Medication

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I find that what antidepressants do for me is 'take the edge off' I am still depressed much of the time - but not suicidal - which is a good thing . . .

What I REALLY am happy with is the tranquilizers my psychiatrist has given me - for the first time in my life I can lay down and go to sleep! I love it! My cats, however, are less than thrilled because it cuts down on their cuddle time . . .

[quote="TyroneShoelaces"]Prozac can be awful stuff - I was on the maximum dose (60mg/daily) and it did nothing but make me more irritable, and slightly paranoid. I have taken various other anti-depressants from the SSRI group - most at the same maximum dose, none of which were effective. In the U.K. this group of medications is not used with teens and adolescents as it can trigger suicidal ideation.
I take a dinosaur of the anti-depressant type - a Mono-Amini-Oxidase Inhibitor! It is a very old drug, but seems to do the trick [ a number of dietary restrictions come in taking these meds though].


The medication cycle is a crazy one indeed. I lived for years with no need for it as i was not responsible for anyone else but myself. Now, as a mother, I've been through a cocktail - main reason being to maintain stability for my son, and not damage myself. I'm on 60mg daily of prosac - I had no idea that was the max dosage - I refuse to go through the changing medication drama again - last time was beyond revolting - like having my head squeezed through a meat grinder. I was on effexor for a while, and started off with one tab a day, ended up taking 10 a day - result - no proper sleep the entire time, dizziness and blackouts, and continued attempts at self sabotage.... I was put on zoloft for quite a while, which seemed to be a bit like prosac, except if I forgot to take my tabs I'd know about it big time. These were boosted with epilim, but the quantity got plain silly, so then we tried lithium. Aaarrrgghhh!! ! Once again, the head through the meat grinder experience. Then I was taken off zoloft and weaned onto prosac. I am absolutely sick of stuffing around with little shiney capsules!! ! So long as I'm sane enough to get through a day of work, looking after my son and don't unduly upset my neighbours and family, I'm satisfied.... and yes, I miss my art obsessions. The effects vary hugely between people. And yes, there needs to be a damn good reason for taking the stuff in the first place!

Strattera(atomoextine) is a great medication. Although, all medications have side effects.

Austin

Strattera(atomoextine) is a great medication!

Austin

Even though I am an NT, I know a bit about depression. I had my first nasty encounter with it at age 20, and now at 58, I understand it more. I have tried every anti depressant known to man and they make me as sick as a dog. St. John's Wort works well for me because I am just to drug sensitive to those big guns.

However, what has made the biggest difference to me is taking the advice of a therapist and reading, "FEELING GOOD: THE NEW MOOD THERAPY," by David Burns. I am sure everyone realizes that depression can be caused by a lack of seritonin. Well, the newest school of thought is that the tape we run through our head with our thoughts is what actually causes the seritonian to drop. In other words, it's not that a lack of seritonin causes negative thoughts like originally thought...it's visa versa. Since reading this book 3 years ago, I have not had one episode of feeling like I am in a black hole. I may have some minor depression, but I am not in the pits. I recommend this book to all who have depression. Available on Amazon. *And of course, no depression drug or book can FIX YOUR LIFE, and if you need to blow up your life and start all over again with a different spouse, etc., no drug can fix it.

Trying to stay on my automotive course, but keep getting in trouble. I Have ADD + Aspergers and find it hard to read and write. I haven't been able to learn and I have been out of school since 14. But I like all engines, any thing with engines and especially Mazda Rotarys. Because they sound awesome. Catch you up. WSR RULZ.

HI I'm Tracy and i'm Rotor's mum and the Ritalin is used to try help him to learn. He has never fitted at school and crisis time found us trying anything to help him learn. You have to be capable of reading and writing to do serious motor and mechanics training. Nothing has worked so far.
We are still hoping that things will work out to the good despite the obstacles that come our way.

AS can't be medicated, but some of its symptoms can be, and it seems that it's usually for ADD symptoms for some reason... I didn't want to be medicated, either, and had heard about how it could affect your creativity. However, if you have severe enough symptoms of *anything* you can't get anything done. I came from a family very anti-psychiatry, but when I had a serious breakdown my mother suddenly changed her mind and I ended up being put on all sorts of medication (antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, tranquilizers). All different kinds and at varying doses (some pretty high). The odd thing is... none of it affected me! At all (other than some relatively minor weight gain/loss and sometimes sleepiness). So now I'm not at all afraid of medication because I never really think of it as doing anything. After I stopped the medication I was the exact same as I was before taking meds and during. I actually had to see a neurologist and have an MRI and EEG because it was so unusual for someone not to notice *something* (good or bad) considering the amount of medication I was on. My body is just really weird.

