cause involuntary muscle movements or movement disorders that look like TD. This often gets better with time.
- The longer you've been taking a drug, the more likely you are to feel withdrawal effects, and find it harder to come off. You may need to reduce your dose very gradually to minimise these effects. For more information, see our page on coming off antipsychotics.
Thankfully I saw an understanding GP who took me off the antipsychotic and contacted my psychiatrist to change me to another more suitable medication.
Drugs on prescription
In the UK, the only drug licensed for treating TD is tetrabenazine. It's used to treat movement disorders.
But common side effects of this drug include Parkinsonism, anxiety and depression. So you may want to think carefully before considering this option.
Trials are being carried out on medications that already have approval in other countries.
Medical procedures
Some researchers are looking into treating TD through the use of:
- Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
- Botulinum toxin, which is also called Botox
DBS is sometimes used to treat symptoms of Parkinson's. There's more information about this on the Parkinson's UK website.
Botox is sometimes used for symptoms of dystonia. There's more information about this on Dystonia UK's website.
But studies have not yet been able to confirm if these treatments are safe for TD, or whether they work.
Supplements and herbal medicines
Studies suggest that some supplements or herbal medicines may help with TD. But more research is needed to be sure.
They include:
- Vitamin E – a supplement that may help to stop TD from getting worse. But it has not been shown to stop TD completely.
- Vitamin B6 – a supplement that might help with some symptoms of TD.
- Ginkgo biloba – a herbal medicine that might help with some symptoms of TD.
It's important to talk to a doctor or pharmacist before taking any new medication or supplements. This includes drugs you can buy without prescription, often called over-the-counter drugs. Some drugs could interact with each other and cause bad side effects.
It's also important to always follow the instructions on the packet or patient information leaflet.
See our page on herbal remedies for more information.
See more on tardive dyskinesia (TD)
Signs and symptoms of tardive dyskinesia
- Treatment for tardive dyskinesia
Published: January 2025
Next review planned: January 2028
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