SSRI drugs and their interaction or reaction with AS

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Ummm... excuse me? Psychosomatic doesn't mean non-existent or less severe; in fact, it describes one possible situation perfectly.



...which, if you are emotionally charged or upset by the idea of taking medication, that you would physically react to taking the drug immediately - regardless of whether or not there was a chemical allergy, YOU were allergic to taking medication itself, as it were. And there's nothing about that possibility that lessens you as a person, or changes the severity of the trauma you experienced from what happened after taking those pills.

I've projected nothing your way, and merely made external observations of possibility - not given you some diagnosis, Meadow. My post was written to be supportive; it is unfortunate that you have chosen to interpret it negatively. I don't understand why it seems that you insist on seeing everything in the darkest possible aspect, constantly on the defense against shadows. If you don't like what I have to say, then ignore it. What does it matter? Why are you accusing me of things that I have not done?


M.

Excuse me, key words "mental", "emotional". I had very clear physical reactions if you're having trouble with your comprehension. Please spare me your analysis and stop trying to antagonize me. I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone. I have a right to my issues and you're managing to trigger every one. Please respect my space by not speaking to me needlessly in the future.

Meadow, this is the third thread I've seen today where you have snapped at a poster. Chill out man.

I haven't snapped and I'm not a man.

You have a right to your issues; you do not have that same right to censure my ability to respond or observe. You do, however, have the right to ignore my opinions on what may or may not be affecting you. It's up to you.


M.

I'm asking you to leave me alone by not speaking to me directly in threads unless it is for moderation purposes of which I have no right, evidently, in asking for space from you. In real life people have a right to get space from people who bother them and that's what I'm asking for. I have issues with being victimized by men and I would appreciate your respect and compliance on the issue. If I could block you I would but since I can't, please don't speak to me unnecessarily.

I take Clonidine, generic for Catapres. At 1 mG per day, I am close to maximum dosage and still have no big problem with any side effects. Clonidine is inexpensive and you could take .2 mG about an hour before bedtime to make you drowsy, but your GP is not likely to prescribe it because it is not a once-a-day medication. Beta blockers do nothing against my hypertension.



I once had a doctor say I should stop reading the PDR and just "go along to get along" ... but I opted to get completely away from him.

I think I understand what happened there, Meadow, and I am sure he will do as you have asked ... just please allow me to say I am also sure there was no ill intent.

In the five years since I discovered the existence of AS, I have learned something important about psychiatrists. Those who specialize in children and adolescents, aka Child/Adolescent Psychiatrists, are trained in autism, and are MUCH more likely to pick it up in adults as well. So I've been seeing Child/Adoles. Psychs for the last 4 years with great success.

Now about the anxiety: My Psych told me that when she sees an adult with anxiety, she immediately is triggered to consider whether that person has AS, because it's so common for adults on the spectrum to seek help for their anxiety. So you are not alone. I've had it my entire adult life and it is so hard to treat.



About the tricyclics - like the Imipramine that Temple Grandin says saved her life - they work beautifully for my anxiety. The problem with them is that they have side effects like constipation and dry mouth, and too much can make you really sleepy. But they are the best thing I've found especially if you wake up in a panic, like I sometimes do.

I agree with Millie re small doses of SSRI's: I've tried them all, starting with Prozac in 1997 and have been on one or another of them until last month. Unlike NT's, the small dose they start me on works, and starts working that day as opposed to three weeks later. Then they just stop working and the side effects of each of them were intolerable. So guess what 'we' decided to do for all my problems: ECT aka electroschock therapy.

If anybody is interested, I'll post a thread on it, but basically it's helped me more than anything.

I've been on zoloft for about ten years (minus one year where I tried going of them) and only have side effects when I forget to take them (dizziness and the electric jolts after a couple of days)

I'm also on an SNRI (Edronax- reboxetine) which helps me center my thoughts a bit and stop me from obsessive worrying. Get cotton mouth every now and then, and withdrawal symptoms (jolts) after missing the pills by a few hours.

I'm on normal dosage, but when I was thought to have OCD I was on high doses of Zoloft. Didn't help, didn't hurt.

I had a friend who was on tricyclic drugs and the side effects could be pretty nasty. Weight gain and stomach problems as I recall. She was a nut on as well as off them (borderline type, "I love only you, please don't leave me, I hate you, you're one of them, you're a traitor and you live to hurt me etc")

Edronax, eh? That must be a new one. I have obsessive worrying, so I'm interested in that one. Is that the reason they put you on it? Does it completely stop the obsessive worrying, or just decrease it? Any side effects?

