Who has autism and is medication free?
Is there anyone who chooses to be off all medications? I used to take medication but I gave them all up because I didn't like how they made me feel. They weren't helping me cope anyway; they just made me dull and I wasn't as creative. So I thought, what's the point of these things? I went off cold turkey and had terrible side effects though-feeling very dizzy, mood swings but the side effects did go away.
Has anyone else had negative experiences with medication? Or perhaps, for you, meds are beneficial.
I have autism and don't need any medication.
A few years ago I tried some anti-depressants/anti-anxiety meds for anxiety/depression/OCD (I didn't know about autism then), but none of them had any effect on me. I didn't feel any different. So I just abruptly stopped taking them (not supposed to do that) and nothing happened. It seems that I'm completely immune to medication.
My OCD and anxiety naturally gradually got better over the years. I still have them but they are manageable.
I have ADHD as well, which was actually diagnosed several years before. The stimulants are definitely helpful with focusing.
Other than my ADHD meds, I only take fluoxetine or sertraline, which seems to have made me just a tad bit less neurotic, but I can't be sure. Lamotrigine, lithium, and olanzapine all tended to negate any tendency toward positive mood, but nothing to keep my moods from crashing. I stopped taking the olanzapine and visiting that psychiatrist and just visit a GP now.
There was a girl whom I've met through here a while back, and she was diagnosed yet not taking anything. There are likely many others, but I was at the point that anything that could potentially helped seemed worth a try.
From what I've researched the medications commonly prescribed for ASD - anti-psychotics/mood stabilizers/anti-epileptics, anti-depressants, and stimulants don't really show that much effectiveness in the studies I've read. There's a lot more research leaning towards intranasal oxytocin (especially), memantine, and some other anti-alzheimer drugs. Of course, memantine was first produced in the 60s or 70s, so unfortunately it is unlikely that there will be push towards using these medications since they are not profitable to pharmaceutical companies.
One last thing: I believe for the most part any sort of contemporary non-medication based therapy (including practicing mindfulness, DBT/CBT, group social skills training). I'm actually a big proponent of mindfulness as it has been well studied and showed to improve many domains, including interpersonal.
_________________
Axis I: 299.80 Asperger's Syndrome, 314.00 Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Predominantly Inattentive Type
Blog: http://www.23andaspie.com
I'm fortunate that I'm medication-free.
The last time I was prescribed medication for any sort of ASD symptom was in 1974, at age 13, when I was prescribed Ritalin for "hyperactivity." That only lasted two weeks. It seems as if I "aged" out of Ritalin, since it's actually a stimulant for people over the age of about 8 (if I'm not mistaken).
I liked that I felt more focused and calmer on stimulant medication but I hated the restlessness and hyperactivity that come on as the medicine wears off (and I was scared of people being mad at me for it). It's weird to know my brain reacts like a small child, does anyone else get hyperactive and restless when the medicine wears off? Anyway I stopped taking because of that, it made me upset.
I have Aspergers and I've never taken any meds for it. My doctor told me that I could have sedatives or antidepressants if the condition got me too anxious or depressed, but I haven't taken up the offer. I did take sedatives once, before I'd heard of AS, but saw no evidence that they fixed the anxiety. I figure it was my environment that needed to be changed, not my brain chemistry, so I worked on that.
I haven't been on any medication since 2009 except prenatal vitamins and iron and stool softeners. I probably should be on it for anxiety but my health insurance doesn't cover medication.
The side affects I have had in the past were weight gain from Depakote I was on for seizures, and not being able to pee because my drug dose was too high which was Imaprimine (sp). Some other pill I was on in 4th and 5th grade for ADD gave me high metabolism so I could eat eat eat and not gain a pound.
_________________
Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed.
Daughter: NT, no diagnoses.
Sweetleaf
Veteran
Joined: 6 Jan 2011
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 34,469
Location: Somewhere in Colorado
I do not consistantly take any medications on a daily basis...have tried various anti-depressants(prozac, effexor, wellbutrin) A couple other things to attempt treating the depression that where not specific anti-depressants zyprexa and some mood stabilizer that gave me allergy like symptoms. So yeah all those had side effects making them not worth while and had no real effect on symptoms aside from maybe making some worse. I am however prescribed trazodone and valium but those are for as needed, trazodone if I need to sleep and valium for anxiety/panic attacks. Aside from that I more or less self medicate with cannabis...though I don't solely smoke to help symptoms admittedly I do just want to get stoned sometimes.
_________________
We won't go back.
androbot01
Veteran
Joined: 17 Sep 2014
Age: 53
Gender: Female
Posts: 6,746
Location: Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Not to be bitchy, but if they weren't working, then it's not a tough choice.
Does a diabetic choose to take insulin? Yes, but in that case it is a clear benefit. Same for me with medication. Antidepressants and antipsychotics. Mindfulness can help, but I become suicidal and dysfunctional without medication.
Pizzagal3000
Snowy Owl
Joined: 25 Dec 2014
Gender: Female
Posts: 152
Location: In The Land Of Quality Music
Has anyone else had negative experiences with medication? Or perhaps, for you, meds are beneficial.
I am assuming by "medication" you mean "pharmaceuticals," correct?
I believe medical drugs are a major cause of anyone acquiring an illness.
I can surely attest to that. So I quit ingesting drugs(toxins) and went straight for herbal/alternative remedies.
I can admit that I feel so much better due to the herbs!
_________________
I dress anyway want I to, do anything I want to, be anything I want to, cause I got the right to! I is talkin to you(ppl who "oppress" us), boo!----PizzA TimE!! !
I thought there's no medication for autism? If you have anxiety that's a separate issue. I stopped taking anxiety meds last June, in November I stopped taking antacid. I haven't felt too different so I guess that's OK. Right now I still take an OTC sleeping pill. But I've been taking that for years for insomnia. My kids don't take anything. They sleep like logs.
_________________
AQ score: 44
Aspie mom to two autistic sons (21 & 20 )
Herbs. They're great for people. I'll never understand the societal obsession with deviating from the basic natural solutions to so many common troubles. I think it has a lot to do with the puritanical revulsion towards our own anatomy.
_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos
I don't take meds.
It's not that I totally don't need them, I just don't want to go down that path.
Sometimes I have issues with sleep so I just take two benadryls before bedtime and that usually works very well.
_________________
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
- Thomas Jefferson
Similar Topics | |
---|---|
Free Will or Otherwise |
21 Feb 2024, 10:14 am |
Gluten Free recipe ideas Needed |
10 Apr 2024, 10:03 am |
Autism |
13 Mar 2024, 7:44 am |
best books on autism |
06 Mar 2024, 3:45 pm |