Mental health articles

Unfortunately, antipsychotics may have some unwanted side effects which
must be weighed against their benefits. Sometimes, soon after someone
starts the medicine, the person may develop a tremor of their fingers,
dribble saliva and find it difficult to move because they feel rigid. These
symptoms are similar to those experienced by people who have Parkinson’s
disease and so they are called parkinsonian symptoms. Drugs such as
procyclidine (brand name: Kemadrin) or orphenadrine (brand name:
Disipal) may be given to treat these. The side effects may decline with time
or if the dose of antipsychotics is reduced. It is therefore important to
review medication regularly. Also the person may become restless and
fidgety. This restlessness especially affects the legs and has been described
as an inability to sit still.
Some of these medicines can lower blood pressure. People will
complain of feeling dizzy when they get up from their bed or chair, and
may fall and hurt themselves. The elderly are particularly vulnerable. It is
important for those who experience dizziness to take care. Fortunately, the
dizziness usually disappears after the person has been on the medicine for
a few weeks.
Abnormal face and body movements may occur. People may clench
their jaw, stick out their tongue or, rarely, have a severe reactionwhere their
body is rigidly bent backwards, their head is bent backwards, their eyes are
rolled upwards and their tongue is stuck out. In that case, the person will
have to go to casualty and may require an injection of procyclidine.

People who are treated with these medicines can put on weight
because the medicines increase appetite. Some antipsychotics make the
skin sensitive to the sun, so sunscreen must be applied before going out in
the sun. Many people with intellectual disabilities suffer with epilepsy;
antipsychotic medication may interfere with the control of this, so
anti-epileptic medication may need to be reviewed.
Antipsychotics should be taken at the lowest effective dose. Some
people with schizophrenia need to be on them continuously. Sometimes it
is better to give someone the medicine in the form of a depot injection, as
described in the section above. Anxiolytics are also used in the short term.

Tags: antipsychotics