Drugs and AS

Post Reply New Topic

*Note, please do not turn this in to a an anti-drug discussion, this is me finding information out from the community and that is all*

I've been interested in and researched drugs ever since I was young, it was something I was always interested in, the effects on people, society and so forth and although it was many years before I even went near any I've done lots of research in my time. Over the last few years I've done quite a few drugs and this year I tried MDMA (or ecstasy if you wish).

We all know that alcohol can ease social cohesion, and I have often found social situations like pubs and clubs easier with alcohol and this goes across the board for anyone (spectrum or not) and there are other drugs which also do this as well (MDMA, methedrone, Cocaine etc) however in a lot of my research over the years I found a lot of instances of people being effected by MDMA long after the drug had dissipated form their system. There have been trials on people with PTSD and very debilitating social problems and found there is quite a strong link between taking MDMA and helping people with these problems. There have also been Government MDMA trials for this.

I've found no drug like alcohol where the effects of easing social situations being transferred to after the effects have warn off, but this year I've found that personally there does appear to be a link between MDMA and me personally behaving with people. Even after the first time and the drug has long dissipated from my system I noticed a change. I've taken it quite a few times this year and with time I am noticing I am more relaxed with people, talking to people is far easier (on the tube the other day I told a lady she had toothpaste round her mouth, I would have never done that before, in fact something similar happened a year ago and I said nothing). And maybe this is age (I turned 24 this year) but it doesn't seam likely as the timings match pretty accurately.

A friend of mine who is probably AS also said the same thing, after the first time he really came out of his shell. You could discuss for days why this is, I don't know my self it could be that the fact you find it so easy on MDMA to talk with people and relax shows you personally that you can do that or maybe there is a brain change...I don't know and won't start guessing and I don't really want to discuss this here.

However, I am wondering if anyone has any experiences like this with other drugs where by after they found things easier or worse. I am interested in writing a book on how drugs effect society on the whole and I might include a chapter on this, but I'm more doing this for my own personally research and to find out from other people if they have seen similar things.

Many Thanks
Chris

I have experimented with a variety of drugs, I have also studied botanical medicine, biochemistry, &c.

I find that MDMA and cannabis both help me to be more 'normal'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug

Is it possible that some drugs can temporarily allow some persons with Asperger - autism to feel more sociable/whatever? Yes. Is it possible that even after using some drugs, these persons with Asperger - autism can retain a memory of being temporarily more sociable/whatever? Yes.

Are drugs cures? No.

Examples of drugs which can cause large, visible changes in some users (not everyone):

L-dopa
Dilantin

----

Legal drug - L-dopa (Parkinson's/encephalitis)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awakenings (Encephalitis lethargica)(Oliver Sacks)

(The disease [encephalitis lethargica] was the subject of the book and film, "Awakenings.")
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/ence ... argica.htm

Parkinson's

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/park ... isease.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Sacks

---

Illegal drug

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_LSD (Albert Hofmann)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide (psychedelic drug)

At one time in the USA, LSD was a completely legal, prescription drug.

Andy Williams (International singer)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Williams
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... liams.html
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/andy_wi ... rity/67486

---

Legal drug - Dilantin - an epilepsy medicine (Jack Dreyfus)

http://www.remarkablemedicine.com/
http://www.remarkablemedicine.com/Medic ... icity.html

---

Temple Grandin (autism)

Does Temple Grandin use a prescription drug for ~ anxiety (not autism)? Yes. Has Temple Grandin used a prescription drug for anxiety for many, many years? Yes.

http://www.hbo.com/movies/temple-grandin/index.html

---

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/

---

Contrast the above with the following:

http://www.nutrition.gov/ (Healthy foods)
http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/ (Pure water, clear air)

http://www.wholefoods.com/
http://www.traderjoes.com/
http://www.vitamix.com/
http://www.farmersmarketla.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrition

I seem more "normal" when I am tired, apparently, because I don't stim as much and use scripted conversations.

I also can't think as well or communicate as well as when I'm alert and creating my own sentences.

so... seeming more normal is not necessarily a good thing.

do you mean mephedrone? common mis-spelling

I found MDMA was incredibble for me socially and it did last. I did though find i was perhaps a bit depressed/not as interested in my previous interests after i used it. (for a few months)

I have not tried mephedrone but i have tried methylone (awesome experience) which by all accounts is much much nicer and has a cleaner feeling. For me it dissolved a load of social fears i had and had a pretty minimal come down.

