SURVEY of Medications Adults with Asperger's are on

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Okay.... I am about to write a section on medications for anxiety/depression/behaviors and Asperger's for a book I am ghost writing. Anyone want to help me out with a little bit of quick research to start and tell me what medications you are on, and maybe some opinions about their efficacy?

You know what would be really good, was to have a general survey, a LARGE survey, of adults with Asperger's, the meds they are on, and which they rate as most effective. I think that would be helpful for a lot of us when trying to decide what course of treatment to try!

This includes ADD meds or any meds of any sort to treat any psychological symptom that could at least be said to fall SOMEWHAT in the the Asperger's category, I am not picky here.

Thanks =) I have many ideas of course but could always use more
Kate

Mirtazapine, clonazepam, venlafaxine.
22.5mg/day 2mg/day 75mg/day

The mirtazapine and venlafaxine snapped me out of a pretty lengthy depression. The mirtazapine makes me tired and hungry and I take it at night with 1mg of clonazepam. The venlafaxine increased the frequency of my headaches, but now I have a lot of energy during the day, and find it easier to function in general, It also helps with perseveration. The clonazepam I don't really like, it's very hard to come off of once you've been on it for a while (took me 1 year to go from 3mg to 2mg); However it does decrease the frequency of meltdowns, and it really seems to keep my moods in check. Overall Id like to get off all of them and just use cannabis, which I find invaluable when it comes to increasing reciprocity and attention (particularly sativa strains).

If you're writing a book, you should be both picky and accurate. There are no medications effective for the treatment of autism, which is what Asperger Syndrome is, therefore, no one with AS is taking meds for their AS. If they take meds, it's for some other comorbid condition and as such, is unrelated to any treatment of autism.

Please do not spread misinformation and give anyone the false notion that AS can be treated with pharmaceuticals.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-cond ... n-20029249

Medication

There are no medications that specifically treat Asperger's syndrome. But some medications may improve specific symptoms — such as anxiety, depression or hyperactivity — that can occur in many children with Asperger's syndrome.

Examples include:

•Aripiprazole (Abilify). This drug may be effective for treating irritability related to Asperger's syndrome. Side effects may include weight gain and an increase in blood sugar levels.

•Guanfacine (Intuniv). This medication may be helpful for the problems of hyperactivity and inattention in children with Asperger's syndrome. Side effects may include drowsiness, irritability, headache, constipation and bedwetting.

•Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Drugs such as fluvoxamine (Luvox) may be used to treat depression or to help control repetitive behaviors. Possible side effects include restlessness and agitation.

•Risperidone (Risperdal). This medication may be prescribed for agitation and irritability. It may cause trouble sleeping, a runny nose and an increased appetite. This drug has also been associated with an increase in cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

•Olanzapine (Zyprexa). Olanzapine is sometimes prescribed to reduce repetitive behaviors. Possible side effects include increased appetite, drowsiness, weight gain, and increased blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

•Naltrexone (Revia). This medication, which is sometimes used to help alcoholics stop drinking, may help reduce some of the repetitive behaviors associated with Asperger's syndrome. However, the use of low-dose naltrexone — in doses as low as two to four mg a day — has been gaining favor recently. But, there's no good evidence that such low doses have any effect on Asperger's syndrome.

At the present time, the only things I use is :
- Alprazolam (=xanax) 0.25mg whenever needed, which at the present time is about once a week. I don't take any regular treatment, I use it on the spot to fight anxiety attacks.
- Kava (a root infusion from the Pacific islands) quite regularly, maybe every other day. I find it etremely soothing and relaxing.

I had written a quite comprehensive post about my experience with prescription and other medicines, you may find it useful. Click here to see it.




I would be surprised if there was no published research on that topic. Maybe give Google Scholar a try ?

Good luck,

I might humbly suggest that, rather than asking anonymous strangers on an internet forum, you consult the scientific literature.

Google Scholar is a good idea.
Yes, I will look at the published literature. In fact, I suppose I should have started there. But I've always been one who is interested in individual case studies and like to have those to back up or at least supplement the very dry scientific literature.
I thought it would be more interesting if the numbers came from our own community. Obviously, if I did use any information gained here it would be with the disclaimer that it was a very limited sample!

