I'm so sorry. :-(

Its not just Haldol, although I do this NIDS is worse with older drugs, especially at higher doses over a long period of time.

Have you had any success with other tranquilizers? Some of the newer ones ("atypicals") are generic now, if cost is/was an issue.

I take a ton (30mgs! every day!) of Abilify. The big thing with Abilify is that I can actually tolerate it, no twitches, tics, all that. If I remember correctly, that much Abilify is roughly=8ish mgs Haloperidol or 400mgs/Thorazine. The big difference, for me and for a lot of other people, is that some of the newer drugs get the job done without as much dulling and deadening of emotions.

NIDS is basically describing drug-induced "negative symptoms," plus the depression and general low mood that often comes with long-term tranquilizer treatment. Even among the older drugs, I think Haldol is one of the worst offenders. It causes a lot of EPS, TD, akathisia, and if I remember correctly, some of the Haldol is metabolized into a very toxic by-product.

Even if an "atypical" isn't on the table, there are other, older drugs that might be as good. Perphenazine compared well with the "atypicals" in some big studies. Loxapine at low(ish) doses might be kind of atypical-ish, based on brain imaging studies.

My former doctor recommended I take amoxapine for depression. I declined, because I didn't want to take an antidepressant at the time, but amoxapine is a tricyclic depression drug that is partly broken down into loxapine, which is an older antipsychotic. Some small studies have found that it can help all aspects of schizophrenia+schizoaffective (psychosis, mood, anxiety, etc.) about as well as risperidone with comparable side effects, plus it can lift mood relatively quickly, as antidepressants go.

Sorry to ramble. I hope you can find a work-able alternative to the Haldol. :-)