All About Bipolar

Posted By atorturedsoul on November 3, 2009

Antipsychotic medications used to treat bipolar disorder can cause dystonia, a rare neurological movement disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contractions, which force certain parts of the body into abnormal, sometimes painful, movements or postures.

Once again, antipsychotics are in the news. They have recently been linked to obesity in children and teens and are well known for a myriad of side effects.

Dystonia has been thrust into the spotlight because of a recent diagnosis of the rare disorder. Desiree Jennings developed dystonia ten days after receiving a seasonal flu vaccination and it is believed that it might be a reaction to the vaccine.

Normally, the more serious side effects are associated with second generation antipsychotics but dystonia is listed as a side effect of the first generation or typical antipsychotics. All antipsychotics, used as a mood stabilizer and to treat the symptoms of psychosis, appear to have serious potential side effects, which dispels the belief that the older drugs are safer than their newer counterparts.

Dystonia can also be caused by brain injuries, toxins and some medications. There is no cure for dystonia but there are a few options for treating the symptoms of the disorder. One of the most common treatments is Botox. (A legitimate use for Botox? Interesting.)

It really seems like there just isn’t a “safe” treatment for the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Regardless of what type of medication you take, there is the potential for some very serious side effects. I can’t find anything that states the percentage of people who have developed serious side effects while taking antipsychotics, which leads me to assume that they don’t track the number of cases of serious side effects or it is a very low percentage. If anyone can find this information, please email me at support@allaboutbipolar.com so I can share it with my readers.

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Categories: About Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar 1, Psychosis
Tags: about, all, antipsychotics, atypical, bipolar, dystonia, medication, Psychosis, side effects, Symptoms, typical