Now I'm on Remeron and Clonipin for anxiety/OCD traits/insomnia/nightmares. I don't usually mind my OCD traits, but I started taking the medication to mainly help control my obsessive bad memories and major sleep disturbances. I really don't know if the medication helps with my anxiety (which is largely attributed to being placed in situations that aggravate my sensory issues), but it does help me sleep. I'll probably eventually go off of it. My attention span is not great, but as long as I'm not breaking down crying every time I'm not preoccupied with something that requires a lot of concentration and movement, I can cope

I was on Zoloft for depression for about five years (starting before my AS was even diagnosed) and concluded that treatment recently. It helped for a while, but the effects started to diminish over time. Without the positive effects of it to balance out the side effects, the latter started to gain prominence in my mind. I was recently weaned off by my psychiatrist and it was a bit of a bumpy ride (I've read that Zoloft's half-life in the bloodstream is much shorter than Prozac's... one day or so, I assume that translates to the body feeling the effects of its loss much more quickly than similar meds) even with professional guidance. The week following when I took my last dose was pretty harsh, but it wasn't as scary once I found out that it was the Zoloft withdrawal causing it.

The way it made me feel could best be described as placing a layer of cloth over all my emotions... it dulled the edge of everything. It made the bad days better, but it also made the good days a little worse by working toward equalizing things. That having been said, it did provide a sort of safety net that allowed me to get better... by not feeling those sharply horrible days as strongly as I would have without it, I think it helped overall. Still, the withdrawal is scary--you have to be very careful about it.

I don't think the medication did much for my AS symptoms either, but I wasn't prescribed it for those, so I guess I can't expect much there.

My Aspie is not on medication, and thus far, it has not been warranted. We did have a very brief depressive episode, at a young age for about 4 days, primarily due to the school environment. His primary difficulty in school has been bullying by children and adults (since first grade), and the manner of discipline instilled not being careful about "breaking the spirit" of any living creature. The bullying episodes have increased from 1 or 2 a year, until at present, we had about 3-4 this year. Possibly more as some were questionable as the behavior was quite sneaky and devious, and less able to identify.

The horror is how it is repeatedly denied, even trying to play down the seriousness of it by supposedly educated and reasonable personnel. This in all 4 states we've experienced, and various schools. One school official asked me the other day: "Do you think it is because others are jealous because he is so smart?" In reply, I really don't know, the majority don't seem to be in his classes with him. He doesn't boast or show off, so I tend to doubt that being the motivating factor.

At present, and for many years now, I give the school very specific insturctions to call me in the event of a difficult situation. I was very happy when we became able to afford a cell phone for I am no longer tied to staying in the home by the phone while he is in school. And yes, I am very overprotective if he becomes mentally distraught in school. The speech pathologist actually witnessed during an evaluation his inability to speak when frustrated. She noted how much he did in fact struggle and tried to talk to her. Until this point, he was seen as a very rude and angry child by teachers, students, and administrators.

Please take note and research the recent news where the drug companies have admitted devious behavior, along with some doctors, who have prescribed medications unnecessarily for profit. It has been astonishingly wide spread for many years and was cracked open by "whistle blowers". Speceific drugs like Paxil and Ritalin have been mentioned. That's not to say these meds are not quite helpful to some people.

Love, Peace, & Auspie Rock,

LadyBug

I take Adderall for my ADHD symptoms-- works pretty well. I tried Strattera for ADHD as well, but it made me very jumpy and kept me awake, so I went back on Adderall.

Good forms of therapy for me are: long walks (especially in the woods), reading and writing. I seem to be able to work out most of what's bugging me by doing one of those three things.

Just a quick note on Strattera here: Unlike previous medications for ADHD (Rittalin, Aderol, Concerta etc), Strattera is not a stimulant. Rather it is a Selective Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor (SNRI) and works by a very different mechanism than do stimulants. Pragmaticaly, I've seem Strattera work nicely for people who have the inattentive type of ADHD, moreso than the hyperactive type, or the combined type. Also, many people seem to tolerate it better than stimulants. Remember, however, that unlike stimulants which are quick acting and quick to leave the system, Strattera takes a few weeks to build to a theraputic level in the blood, and does not completly leave the system for a few days after one stops taking it.

