effects of stimulants on aspergers or hfa?

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Stimulants / Alerting Agents: Coffee - Caffeine - Ritalin - Dexedrine - Adderall and so on

http://www.rsna.org/rsna/media/pr2005/Coffee.cfm (Short-term memory)
http://www.coffeescience.org/alert (Mental alertness)

Recall reading a How To (understand) Hyperactivity book (1981) about ADHD Inattentive by C. Thomas Wild. Wild responds noticeably better to the old medicine, coffee - caffeine compounds - than to stronger meds such as Ritalin, Dexedrine, or Adderall. Wild is ADHD Inattentive with central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). For Wild, the right medicine (Tirend, NoDoz) will temporarily reduce distractibility a little and temporarily increase attention span a little (not a cure). Temporarily = for about four hours or so. Wild can sense a big difference between caffeine, Ritalin, Dexedrine, and Adderall and does not view them as being, for him, identical or interchangeable at all (due to each medicine having a known different chemical structure). Caffeine will cause predictable periods of sustained attention for Wild (not a cure).

http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-5/auditory.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alertness
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodmi ... ntion.html

Attention/Concentration - The ability to focus on a given task or set of stimuli for an appropriate period of time.

Attention, Sustained - Refers to a person's ability to work on a particular task or train of thought over an extended period of time.

Memory/Learning - Change in person's understanding or behavior due to experience or practice. Often thought of as acquisition of new information. For example, a person who learns quickly will likely remember an entire set of instructions after hearing them a single time. A patient with severely impaired learning ability will show little gain in recall after numerous repetitions. Learning and memory are interdependent. If immediate memory is poor, learning will be poor because only a portion of the information will be available for rehearsal/repetition. It is important to note that patients may have intact learning ability, but poor delayed memory. For example, a brain-injured patient may learn a set of instructions after several repetitions, but forget them the next day.

http://www.waiting.com/glossary.html

Stimulants - Alerting Agents

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimulant

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/aspe ... perger.htm
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/autism.htm
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/adhd/adhd.htm
http://www.associatedconditionsofcerebr ... /adhd.html

None of the meds used to treat ADHD - ADD - Attention Deficit(s) - Hyperactivity are cures.

Words

ADHD

Inattention
Hyperactivity
Impulsivity

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Other words

Absence/Petit Mal

http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/seizures/absence.html

liveandletdie posted (in part): ...When I take stimulants sometimes I am able to get alot done. However I know alot of people who have taken stimulants before none of which get the plethora of side effects I get from them such as making my skin very sensitive, paranoia, twitching, (I twitch without, just not as regularly or in as many places), body aches all over, make me less social (usually), the veins in the side of my head hurt, my hair starts to feel thin and my body is just "off" for 1 or 2 days later. (Coffee, Ritalin, Adderall, Dexedrine...) Been taking stimulants off and on the past couple of years. Not sure if this is the right place to post this?

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Side-effect

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_effect

Ticcing (twitching) is a common side-effect for some persons who use stimulants.

Benefits vs Risks/Side-effects

Keeping a written drug diary can help to very slowly sort out what a medicine does/doesn't do and possible side-effects.

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Drug diary, example:

Seizure Diary

http://www.epilepsy.com/seizurediary

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Just a footnote: If a person has paying attention difficulties which are associated with the many epilepsies, the stimulants - alerting agents can reduce the seizure threshold for some/change the effectiveness of anti-seizure meds.

That's my understanding.

The topic of energy drinks is a big one.

http://www.bevnet.com/

There are so many ingredients in some energy drinks that it's difficult to know which one is doing what.

Traditionally, many soft drinks have contained caffeine (Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, etc.), however, the idea of energy drinks goes way beyond the idea of soft drinks.

Energy drinks like Red Bull go beyond older drinks like regular Coca-Cola, regular Pepsi.

