Experiencing oculogyric crises (OGC) as a long-term side effect of antipsychotic use is rare, but I experienced OGC as a daily potential reality for 25 years. Every single antipsychotic I tried gave me OGC, perhaps once every week or two, until, during this past year, my psychiatrist was able to find one that does not give me this side effect. This is such a rare side effect that not even all psychiatrists I have communicated with know what it is, but to those like me who experience this as an ongoing side effect, it is pervasive, feels personal, and is infinitely frustrating.

According to Slow and Lang (2017), “Oculogyric crises (OGC) are considered an unusual type of dystonic movement disorder, characterized by paroxysmal, tonic, conjugate, ocular deviations caused by sustained contractions of ocular muscles. Typical episodes last minutes to hours, involve deviation of eyes most often upward and can be associated with other dystonic symptoms.” So much of how OGC works is yet to be understood, but it is caused by a lack of dopamine in the brain due to antipsychotic use. “Causes for oculogyric crises are limited and include complications of dopamine-receptor blocking medications and neurometabolic disorders affecting dopamine metabolism, suggesting that an underlying hypodopaminergic state is important to the pathogenesis” (Slow & Lang, 2017). The classic symptom is for your eyes to be compelled to deviate upward, and this is how OGC presented for me.

For most people who experience this with antipsychotic use, OGC can occur just as they are starting a new antipsychotic,........

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