I have fibromyalgia and psoriatic arthritis. A few years after getting those, I developed myoclonic jerks at night (or any time I lay down and relaxed) that got so bad that I was prescribed clonazepam for them.

I also take psych meds. Cymbalta at the moment. My psychiatric PA wants to add a low dose of Ability (2mg), an atypical antipsychotic.

He told me that it has the potential to cause tardive dyskinesia and akathisia.

I'm wondering if anyone knows if a person also has a type of movement disorder, are they more likely to get a movement disorder side effect from a medication?

I'm going to ask my psych PA again and also check with my primary care doctor, but it's kind of a specialized combination of problems, so I thought i'd see if anyone here had experience with this. Thanks!

from my understanding those drugs can cause the neurological disorders, I have been to a drug forum, where people recreationally use these. those are the extreme side effects you are describing.

2mg is a very low dose.

My suggestion would be to ask your doctor again about it if you're concerned especially as you're taking a combination of medications.

Here is prescribing information about Abilify (aripiprazole) below in pdf.

https://www.abilify.com/pdf/dosing-guide.pdf

hi,
ive been on PD drugs for two years.My jerks started shortly after a epidural shot.I don't blame the shot because Im not a doctor.The PD can include myoclonus but it's rare.
In my experience with drugs many sideeffects are played down but in fact are alot more comon then stated by pharmecutucals,so beware.In my case there are many possiable causes but Im having little luck for docs in finding out the why.
So Im limiting possible triggers like caffeine,stress,lack of sleep and overexertion.Ohther help would be proper diet,Vitamin D,B12 and folate along with magesium.
The drugs do cause our natural balence to be thrown off.
best
john

Hi! I have benign fasciculation syndrome (riny muscle twitches everywhere, triggered by anxiety especially - my neuro who is the chief of neurology at a top Boston hospital told me this literally is another manifestation of migraine, so FYI there). I also am 8 months post-concussion and have post-concussive syndrome or PCS (lots of migraines, fatigue, etc.). Anyway, amitriptyline is prescribed to treat PCS but only works in 70% of people. It is a tri-cyclic anti-depressant (TCA) administered at a very low dose. It not only didn't work for me to treat my PCS, but it induced neck spasms for me after a few days of taking it, and they never went away. it's been months now. The same neuro doc put me on clonazepam. My advice to you is that if you have a tendency to develop myoclonic jerks (like me), AVOID drugs that have a likelihood of giving those side effects. Even avoid drugs in the same class as those that have that myoclonic effect. You are more sensitive and therefore prone to developing them. I have TMJ issues from my concussion and my TMJ doctor prescribed flexeril, which is also a tri-cyclic anti-depressant (TCA). It CAN cause muscle spasms, dystonia, etc., too, since it's a TCA, so I basically decided against it and stuck with the clonazepam I'm already on.

My bottom line: If you have a tendency toward muscle spasms, avoid all drugs that have those side effects, because your symptoms could turn into more permanent spasms, dystonia, torticollis, etc. I can't post links as I'm a new user *edit*

Hugs!!