Books on Asperger's medications?

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I am doing research for a term paper on the medical treatments for the symptoms associated with Asperger's syndrome. I have access to plenty of journal articles, but I would like some book sources as well. Does anyone have any recommendations for books on the medications used to treat its symptoms, or with chapters on the drugs used?

I think it's a pretty under-researched area, partly because psycho-active medications often have atypical effects with autistic people. I only heard of Venlafaxine recently (SNRI), after they put my brother onto it... apparently acts on social anxiety. Be interested to know more about it.

I think Venlafaxine (as well as other antidepressants) is given to Aspies when Asperger's is comorbid with depression, which is often the case, and because some antidepressants reduce anxiety (also common with Asperger's, particularly social anxiety), apparently related to the drugs increasing the size of the hypothalamus. I don't know if that's how Venlafaxine in particular helps with social anxiety or not.

I was on Venlafaxine (Effexor) for a short while, but I had bad side effects, such as rapid heart rate and increased blood pressure while on it. As you mentioned, it's an SNRI, so it inhibits the reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine.

I do not have a book suggestion to offer you. However, a Web site titled "SSRI Stories" has a data base of "3500+ media articles naming antidepressants" and other similiar medicines.

There are no medications that treat the core symptoms of AS (as in the DSM-IV). When medication is used, it's for another condition, like anxiety or depression.

I have an excellent book called Straight Talk about Psychiatric Medications for Kids, by Timothy Wilens, M.D. It's got a lot of useful information.

Just stay away from stuff like Yahoo Answers and that kind of thing, which is almost entirely laypeople talking out of their a***.

(I assume "Yahoo Answers" is still generally not accepted as a proper source, anyway, but the world is a different place than it was when I was in college.)

As elderwanda states, the SSRI's are used to treat the co-morbids and that is what I use them for. HOwever, because I began to have a better management of co-morbids, I have been able to implement some strategies that have helped me with a little more dynamism in my life, less restricted routine and rigidity and the management of sensory issues.

I do however query how one can REALLY separate out the ASD from the co-morbids and the neurological from the physiological and the psychological from the emotional etc.

It is ALL interconnected in the one human being.

My view is a holistic approach that focuses on general wellbeing and good diet and some positive life strategies as well as relaxation, exercise and some specific ASD therapy can indeed help me to be happier.

Those are very good points.

They can be separated out simply because these are things that we define ourselves. While what we apply these concepts to is real, a human being, the concepts we apply are not real above and beyond being part of your language and discourse. Arbitrary concepts with arbitrary boundaries providing objective knowledge because they are applied to something that objectively exists. People often think you cannot get objectivity from a subjective standpoint but you can.