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Re: What are EPS? (I get the acronym but...) » Janelle

Posted by Mitch on September 2, 2001, at 18:44:43

In reply to What are EPS? (I get the acronym but...), posted by Janelle on September 2, 2001, at 17:36:58

> I don't quite understand what the term "Extra Pyrmidal Symptoms" (EPS) means ... is this a "fancy" way of saying side effects? Based on what you wrote about Geodon EPS, this is the impression I get. Thanks for any info on what this EPS means.

Yes they are unwanted side effects. There is a technical explanation for the nerves and muscles involved that will probably make the term "extra-pyramidal" make more sense, but I don't know those answers. Others here probably could explain it easily. I have just had those side effects and *know* what they are. They are basically symptoms that mimic what people with Parkinsons' disease can have. They are a temporary condition in response to a med that blocks dopamine receptors which interrupts dopamine function in the part of your brain that controls voluntary muscle movements, etc. I could list some things that have happened to me from one dose of Haldol, Stelazine, Risperdal, for example. Restlessness, shuffling, unable to sit still. Involuntary muscle movements-my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth on Stelazine and I couldn't talk, while my neck had a dystonia (cramplike thing) where it got stiff and my head was stuck on my shoulder and I couldn't budge it. My back muscles have contracted so intensely that I bent backwards and fell down (Haldol)and had to crawl around on the floor for a day (until they wore off). On Risperdal I noticed when I was walking into work that my gait felt "interrupted" like someone was flipping a switch off and on that was controlling my ability to move. EPS wears away after you withdraw the med that set it off. In some cases, the withdrawal of the med will *unmask* or set off EPS (which was my case with Stelazine), then you treat it with Benadryl (i.e.) for a few days and then it goes away. There are *some* people that have lingering symptoms after the med is long gone, and *some* of those people never see any improvement of the symptoms. That is when it is called TD (tardive dyskinesia and tardive dystonia).


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