Dear Dr. Hibberd:
I have been diagnosed with a mild form of tardive dyskinesia. Can you explain this condition? Do you know of any promising medications or supplements that help alleviate the symptoms? I’ve tried vitamin E, but so far it doesn’t seem to help.


Answer:
Are you taking antipsychotic drugs or other medications which can cause this condition? Tarditive dyskinesia (TD) is a serious and many times irreversible side effect of major tranquilizer medications, most often neuroleptics. It may occur immediately, or its onset may be delayed for months or years. There is no known cure for TD once it is present, though drug withdrawal is always advised. Some neuroleptic drugs are more prone to produce TD than others and usually we need to treat the TD symtoms first, usually with neurology consultation, then once relieved find a suitable replacement for the
antipsychotic drug. Anectodal reports of improvement with vitamin E, B6, melatonin, etc. are not proven and will simply confuse you. An antihistamine (benadryl) is often very useful with dyskinesia, and may provide temporizing relief while your medication types and doses are reviewed with your doctors.