Antipsychotics

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I take Cymbalta. But I still have depression. I still haven't change from my AS. I'm still the shame person. And I have still have depression, but less.

I see no point in taking them.

my docs tested over a dozen antidepressant and antipsychotic meds on me to try to control my anxiety. side effects were so severe they kept switching me. I eventually became so sick I ended up having to have thousands of dollars of tests to make sure I didn't have cancer, and it took over a year to start feeling somewhat normal.

my hand tremors are worse than they were before I took all those drugs. now I'm afraid all the convulsions and muscle tics I suffered for years indicated something more serious. now I'm angry about it. what if my doctors made my hand tremors worse? that effects my quality of life worse than depression, frankly.

my son's dad had him on lamictal and abilify to control "bipolar" (which I don't think my son has and my ex gave bogus reports of his symptoms to get his dosages increased). my son came back to live with me, his anxiety was so high he was almost non-functional. I got him weaned off the lamictal and he's doing a lot better, but I want him off the abilify because I'm terrified what it will do to his mind and body. he's a CHILD for god's sake!

at this point in my life I find all long-lasting mood drugs suspect. until brain chemistry can be directly tested to know what drug and in what dose will be best, addictive mood-altering drugs should be reserved for the worst cases.

I think we're being done a disservice, anyway. brain drugs only really work in conjunction with behavioral modification, either by self or with the help of therapies. they aren't a cure in and of themselves and should really only be looked at as short term assists to cognitive therapies for people who can handle them.

not addictive...

google search results for antipsychotics are not addictive

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=antip ... =firefox-a

link: http://www.mydr.com.au/mental-health/an ... edications

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google search results for antipsychotics ARE addictive:

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=antip ... =firefox-a

looks like the only link with info supporting that comes from...oh, a post in THIS THREAD in wrong planet.

*shrug*

I think what some are calling addiction is actually withdrawal symptoms from the discontinuation of antipsychotics. Withdrawal symptoms is a part of addiction, but is not the only part of addiction....at least according to the DSM-IV TR and ICD 10.

You need 3 or more:

* TOLERANCE
* WITHDRAWAL
* LARGE AMOUNTS OVER A LONG PERIOD
* UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TO CUT DOWN
* TIME SPENT IN OBTAINING THE SUBSTANCE REPLACES
SOCIAL, OCCUPATIONAL OR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

* CONTINUED USE DESPITE ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES

You could have withdrawal and unsuccessful efforts to cut down, but I'm not sure what other criteria could be filled. I can't foresee anyone actively doing any of the other criteria.

This is at least my interpretation of the additive vs. not additive debate.

Okay, jumping in late and adding my points:
1. Antipsychotics can be effective for other conditions than psychosis. The neurochemical effects of most of these drugs are not fully known, and neither is the neurochemistry behind schizophrenia, autistic irritability, mania, and whatever these drugs are used for. Therefore, psych meds are pretty much a sake of trial and error with different durgs that might work for your symptoms. As a side note, some autisitcs *do* have psychotic symptoms or even full-blown psychosis.
2. As for what autistic symptoms antipsychotics are effective for, the main symptom is irritability (ie. meltdowns). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Risperdal and, last week, Abilify for this purpose in children. Of course, the risk is here that children (and adults with poorer intellectual/communicative functioning) get "drugged into compliance".
3. As for other symptoms (anxieyt, sensory overload, sleep problems, etc.), I know people who are on antipsychotics for these, but I don't know if there are any well-designed studies on autistics for these symptoms. (There are single-case reports [do a PubMed or PubMedCentral search] and I remember coming across at least one study examining the possible effectiveness of Risperdal for autism "core symptoms", but I don't remember which study it was and I don't remember the conclusion.)
4. Antipsychotics are not technically addictive, but as someone else pointed out, psychological dependence may occur int he sense that someone doesn't learn alternative coping skills. Same goes, by the way, for depressed people on SSRIs; they are as effective as psychotherapy, with the one difference that you have to continue taking your meds and you don't have to continue visiting your therapist. Tolerance for antipsychotics doesn't develop in everyone.
5. Side effects vary greatly depending ont he individual. Statistically speaking, the first-generation drugs hav emore movement side effects (tardive dyskinesia, acute dystonia, acathisia, etc.), and the second-generation drugs cause more weight gain/metabolic changes (which are risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease). As for the "sudden death" risk, this is extremely rare, but is indeed a risk mostly with the second-generation drugs (I seem to remember Terlect [sp?] is known for this specifically). I was told by someone on an autism list back when I was on an antipsychotic that you're supposed to get a baseline ECG, but I never got one and don't know of anyone else who did.

