Anti-depressants for depressed Aspies?

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nthach
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15 Nov 2010, 12:07 am

auntblabby wrote:
strattera was the best thing for me, until my GERD acted up. since then i have managed via mental/psychological hygiene.


Isn't Strattera for ADHD? I used that stuff when I was in high school, it didn't work. I also reacted bad to Ritalin. Adderall works best for me.



auntblabby
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15 Nov 2010, 2:05 am

nthach wrote:
auntblabby wrote:
strattera was the best thing for me, until my GERD acted up. since then i have managed via mental/psychological hygiene.


Isn't Strattera for ADHD? I used that stuff when I was in high school, it didn't work. I also reacted bad to Ritalin. Adderall works best for me.


the main point is that all the drugs you and i mentioned stimulate the frontal lobes in different ways. both ritalin and adderal are forms of methylphenidate or buffered amphetamines, AKA speed. the adderall is more buffered [metered release] than ritalin, so some folk respond better to that drug than ritalin. btw, did you know JFK took ritalin?
anyways, all i can say about strattera [which is not an amphetamine] is that i have both innattentive subtype ADD as well as AS and it was a therapeutic drug for me, but my guts didn't like it, unfortunately. it was the only time in my life that i felt semi-normally-functioning, when i was taking strattera. when i took an amphetamine [concerta] i also felt more normal but it made me very cross, so i had to stop taking it.



raisedbyignorance
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15 Nov 2010, 6:41 pm

From past experience with anti depressants I advise people to make sure you keep track of how the antidepressants are working for you. Do not rely on the doctors to determine your state of condition. You can say you're still depressed after one day of medication and theyll think "ok we need to up your dose". You need to find out for yourself what is the best dosage for you and dont let them make you think any different.

Also dont rely on university counselors/psychiatrist to know squat about psychiatry or medication.



auntblabby
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15 Nov 2010, 9:36 pm

when i was on norpramin, the therapeutic dose was considered to be 150-300mg, but all i could tolerate was 75 mg. any higher a dose and the "anticholinergic" effects [read: dried me up like a prune] became overwhelming. some folk could not tolerate ANY dose of that particular tricyclic drug. norpramin had a modest therapeutic benefit for me, but it wore off over the next 3 years until it didn't do anything for me. it did make me lose weight and keep it off.



amber_missy
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17 Nov 2010, 11:06 am

My friend started on citalapram, but found that the side-effects were too problematic. He's now on seteraline and they seem to be helping. :)

I've taken amitriptaline before (for short-term depression/bereavement) and found that, although it made me very sleepy (I slept for almost 12-hours straight every night), it really did seem to help... but maybe it was the extra sleep!



Gallygun
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17 Nov 2010, 12:02 pm

I spoke with my AS therapist, she was really helpful!

She said that depression is just anger turned inwards, and since I was suddenly dealing with my really intense anger with exercise (as opposed to pushing it down), that depression was likely to come out as well. But she also said I needed to keep exercising, so I can deal with it at all.

It's just really hard, because the depression comes in 1/2 hour to 3-4 hour waves, and then just leaves me, every time after I exercise. And the harder I work out, the worse the depression afterwards! I even get suicidal, but it only lasts a few hours.

But that's different than the empty, non-feeling depression that has been with me for about 6 1/2 years now. That just robs me of all joy and specialness in my life. I don't know what do to about that, because anti depressants make me rage.


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