Stereotypic Movement Disorder

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Hey all.

I'm not sure whether I have it or not (see title), and frankly, it doesn't matter, all I know is that I have some symptoms of it. I stim quite a bit, but some of those stims are self-injurious. For instance, I have bruxism (which means I grind my teeth), but I do this during the day. I also chew chunks out of the inside of my mouth.

I've heard that mild doses of anti-psychotics can be used to keep stimming under control. Does anyone here think it is a good idea to push a doctor to give me them so that i don't completely destroy my teeth? (An added and bonus side effect could be that I don't stim as much anymore)

Yes, I do tighten my jaws and I have a partial denture which I bite on with out realizing it (Oh! I have just become aware I am doing it this minute). I have broken a few dentures over the years, I cannot help it no matter how hard I try.

As a kid I used to bite on the knuckle of my index finger or pinky finger and any pencil that entered my mouth was bitten to pieces and I wore the back end down far more quick than to pointy end.

I also hand flap but especially when I get excited. I usually have to get over them by folding my arms in front of me tightly. A lot of people look on that at guarded body language, but IMO that would only apply to NTs
Often I also wobble my knee up and down and stomp the balls of my feet like a rabbit does.

Paul

I dont know how easy it is toget a script for something Like Haldol for long term use?I was given a weeks worth twice when I couldnt come down off some acid(I got the hint the second time and stopped using acid...dah)I know my sister is prescribed drugs that are supposed to be for Scizophrinics even thought she is DX anxiety and depression,so DR will cross perscribe as long as insurence will pay for it..

I did have a friend on Thorazine...she hated it because it slowed down her speech but not her mind...and made her walk with the "thorizine shuffle"....some can actually cause long term effects on liver and you have to monitor for developing "ticks" and "grimaces"...maybe thats only high doses...?
Wish I could help more...seems like tooth grinding is a common enough problem they should have found some thing better then a mouth gaurd....really frustrating.

Thanks for the responses! Yeah, I'm a little bit leary about going on drugs, especially anti-psychotics, for that very reason. I'm not sure if bruxism is severe enough to warrant being turned into a "zombie". Something I will have to talk to the Doc about I guess....

Ticks and grimaces were some of my most embarassing moments in my childhood. I thought that was part of AS, not a drug reaction. (?) I realized when I did it but I couldn't help it. The best I can describe it is I was feeling SO awkward at the time and I couldn't help venting it physically. My stepsister's boyfriend was a really nice guy and was trying to help me "fit in" so he asked me how I was doing on the bus to school. It was like the popular guy was paying attention to the nerd. I panicked and said "Great!" but it didn't feel sincere and I made this horrible face and the whole bus started laughing. I hid behind the seat the rest of the ride.

If you really want to stop this chewing (which actually I don't think is technically "Bruxism" since that's a sleep disorder and isn't voluntary and only happens during sleep, otherwise it's a stim) I wouldn't use meds. Antipsychotics are especially one of the last meds you wanna use for a smaller problem like this. Meds inevitably have negative side effects, and antipsychotics can be some of the worst (though mostly the horrible side effects are associated with higher doses rather than the small dose which would be prescribed to you).

Using behavioral methods to quell this stim is probably the best method to use. Thankfully, changing a stim is easier than preventing Bruxism since you're awake and doing it voluntarily. Even just trying to switch to another stim and stopping the chewing will eventually lessen the severity of the chewing.

Or if you like gum, that would be a good alternative.

If worse comes to worse, finding a Behavioral Therapist or Occupational Therapist who's experienced in Sensory Processing Disorder can help you stop the chewing to save your teeth.

If worse comes to worse, bad teeth are still probably better than side effects from antipsychotics. Many new antipsychotics are coming up under suspicion as to having illness-related effects, such as Diabetes.

Hi there

I also chew chunks out of the inside of my mouth (and at night I grind my teeth).

I have always done it a little, but at 18 I started a "proper" job, and realised that serving customers with nails bitten untill they bleed didn't look good - so I stopeed biting my nails. Shortly after, my cheek chewing became much worse.

I have never considered medication for this, as it isn't really anxiety related. I think it is behavioural, and I could break myself of the habit if I put the effort in.

Robin

I posted somewhere that I thought I'd gotten rid of one stimming thing I did only to discover I'd just translated it. I think that happens a lot. It's like you have to have SOMETHING to channel the nervous energy into. I tapped my fingers in a certain pattern and when I finally made myself stop, I realized I had transferred it to tapping my teeth in the same pattern. It's much more subtle and less likely to draw undo attention. I also slap my knees rapidly, mostly when I'm sitting, which I think is kind of related to flapping.

I bite my cheeks too, especially just inside the edges of my lips, and I bite my lips when they're not perfectly smooth. When I feel a bump, I feel like I need to even it out. A friend of mine has admitted to biting his lips too. I may try to find out if he does any other stuph. I don't think so though.

Has anyone else tried to stop something and ended up replacing it with something else?

I do the cheek/lip chewing thing as well and the foot-bouncing another mentioned (Ive done both as long as I can remember).

I think my main one is the foot bouncing.. if I cant do that because Im standing or walking Ive found recently I've started flexing my right hand open and closed as hard as I can like Im squeezing one of those excersize things or something.

Ummm... "anti-psychotics" cause bruxism. Bad idea. Really bad idea. They cause muscle stiffness which can result in jaw clenching. I don't have bruxism normally, but I do on "anti-psychotics" to the point where I can feel my teeth grinding away. That stiffness and other aspects of loss of control over movement are why they control stims -- they lessen all movement in general. But they can also cause stimming in the form of akathisia, which is a motor restlessness that is awful, in extreme forms even resulting in violence, in less extreme forms resulting in tons of pacing and fidgeting because you feel horrible if you don't.

I've heard Buspar and similar drugs get rid of it for a lot of people, though. I'd look into drugs for bruxism rather than drugs for stimming.

anbuend, is this actual Bruxism (like the sleep disorder kind which happens while the person is asleep) or teeth grinding/chewing while awake? Or both?

Just trying to figure out what we're all talking about since Bruxism has already been misused.

Both.

My father 'puffs' down his nose repeatedly at times. I wonder if this is related to what you're talking about, or if it could be a tic disorder. (I'm pretty sure my dad is undiagnosed Aspie)