Canabis is both good and bad for me. It opened up my senses to understanding social cues but debilitates my normal coherent intelligence. it is difficult to make my mind up about it because in the past i smoked it with tobacco and it caused me a load of problems due to chronic overuse.

I think moderation is important. I would not consider taking MDMA many more times. It is not a safe drug. It damages areas of your brain involved in speech, can lead to depression and sleep apnea. There are loads of ways of preventing come-downs (certain fruits and supplements) and potentially damage as well??

the lack of ability to find pure and safe MDMA is a big consideration for me. same for canabis.

I've heard that energy drinks mimic a street drug, but I'm not sure which drug it is that they mimic.

I very likely have aspergers and I have taken MDMA before, expecting to become more social and relaxed, but I experienced no such effect. In fact, I was alarmed that the people I was with were being so social and care free and I was still trying to avoid people as much as possible.

Cannabis is a huge help. It reduces my anxiety, and makes social interaction much easier, although I suspect I might act a little less normal depending on the dosage. Regardless, I am able to do more communicating.

Psilocybin (mushrooms) is a wonder drug. I think If you set out to do or learn specific things on that drug you can excel at them. Also, the self awareness it brings is profound.

I've heard that Ecstasy can make people more empathetic. For a normal person, this would probably make them excessively sociable. But it's possible that it could actually make us normal. It would make sense. I've also read that Marijuana is prescribed to people with ASDs, in areas where this is legal.

In the past, LSD was prescribed to people with marital problems. This is how it became a street drug. Kids started stealing it from their parents and using it for recreation. If drugs were not abused so much, they could be the answer to a lot of mental, neurological, and physical problems.

You have to get the prescription from Holland. Google for 'Jim Pinky Starr' and you'll find the story, or look up Peter Reynolds' Worpress account. It's not in the papers yet, if it ever will be!

If the patient is possibly bipolar or has ever shown signs of psychotic symptoms this is a REALLY bad idea. In those cases chronic use could cause schizoaffective disorder.

In my experience, the people who would suffer from long term use of cannabis simply dont enjoy it. I know someone with schizoaffective disorder who says all hallucinogens make him feel very uneasy, while stimulants like cocaine, and amphetamines are his wonder drugs.

Thank you for all that replied. Yes there are dangers with MDMA, but the risk is very low, lower then booze, tabacco and many others. I think the rate of death is about 2 per 100,000 and I believe less then 500 people have died from MD in England over the last 25 years and most can be attributed to water in-take (too much or too little). There are things you should do with MDMA, like any drugs; don't do it every weekend, a 2 week gap minimum is recommended. Turkey meat is good along with 5-HTP, magnesium, Vit C are all good things for afterward these can all be researched online though. I find for the 24 hours during and after my empathy goes from basically zero to...well, having quite a bit and its a nice feeling, I know it's fake but for 1-2 weekends a month I can feel in tune with other people and comfortable around them, but I feel this is taking effect in normal everyday life.

Cannabis in general is a safe drug for the majority of people, of course nothing is safe, but walking down the road isn't safe in-fact more dangerous as more people have died/accidents from it. However of course you do need to be careful. A lot of studies suggest those with a history of schizophrenia should avoid heavy use as it can bring on the onset of schizophrenia and those who will very likely get schizophrenia in later life can get it earlier then they would have if they had not used Cannabis, but none of these studies is VERY conclusive. Effects can be different for everyone, I quite like the fact is shuts my head up for 5 minutes (my brain never stops and I think this is a trait of A.S ASAIK) and it can lead to deeper thought and so forth.

As for jpfudgeworth it's sad that your body is effected that way by MD and there are people that do have those symptoms, it could just be you, or it could have been heavily cut. Some drugs do bring on the effects that you described and it could have been that which did it and not the MDMA it self, but it would be difficult to say.

Lastly pgd, I think we all know that drugs are no "cure" but as far as I can see I will only feel certain feelings which are missing (like large amounts of empathy (or what could be classed as normal levels)) with certain drugs and as long as I know it's fake, and know what I'm doing then this is fine with me. However, the way certain drugs have effected me in my everyday life is noticeable by other people as well as my self and while I wouldn't call this a cure, I would say it's a good thing

And Conan yes sorry I meant Mephedrone

Thank you for all of your replies, they have been informative and I thank you for your time