My husband has Tourette syndrome and OCD. Years ago, before he began a twice-daily dose of antipsychotics to reduce his Tourette tics (unwanted movements and vocalizations) intrusive OCD thoughts regularly dragged him out of bed in the small hours of the morning. As a happy side effect of that medication, those intrusive thoughts evaporated. He began sleeping like a hibernating bear, and OCD, while still mildly present in his life, no longer disrupted his daily activities.
Fast forward eight years. It has become apparent to us that the antipsychotics possibly impact his ability to communicate verbally. He speaks slowly, pauses, and fumbles for words. At times, he bails in the middle of a sentence, or says nothing at all because he is unable to formulate his thoughts while he speaks. His psychiatrist didn’t dispute this concern, and with her help he is weaning himself off the antipsychotics to see how it affects his communication skills.
He’s just started this process; he reduced to a half dose four days ago. He already reports feeling a bit sharper in his thoughts, and he seems to be interacting with me more. Last night he woke up at one o’clock worried whether a contractor plowed and shoveled the snow-covered parking lot and walkways at the library where he works—even though this isn’t his responsibility and they have always shown up in the past. He couldn’t get the image out of his head of the Saturday morning crew arriving to find the walks and stairs covered in snow and ice, and frantically trying to clear things up before opening. After a restless hour, he got in his car and drove across town on snowy roads to check.
As you can imagine, I’m worried what the future holds for him. Sleepless nights and heightened tics are a questionable trade-off for better communication skills. Last night was a wake-up call that this might go askew. He also told me that he grunted frequently through his spin class this morning—a Tourette tic he’s been able to curtail in the past.
Tell me, Psychiatrist Sam, how do people choose when faced with two sucky options like this?
Signed: Worried Wife Wondering
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Previously Published on jefftcann.com and is republished on Medium.
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