And yes I know Asperger's cannot be treated. But there ARE medications that do help some of the symptoms that Asperger's brings and while I am not a huge fan of medication these options should be known and examined.

Thanks
Kate

Google Scholar is a good idea.
Yes, I will look at the published literature. In fact, I suppose I should have started there. But I've always been one who is interested in individual case studies and like to have those to back up or at least supplement the very dry scientific literature.
I thought it would be more interesting if the numbers came from our own community. Obviously, if I did use any information gained here it would be with the disclaimer that it was a very limited sample!

And yes I know Asperger's cannot be treated. But there ARE medications that do help some of the symptoms that Asperger's brings and while I am not a huge fan of medication these options should be known and examined.

Thanks
Kate

Devark, how did you happen upon Mirtazapine? I looked it up as I hadn't heard of it. It seems to be an anti-depressant, but I am unclear if it is an SSRI or some other kind. How did your doctor choose that over the more popular SSRIs?

Does anyone else find that their doctor just wants to prescribe them garden variety SSRIs and or benzos and nothing else and just throws up their hands at you when those don't work?

I feel like I am getting more knowledge researching these online than my dr either has or is willing to share with me.

She did suggest Lamictal for anxiety but I have not decided if I want to risk that or not. I get nervous about side effects. I have researched it and there seem to have been many positive reports about it - although of course not universal. I still get nervous. I know it is different for everyone. Any opinions on that?

Primary symptoms are high degree of disabling anxiety and PTSD like symptoms as well as a lot of sensory issues which to my knowledge are not treatable by medication

Thanks

Kate

I am currently not taking any meds, I have not been taking any meds designed to fiddle with my brain. Thankfully I have never needed any.

I feel we're missing the interesting point here ... Ghost writing? For whom?

I'm not on any medication and never have been.

i take sertraline and risperidone

After going through a ton medications that ultimately didn't work my psychiatrist called Easter Seals (who also have my medical records), and they suggested it alongside venlafaxine. Mirtazapine is a NaSSA (noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant), the combination with venlafaxine is sometimes referred to as "California rocket fuel", my Dr described my depression as "treatment resistant" when she called Easter Seals, which is why I think they suggested this combination. It pretty much got me out of depression, brought back my appetite, and fixed my sleep cycle. My only complaint with mirtazapine is that it makes me super hungry. I mean to say, before I was on it I was never hungry, now I have to be real careful not to over eat. I gained about 20lbs the first month, but I workout a few times a week, and i'm physically active pretty much every day so i'm back down to my ideal weight. While i'm thankful it worked, I still want to eventually get off the pharmaceuticals all together.

Over the past 20 years, I have been on the following. None of the pharmaceuticals worked with me.

Prozac--made me meaner than a cornered raccoon. Not something you want to be taking when dealing with the brass at the Pentagon.

Effexor--Tinnitus, as well as catatonic.
Amitriphaline--hung over as well as sleeping for more than 24 hours at a time
Celexa--emotional flatness, sleeping more than 24 hours at a time, weight gain, increased blood sugar levels, increased HDL cholesterol levels.
Buspar--increased anxiety
Viibryd--increased appetite, elevated HDL, increased blood sugars, brain zaps, brain fog, terrifying dreams, cognitive difficulties, suicidal ideation, increased depression, presentation of bipolar I, SIADH.
Any statins--diarrhea, increased blood sugars.

Niacin--lowered HDL
Fish Oil--Lowered HDL, improved mood.

I am not taking any medication.

The three scripts I get are:

Seroquel
Zoloft
Valium

Seroquel is there for anxiety, being overwhelmed, paranoia and sleeping problems
Zoloft is there for OCD and panic disorder
Valium is there for the times I have to do things far outside of the comfort zone

(Looking at that, I'm on a lot. O well. I've been functioning way better since taking them though, plus being way more comfortable.)

Lots of the anxiety and being overwhelmed are caused by the ASD, so it's not all there for comorbids -- I've done a pretty good job figuring out what's caused by this and that and what causes it.