Study: Little evidence antidepressants helpful for autism

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Thought i would share this story from my Reuters mailing list email newsletter

Personally SSRI's had severe side effects for me and made me suicidal and left me with some side effects that havent gone away over a year later
There were NO positive experiences on any of the many i was told to take. It was all downhill.

I posted HERE about it a while back

I thought id run a poll to see how many have had bad/good experiences as well, so please take a moment to vote

Anyways, here's the story, there's a link to the full story at the bottom

(Reuters Health) - While antidepressants are commonly given to people with autism, there is no evidence from clinical trials that the drugs are helpful for children with the disorder, and only limited evidence that they benefit adults, a new research review finds.

The analysis, reported in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, adds to doubts about the use of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in autism.

Last year, a U.S.-government-funded study found that the SSRI citalopram (Celexa) was no better than a placebo at improving repetitive behaviors in children with autism. At the time, experts expressed surprise at the lack of benefit and said the results illustrated the need to test antidepressants against placebos in people with autism.

Read the full story here - source: Reuters

Yeah - when I was prescribed Escitalopram for mild anxiety, my testicles went numb, I felt like fainting, and I had difficulty breathing. I've strongly gone against psychiatry medicines since then, and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone unless it is a serious emergency (such as a psychotic breakdown or near-suicide behaviour). Basically, I believe it should be prescribed only if there's no other option.

I have panic attacks two or three times a year, and I wish I could get an emergency med to have during the attack only. I had one last week and it was terrible. However, the psychiatrists here refuse to prescribe me such a med - they want me to take those horrible SSRIs for every day of my life. Ugh.

I took paxil for a short time. I had all sorts of really weird dreams and got into trouble at work because of it. I stopped taking it.

Ironically, caffeine seems to help with my depression far better than anything else. I just have to make sure I don't take too much because it also causes me to be more prone to meltdowns.

Uhh, could be because autism isn't depression?

I conducted a study earlier. My conclusion is that painting an object red doesn't make it green.

Sorry, I'm in one of those moods. Maybe some random pharmaceuticals could sort me out.

i'm not sure if Paxil's even really affects my mood all that much. I've been taking it about a month and a half now.

Although, even if it didn't make a huge noticeable difference mentally, it did alleviate physical anxiety symptoms i was having like tingling extremities, nausea, & chest pains

But it also messed with my sleep schedule.
& for a little while i had jaw tension like i kept wanting to clench my teeth.

The meds I'm on help me a lot. More then just my depression. I notice if I go off it, even for a few days, I'm not as coherent. I'm frightened and scared and I revert back to a really scary time in my life.

I wanted something to help me fall alseep but the stupid doctor put me on Remoron. I was begining to loose my mind he put he on Seroquil to balance it out and I had a nervous breakdown. I saw a diffrent doctor and as soon as I walked in the door he said I was bipolar and wanted to put me on Ablilfy and since I refused he threatned to commit me. It's just a money game. I've tried so called anti depresents and they did nothing or made it worse. "Experts" refuse to belive that my depression is from being verbably and emotionaly abused by my father and from not being able to fulfill my own goals.

They've also showed that anti-depressants are not actually any better than a placebo at treating .... depression. Some people still believe in them, though, and it's not like they don't do anything, just maybe not what we think they do. Still, I have NEVER liked the idea of using them for autism related issues; it makes no sense to me. It's just trying to drug someone into not caring. To the extent someone has a co-morbid like anxiety that can be treated with medication it is, of course, a separate issue.