-Scott (28 year old aspie and mental health therapist)

Is there any legal recourse for the school to provide Rotor with homeboound instruction? Has he been assessed properly for any learning disabilities that would preclude his learning to read and write?

LadyBug

(I'm a parent) My 9-year-old son is currently on Straterra (40 mg) He has previously been on Ritalin, Concerta and Adderall. I don't really like the Straterra. It doesn't seem to have any effect on him at all (although it is the summer and very difficult to judge). I've tried to talk to him about how these different medications feel, but he isn't really able to verbalize his thoughts (he's pretty young). From my perspective:

The Ritalin/Concerta drugs were the best for us. It took us awhile to figure out the dosage/eating/sleeping thing, but we eventually got there. We might be returning to these drugs soon.

The Adderall was really interesting. I can honestly way this was the only drug that seemed to awaken any type of social awareness. He was very cognizant of other people's feelings and really thought his actions out (less impulsive). The downside was he lost alot of weight and the world seemed overwhelming to him. He was in a somewhat drugged stage alot of times and, combined with the alarming weight loss, we needed to stop.

And, the Straterra... like I said, it is like he isn't on anything and he's very impulsive and jumpy. Lots of silly noises and behaviors that drives our family crazy. I can't figure out if he was always like this (and we just can't remember because he was on the Adderall so long) or if the Straterra makes it worse than ever.

Any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated. What have you taken and what did it make you feel? I'd love to hear from the side of the "user" since my son isn't able to tell me.

I have been taking rispirdal, and it has really had a calming effect and has elviated much anxiety and paranoia.

Rispiral... I haven't heard of that, but will definitely research and find out some info (thanks for responding!) My son isn't really anxious or paranoid though. His main issues are concentration and impulsiveness. Do you have any info on Rispiral's affects on these issues? Thanks.

I have been on medication for most of my life. I can be quite hyper, as I do have ADHD which can be part of Asperger's. I was on Ritalin most of my childhood. I was off Ritalin my last two years of high school, as part of a "great family experiment," persay. (Mostly to see if I could live without medication.) As we were afraid that college might be stressfull for me, I was put back on Medication. A doctor in my college's town put me on Adderall for one horrible year. Adderall just made me more hyper than I actually was, and I got into all sorts of trouble that summer. I was alone, without hardly any friends, in my college's town that summer, so I practically died of boredom even if I was in summer school. So I was taken off Adderall and put back on Ritalin.

They also started me on sleep medication in college--Neurontin. I actually could sleep, without being awake half the night.

When I lived in Florida, they put me on Remaron (which was quite evil as it made me gain weight), and they also put me on another medication along with Ritalin, can't remember the medication, it made me feel uncomfortable, and I had an exceptionally hard time dealing with stress.

Well, now I'm on Zoloft for the daytime, and seroquel for the night. I quite like my medicine as I believe it really does help me and I'm not so uptight and I have a much easier time dealing with life as they upped my dosage back in April.

One of the most amazing things about Zoloft was that I could actually slow down and concentrate on things I'd never been able to manage before. I was looking for work at the local college in my city and I had to take an employment exam! I ended up making a 75 on the math, which was never dreamed possible by myself or my family! (I failed math every other semester in college.) Zoloft really helped my concentration then. I can also spend whole entire days just painting pictures, and my medication helps me to deal with things better. I also have an easier time of just sitting down and being quiet, which has always been difficult for me to do. (I'm one of those people who talks constantly.)

Seroquel is also a beauty-- I'm usually out once I take it, even though it takes me half an hour to sleep. I'm usually out cold after that.

I totally disagree with what Mich said. Yes, Asperger's is not a disease, but there are many complications that can come with Asperger's (ADHD, OCD, ADD, etc.) and medication really does help these problems. I also very heartily disagree with the silly people who are totally against medicating children. These kids who are so severly autistic or severly hyperactive, they would have not much of a life if it weren't for their medications. Medication when handled properly by a competent psychiatrist can work miracles for many people.

While Asperger's is not a disease, it should never be labled as an "illness" because it cannot be cured. Asperger's can only be managed. It is a "disabilty," persay, because us folks with Asperger's often have trouble being "able" as the world would like us to be.