Involuntary movements? Med Side Effect? Second Opinion?

[Prosa2002]

(I'm from Portugal, so English isn't my first language.) I'm a 19 afab, mentally ill and have been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, Adhd and Aspergers/Autism at 14. I was prescribed a low quantity of antidepressants (Sertralina ratiopharm), anti anxiety meds (Aprazolam ratiopharm) and concentration pills (Ritalina). I was also given Melamil and later Risperidona Ratiopharm to help with insomnias (the last one the site says it is an antipsicotic, but I don't have psicosis? I only realized this now). I remember also having tried another medication to help sleep better, but the side effects were kind off bad and I stopped taking it (can't remember the name). Eventually I was told to stop taking the antidepressants and only take the pills for anxiety in emergencies (it was such a low dose that I stopped taking imediatly). The Risperidona was doubled a bit before that, but I was around 15-16 at the time. With covid I stopped going to therapy (not my choice), and when I made 18 that same year I stopped taking my Adhd pills (there was supposed to be an appointment when I turned into an adult but I couldn't go). Never went anymore, though not because I didn't want to.

Now, around 16, maybe before that, I started having involuntary movements, similar to a chill down my spine, which is a reaction I use to have when I'm cold. I would think I might have been cold at the time, or that I had spent to much time in front of the computer, so I didn't care that much. But they started getting worse and worse, going from once in two months at first to more than 30 times per day. It only affects the upper half of my torso, and it's extremely uncomfortable to try to avoid doing them. They don't happen if I'm concentrated (drawing/playing an instrument), but seem to appear more frequently when I'm cold, when I stare at something bright (like a computer screen), when I see a sudden movement or a loud noise. Sometimes i feel the need to force the movement when I feel an uncomfortable tickling sensation under my arms and the side of my torso. I wouldn't mind them if they didn't scare people momentarily or cause them to do jokes about it.

Sometime ago, my mom told me to read the list of symptoms for Risperidona since she though this issue may have started after the double dose of the medication, and we found involuntary movements within the list (dystonia and dyskinesia). She, being a doctor, made me slowly take less, until I was taking one pill per night again. I remember later reading about those two conditions and thought they didn't match what I had, but I didn't question my mom. The involuntary movements didn't stop, and may of may have not become worse (sometimes I spend a long time without them only for it suddenly happen multiple times in sequence, so I can't tell). I asked my mom recently if I could go back to the appointments, and she refused to do so since they were the cause of my issue. I have not seen any other doctor about this. I want a second opinion about this matter. Does anyone know what could this be? I haven't found much online about this matter cause I can't describe my symptoms very well.

P.S.: Don't know if it's relevant, but two different people who witnessed my involuntary movements compared them to Tourette Syndrome, but I think that isn't the case.

[Paxiled]

I think it's possible this is a symptom of Asperger's.  You're right, it doesn't sound like tardive dyskinesia, the Parkinson's like involuntary movements associated with meds that work on dopamine like antipsychotics.  You're right, you don't belong on an antipsychotic, but doctors are allowed to prescribe you a drug for it's unwanted side effects.  Many antipsychotics are being used for all kinds of things nowadays, and because they are often quite sedating, they were marketed (illegally, actually) for that side effect to help with sleep.  Might be what happened in your case, though you'd have to ask your doc.  Because yours happens so irregularly it doesn't sound like it's the typical movement disorder associated with these drugs.  What it might be is a symptom of your mental problems.  Anxiety sufferers, for example, often have chills and shivering from time to time.  Some meds can also cause body temperature problems, including the chills and the sweats.  I can only give you some possibilities, but can't tell you what's going on.  Stopping these meds can be very difficult, even if you were on what you call a small dose, and a tapering schedule has to be done to suit the individual, as we don't all have the same withdrawal symptoms when stopping a drug.  Some have no symptoms at all, some have a few, some have a lot, some can't manage to stop the drug at all.  We're not the same, and you should have tapered off as slowly as you needed to from any med you wanted to stop taking.  So there is a possibility your neurotransmitters are so messed up at the moment from withdrawal that you're having this symptom.  Again, I don't know this to be true, just a possibility.  At this point, you can't go back and do this all differently, so you're probably going to have to wait it out and hope it goes away.  The normal approach is to stop one drug at a time, see how you respond, and if something bad happens, go back on it and if it stops you know it was a withdrawal symptom and you can taper off more slowly.  But again, you have a lot going on, and because of that I don't know how anyone would untangle it all.  Do you exercise?  Ever thought about meditation?  And insist on getting into therapy, and try to find a really really good psychiatrist just to talk it all over with to see if they can help you understand it better, but not a hack, it has to be a really really good empathetic psychiatrist, and they are not easy to find.  Peace.