It's called Edronax in Sweden, but the name is sometímes different in other countries. Prozac is called Fontex for instance. All I know is the substance is reboxetine. It doesn't completely stop the worrying, but it kind of slows down, and I can stop it myself, whereas before it would keep going even if I tried to stop. I'm still a control freak who tries to plan everything out a head and I get obsessive about knowing all the details of any problems I encounter. But I suffer less.

I was on the SSRI Fluoxetine (20 mg) while I was writing up my PhD a few years ago and it helped me allot. I had very bad obsessional thoughts that blocked me from concentrating on my PhD, but within a few days of going on Fluoxetine my obsessional thoughts went away completely and I worked hard on my Thesis. I felt far more positive and focused on my work, I had a much better attention span. I felt more intelligent and my mother thought I had a secret girlfriend (she didn't know I was on Fluoxetine). The only side effects during SSRI were tiredness (yawning) and weight gain, but I was nearly under weight to start with anyway. I tapered off when finished and did not experience any withdrawal effects except for maybe slight "brain zaps", is that a sudden slight electrical shock sensation on the scalp? I might have had that a couple of times.

Also ...

Is it possible in some cases, where a person complains bitterly of SSRI induced "side effects" / "withdrawal symptoms" (in particular when "withdrawal symptom" continue years after cessation of an SSRI) they are not really experiencing "withdrawal symptoms" ... but they are in reality experiencing the re-occurrence of symptoms that were originally alleviated by the SSRI. The SSRI really helped them. These re-emergent mental health symptoms are wrongly labelled as "withdrawal symptoms" to avoid the stigma of metal illness and preserve self-esteem?

I've been on Celexa for about a month, but I don't notice any difference.

Here's my story:

--Was on Prozac (fluoxetine) 20 mg 1x/day for a few years in the early '90s for anxiety. At the time, I had no psychological care/DXes at all. The meds did not work, and I gave up on them.

--Tried Paxil once in the late '90s for severe PMS symptoms. It did nothing but make me tired all the time.

--Began Prozac in the mid-00's and then got into therapy. In conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy, it helped. Also began .5 mg doses of Xanax (alprazolam) as needed, but usually .5 would put me right to sleep, so we went down to .25mg. This all worked well.

--Started at uni August 2009. Prozac raised to 40 mg/day in Sept. Xanax taken on regular basis, 1/2 of a .25mg tablet 4x/day. The Xanax actually caused me to have MORE energy, which a pleasant surprise. As far as we can tell, it was keeping the anxiety down to a level at which I wasn't so horribly exhausted all the time.

--Struggling some more at uni. Went to psychiatrist. Prozac raised to 60 mg/day in Feb. 2010, with Xanax doses kept the same as before. I am feeling better, but I'm not sure if that's because of the meds or because I finally decided to leave at the end of the semester in May. It's like doing a scientific experiment and changing two variables at once--you can't tell how each one affected the results. It's only been two weeks. We are going to wait another four weeks and recheck. Side effects have been weight gain and nausea. Still dealing with exhaustion, but not as bad as before.

I think my best strategy from now on is to stay away from situations in the first place where I would need to have a bunch of drugs in my system in order to halfway function. It is going to limit the experiences I wish I could have in life, but I need to be realistic and not invite trouble. If there's something I would love to participate in, but I know full well it's going to cause anxiety, meltdowns, shutdowns, etc., I need to just accept it and look for something else positive that I CAN do. There's a fine line between being courageous and being foolish. From now on, if I can't handle a situation with 20mg Prozac and my low doses of Xanax, that's going to be my warning sign.

I also like this line I read in an email once: "Back in the '60s, the world was sane and people took drugs to make it look crazy. Today, the world is crazy and people take drugs to make it look sane."

I just checked and found out the FDA didn't approve Edronax for use in the US, so it's not available here.

gramirez: Lexapro and Celexa are very similar. For me, Lexapro was like a placebo - did nothing at all, but Celexa did have benefits (in the beginning). Maybe you're opposite from me, and Lexapro would help you.

Riverspark: I can totally relate. If we could just manage our external lives in a way that doesn't cause us to need meds, that would be great. That's been my goal but unfortunately living requires making money and it's usually the making of money that causes the anxiety and depression. Left to my own devices, I believe I'd be able to function without meds.