Tardive dyskinesia (TD) symptoms may be so subtle that they may only be noticed by the person experiencing the symptoms or by a neurologist specializing in movement disorders who observes the patient. But they may be so pronounced that they are visible even from far away by a casual observer.

One characteristic of tardive dyskinesia that is not present with other movement disorders like Parkinson\’s disease is that the symptoms generally go away during sleep or when the patient is in a relaxed state. They may worsen with stress, and by intensely concentrating, patients can suppress the symptoms for brief periods. The symptoms may not be persent at all times, or they may have a distinctly circadian pattern. There may be some symptoms that are troublesome during rest, but which go away during purposeful movement.

Because many patients may be able to minimize their symptoms in a clinical setting by intense concentration, sometimes a clinician may have to distract the patient with conversation or asking them to engage in some mental task in order to elicit the patient\’s typical symptoms. Symptoms of TD often appear in the face and tongue first, and this is often an area of particularly close observation when a physician is diagnosing or ruling out the condition.

One difficulty with diagnosing TD is that the symptoms can mimic those of other conditions like Parkinson\’s disease, Tourette\’s syndrome, Huntington\’s disease, cerebral palsy, and stroke. Unfortunately to the non-medical observer, the symptoms of TD may be easily mistaken for a psychiatric disturbance, and many patients are shunned or deliberately isolate themselves from social contact.

Sometimes muscle groups that are not normally involved in a certain movement may become involved. This may show up, for example in the entire arm and shoulder (and sometimes the opposite arm and shoulder as well) cramping and contorting when the patient holds a pencil. Patients may accidentally discover that engaging in a second motor movement can make a difficult movement easier. For example, a person with trouble walking may find that tossing a small object from one hand to the other can make their gait more normal.

With tardive dyskinesia Reglan and other similar drugs can cause symptoms that may not be automatically connected with TD, such as depression, confusion, a \”flat\” facial affect, or disordered thinking.

Symptoms on the face may include chewing motions, wrinkling of the nose, or even locking of the jaw, which can even make eating difficult. Smacking and clicking noises are other common facial symptoms, as are movements of the eyebrows. Finger motions are also common, and may make the patient appear as if he or she is typing or playing a piano.

When tardive dyskinesia treatment begins as soon as subtle symptoms are noticed, the condition is more easily managed. That is why anyone taking a drug known to cause TD should be under careful clinical supervision throughout the course of the drug treatment, so that changes can be made and the condition can be managed before it becomes severe enough to impact quality of life.

Author Bio: Jason Bacot – Are you looking for more information on Tardive Dyskinesia and what about Tardive Dyskinesia Reglan? If so, check us out online at \”TardiveDyskinesia.net\” immediately.

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: tardive dyskinesia, tardive dyskinesia symptoms, tardive dyskinesia treatment, reglan recall