Tardive Dyskinesia is practically inevitable if a person remains on the drugs long enough. I worked in locked psych for many years and I agree with most of the points made in this article. In my experience most psychosis has a very young age of onset, usually in late teens or early twenties and people tend to cycle out and have diminished symptoms after a period of a few to several years depending on the severity of their symptoms. In many cases the side effects of these drugs is worse than the illness being treated. And to the best of my knowledge the damage done to the brain is not reversible. This is a serious and complex issue. People who are psychotic can be a danger to themselves and others but I believe we have the ability to devise more civilized treatment approaches in the treatment of the mentally ill.
In America, we typically elect them.
Name one. Wiser people than you have been trying for a century or more and come up with precious little.
We could go back to the 'treatments' in use prior to the introduction of Thorazine in the 1950's. I don't think you would like your loved one to be treated that way.
This just breaks my heart to even read....
Long story.
We took a foster baby almost 30 years ago.He was deaf and had autism...we were at the mercy of neurologists not having any knowledge at all about the medications that he was being given.
Bottom line is he was " experimented with"...and we have had to go through a living hell with him ...and yes, he developed Tardive Dyskinesia because of the meds, NOT because of his conditions.
Would to God we had known. It breaks our hearts. He can hardly walk now. I hate these meds...
oh and the meds he was on for 5 years before we began to see the effects was Haldol!!!!
Now he can't get off of them. We have him in a special needs placement now. Broken hearted in Los Angeles...
Polly