Where’s the new music, Kelly?
After our last few music projects, I began to shake. My jaw made weird movements. My fingers and arms jerked or twitched uncontrollably. My legs constantly flex off and on, toes curl back and forth. I make grunt noises. I can’t help it. A lot of folks mistake all these symptoms for a psychiatric disorder. It’s in fact a neurological one. But it’s from taking psychiatric meds for a long time.
WTF is Tardive Dyskinesia?
TD (Tardive Dyskinesia) changed my world a few years ago and I’ve been trying to cope since. The djembe has been a great help. “At least I got djembe” is a commonly spoken phrase in my head. It’s much easier when I’m struggling to hop on a drum and get going. Sometimes my fingers don’t work but I’m good for a whole hand.
I have been in and out of hospitals and psychiatric care for years. The last ten or so have been pretty steady. I started shaking recently. It’s actually the treatment that did this to me. I’d like to warn you about that. I didn’t know. I would have done something different if I did.
It’s the Meds
TD is from meds. Antipsychotic meds, to be specific. Once you take so much, you run the risk of being a shake factory, like me. Check your meds if you’re in treatment of some sort. See if you have options. It sucks.
People look at me funny. I do telemed with my doc sometimes and he even sees it over the phone. Been asked if I have Parkinson’s. I’m only 48, the last couple years have felt like an eternity.
It’s preventable. It exists. It exists yet it’s preventable.
This sh*t is expensive.
My TD medicine is a huge expense and a hassle. Even though I get a discount, I have to write the manufacturer and go through a procedural hurdle to get it. Otherwise, it’s 4 grand a month. I don’t have that kind of money. It’s ridiculous.
Educate!
Learn about TD if you’re in psychiatric care. If you’re lip-smacking or grinding your jaw uncontrollably, make sure to tell your doctor pronto. You might need a med change. I did.
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