Autism and medication overdose

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Sometimes we tend to think autism related depression and anxiety is more serious compared to depression and anxiety in people without any type of autism. Sometimes the depression or anxiety might be so strong, we might think we need more pills to deal with it. Does this mean medication overdose was a good thing sometimes, or it was always causing negative effects, and was not a good idea anyways? For me, I always thought maybe one extra pill is okay since I'm not overdosing 10 pills higher, but only 1 or 2. Eventually, I realized, depending on what medication it was, it was not a good idea, although certain extreme cases, were okay to do so, but even then I realized the side effects were too unpleasant and was not worth it. However, this really depends on what medication we're talking about. Specifically, can you explain if you had overdose with benzodiazepines for example, and if yes, which one it was specifically? For me, I had an overdose case with Alprazolam, and it was unpleasant, mostly because this is a relatively strong benzodiazepine.

I've never overdosed on meds. Most autistic people are very sensitive to meds and need less of a given substance rather than more. Many meds don't work for us at all since we don't have a problem with our serotonin reuptake thingies. We have different brains and our brains likely have trauma rather than serotonin-related depression.

The closest I've come to taking too much of something was 25 mg of Seroquel, which is considered a baby dose. Some people take hundreds of mg of it. 25 mg knocked me out for almost 24 hours and my daughter thought I died.

Thanks Isabella. Good Reply.

Basically, it seems like you're right. There are some antidepressants which dont cause much sexual side effects it seems. But did you know all SSRI's cause it? There's no SSRI which doesnt, it seems. Atleast i havent heard of one without sexual side effects.

Have you been able to find out why or how does SSRI cause sexual side effects? Is it having an effect on part of a brain which is responsible for erection and sexual pleasure, or something else? Its interesting why or how it causes it.

Can you describe / share what sexual side effect effects you had specifically? For me, Paroxetine was a big problem when it comes to sexual side effects, but Fluoxetine caused similar things, and only Duloxetine, which I moved to, was better in regards to that.

Do you think people can still get laid despite these sexual side effects, or is that impossible?

I think we're responding to the wrong thread if you want to know about sexual side effects. That was a different thread which you wrote. I'll reply here anyway.

I believe the reason for sexual side effects has something to do with changes to our dopamine levels. Serotonin, Dopamine and other neurotransmitters play a role in orgasm for men and women, as well as blood flow which would affect physical arousal for both men and women. I'm pretty sure SSRI / SNRI also affect our testosterone levels, which relate to mental and physical arousal and can create a sluggishness of our overall affect because we're ridding ourselves of anxiety. Anxiety and the release of anxiety are key elements in sex.

I think they all contribute in some way, unfortunately, but Wellbutrin is often used to supplement other anti-depressants to counteract any sexual side effects. Wellbutrin is known for restoring sexual interest and function for many people. I think Buspar is known for that as well.

When I took Zoloft I wasn't in relationship and I was recovering from trauma, so it didn't matter. I did notice though that I had no sexual interest whatsoever, not even in literature or movies or super-private thoughts. Zilch. I thought it was part of my trauma response but looking back, it was definitely the meds.

I have no idea if people can "get laid" because that's not a term I normally use. If someone is in a relationship or interested in hookups and they're on SSRI it's something they should discuss with their doctor (and partner). Trial and error is usually the best course of action if meds need to be adjusted. My guy only took Remeron briefly (like, a month), because of the side effects, but other people apparently fare well on it.

← OD'ed on caffeine (e.g., coffee and 'Monster' drinks) just before my first heart attack.

Interesting, I've always had the opposite experience with everything from medications to recreational substances.

In my case it's a genetic thing. My body doesn't metabolise medicines or even food / nutrients properly so the excess becomes toxic and makes me sick. Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) could kill me.

Don't know how true this is, but I've read that when they assess drug safety, they tend to exclude people with ASD from the data set, hence they frequently don't know how safe or dangerous a lot of these drugs are to us. It's also a common suspicion that the pharmaceutical companies have a strong profit motive for playing down drug risks in general. All in all, I'm wary of taking any kind of pharmaceuticals at all if the ailment isn't quite serious and there's no safe alternative possible. So exceeding the recommended dose wouldn't be a thing I'd be at all likely to do. I'm more likely to take less than they tell me to. Still, life is often a gamble, and it's up to the individual to decide what's an acceptable risk for themselves.