As for my own experience: was on Risperdal for a few months in 2007, mostly for meltdowns. The situation was in itself quite strange in that it was logical that I was having these meltdowns (I started ont he drug a week before a move into independent living for the first time and university in a different city, etc.), but when I was offered the drug I thought really that move is going to happen anyway and I'd better be calm then. I don't think the drug was quite effective, but I can't be sure since so much changed along with going ont he meds (the move etc.). I still had huge, getting-me-picked-up-by-police meltdowns when on the drug (I was on only 1mg/day but my doc didn't want to increase it). I stopped after a few months and dont'know whether I had withdrawal or relapse; I did have my major crisis that had me hospitalized 4 weeks after stopping the drug, but I've told two psychiatry residents and one psychiatrists and asked the two residents specifically about going back on meds, and none ever came back to me about it. As for side effects, I had a little dizziness but that was tolerable. I also had my heart racing for no apparent reason, but three doctors dismissed it as "stress" without ever having examined me and one of them even said it couldn't possibly be from the Risperdal (uh-huh, it's freaking in the *patient* leaflet!) and another (the psychiatrist who originally prescribed it) said it couldn't be the Risperdal because I firs thad it the third, not the first (uh-huh, nothing in eithe rthe patient leaflet or the official physician guide that says this side effect has to start ont he veyr first day). Would I consider goign back on an antipsychotic? Not sure (not that it was ever suggested to me, but). I'm sometimes really jealous of autistics for whom Risperdal (or some other antipsychotic) actually works, but on the other hand I'd like as few pills as possible due to the side effects.

I got Dogmatil 50 mg in 2009 (Antipsychotic), it helped me w/ anger issues and around a year after that in 2010 I started 2 take the train and bus alone for frist time. and I started to find it easier to be social at the school I went to but then I was told I needed 200 mg/100 mg over the week and I started 2 over-eat and got fat and I was sleeping all the time and I often happen to go eat at Mcdonalds near the school and that was even worse when on Antipsychotic at the same time. then in 2012 they told me they no longer sale 50 mg or 200 mg dogmatil and made me take 400 mg 200 mg/400 mg every week, then in 2014 I ended up being nearly 199 ibs heavy and wore size 38 waist in jeans. then I spoke to my doctor in late summer of 2014 and he was worried about I wanted to go back to take 200 insted of 400 like I used to because the common user of the drugs takes FAR more like 600 mg to 3200 mg if they have schizophrenia, and I had 2 tell him I do NOT have schizophrenia but autism and then I went back to take 200 mg and I lost some wight and in 2 months after I wore size 36 waist jeans. in 2015 I talked 2 my doctor about stopping taking dogmatil but after 5 months I had very big mood swings and anger issues and too much thinking and worring in my brain and then by late 2015 I only took like 50 mg of dogmatil (broke a 400 mg pill down to 50 mg) and then by early 2016 we found out I should take dogmatil only 3 times a week and 200 mg and today I have lost a lot of wight and wear size 33 and 34 waist jeans and wight around 157 ibs. taking very little dogmatil make it easy to handle anger but at the same time make it easier not 2 over-eat but after 2 days if not taking it I can get a little headace.

I am taking Quetiapine Fumarate to combat insomnia. It helps, before taking it I was lucky to sleep 4 hours and that was with waking up 2 times. Now I sleep 6 to 7 hours. Still waking up 3 or 4 times but able to get back to sleep where without it I can't. Still working on dosage to give me a solid uninterrupted 7 to 8 hours of sleep.

Only troubling side effect for me is constipation. Taking a gentle laxative to balance that.

Also on Valium, to help with sleep with the Quetiapine at night and during day if a panic occurs. Since we increased the dose of the Quetiapine haven't needed the Valium the day time to often.