There are literally hundreds of different kinds of energy drinks available today and even more when one adds in Gatorade/sports drinks/bottled water containing added vitamins, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatorade

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http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/adhd/adhd.htm
http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-5/auditory.htm
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/aspe ... perger.htm
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/autism.htm

Just an update...final likely decision was that I have aspergers from my psych but have stopped going since I moved and feel it is a waiste of time/money.

I am currently only taking NOW omega 3-6-9 in the morning with my oatmeal, and activite multivitamin by MHP. (recomended dose on the multi is 4 pillls...I take one which works best for me and also saves me alot of money.)

I am feeling/thinking better than I have in the last 4 years.

I have only been taking this combination for 3 weeks though...so am hoping it will last, since it doesn't seem like agents the body would grow tolerance to.

I am also drinking green and black tea....black tea when I want to get alot done and green when I need more recovery.

I do not drink milk anylonger...my body rejects it now for what ever reason. Which is unfortunate because I love milk/cereal/cheese...etc.

Would recomend people try this on top of their meds or if they think they can get along without the meds this would be a good way to start.

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Oatmeal is a healthy food.

Tea, whether it is green or black, is quite different than coffee - FDA approved caffeine compounds / alertness aids (examples: Tirend, NoDoz, Awake, Stay Awake, Vivarin, etc.).

Evening Primrose Oil (about fatty acids)
http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/epo

http://www.wholefoods.com/
http://www.traderjoes.com/

http://www.nutrition.gov/

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Lincolnshire (Fatigue)

http://www.ott.zynet.co.uk/polio/lincol ... /nyas.html (Fatigue)

(Black and white brain illustrations)

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Fatigue

http://www.sportsconcussions.org/

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Fatigue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatigue_(medical)

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Brain Fog / Cognitive Dysfunction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dysfunction

I'm aware that this thread is old, but given that I've been diagnosed with ADHD (and I'm in the process of being diagnosed with Aspergers), and I've had extensive experience with various related drugs, I thought I might share my personal experience.

With all stimulants, for me, the optimal dosage lies on an incredibly thin line between not enough (makes me sleepy), and too much (makes me overstimulated, and I cannot concentrate). For example, I'm currently prescribed 10 mg of D- Amphetamine Sulphate (Dexedrine) which is a standard dose. If I take an entire capsule, I get over stimulated. I can't concentrate. If I open the capsule and I take 3mg, it makes me sleepy and I can't concentrate. If I take 5 mg, it gives me energy, and I can focus and function properly.

I've been prescribed methylphenidate (ritalin) and at any dose, it did nothing but provide me with migraine headaches. I've also been prescribed Adderall (racemic D and L amphetamine), and this gave me a somewhat similar, though less positive effect than straight d-amphetamine.

Based on what I've read, most deficits associated with ADHD and aspergers are attributed to low dopamine levels in certain areas of the brain. Ergo, it makes sense that drugs that boost production of dopamine (such as amphetamines) would correct deficits in individuals afflicted with these disorders (and in my experience, they do). If you have had negative experiences with stimulants in the past, I would recommend trying d-amphetamine in .5 - 1 mg doses, and ramping yourself up to a level that works for you.

Caffeine helps with my ADD but also increases my anxiety,irritability and causes me to have more racing thoughts
(10 or more things at the same time). I am sensitive to the point where one cup of pepsi max is all I need
in the morning and 1 more in the afternoon normally. If I get in to manic high then it pushes me over the edge
to the point where I cannot function. Any more than those 2 cups and it makes it difficult to sleep also.
So I have to make a choice feel tired/stoned most of the day or hyper/anxious and rarely the happy mid point.

I wish I knew what the answer was for me. I was on Ritalin and then Concerta but I developed facial tics so now I'm on Strattera. All of them improved my functioning but only to a certain point. I still struggle a great deal. I'm diagnosed with Inattentive ADD but the diagnosis process was just a few questions and lets see if this med works. I am on next to the highest dose of Strattera.