Aspergers and Drug Use

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Do those of you who regularly smoke marujianna find that it helps with your symptoms? The reason I ask is that when I've tried it occasionally I find it helps relieve my depression and makes me more sociable and helps me think less rigidly. However, mediacal advice seems to be that it can make depression worse so I'm wary of using it more often. So I'm interested in people's actual experiences.

When I was seeing a therapist they referred to using alcohol/street drugs as self medicating so I guess it may depend on those on the spectrum who have more anxiety/depression issues. So it could be slightly different than those looking to use drugs to escape (avoid) or get high than those using drugs to be more functional. I did see in a long report where is said Aspies DO tend to think in black and white about it - and consider everything a drug regardless of source. In my mind I think it is hypocritical to say prescriptions are different because they can both be addictive and have side effects so why is one OK because it is written on a prescription pad.

Marijuana is damaging to your lungs, heart, and neuro endocrine system.
There have been reports about pot smokers with purple blood! This is no joke.
Also, it destroys the pituitary function as well.

Some medical advice states it'll cause depression. I prefer to go with the other studies that indicate it can help deal with it. Many doctors agree with this aspect. It can raise heart rate but I think its all a mental thing which can be controlled. When I smoke I dont get "high" in the classic sense. I think you're abilities while high will depend on your personal mental strength and the plant itself is not much an issue.

Yes, it tars the lungs but its yet to proven that its cancerous.. They WANT to prove it but they just cant seem to prove anything with it.. To me, thats fruitless.. Especially since I've never heard of anyone dying from Marijuana related causes

Its your choice but the numbers of deaths and illness from marijuana speak for the plant

I'm 27 and have never used any "illicit" drugs. I drink alcohol, but only socially. I avoid caffeine. I don't smoke. I've taken a lot of psych medications in the past, but only because I was pretty much forced to. Right now my only psych meds are on an "as needed basis."

Nope I don't do drugs or alcohol. I have tried cigars and I've had a few margeritas and wine coolers. My favorite is the strawberry flavor. I have tasted beer too and wine.

I dont drink but Ive tried about every illegal drug there is at least once (out of curiousity).

The only one I kinda liked was pot because of its relaxing qualities and (at least for me) the fact that it helps a lot with sensory issues.

Now that I think about it Ive never had an overload or meltdown while under the influence of cannibis.

I dont smoke it any more since my husband doesnt approve but I never had any negative effects from it.

The only real problem with it is, as another has stated, abusing it and overdosing can get you "wasted" and you must be careful about where you aquire it from.

While cannibis itself is harmless the majority of suppliers will soak it in strange and potentially harmful substances (such as formaldihide which is used for embalming) in order to alter the effect to be "different" or "stronger" than normal.

Because of this a majority of people arent even aware of what the normal effects are.

Its like being given a beer that someone dissolved prescription medication in, not liking the effect and deciding you dont like alchohol.

But now Ive gone off on a tangent

I used to use cannabis as of 4 months ago, and I had positive experiences using for the most part. Fraya I experienced much of the same, which is no meltdown/temper tantrum while under the influence. I attribute this to the tranquilizing/calming/sedating effects. I used to use the cannabis for my nausea and pain associated with endometriosis. I still experience the unpleasant effects of endometriosis but I do not take a drug. I am worried about my mental health and if I could improve my mental health by not using cannabis. I try to study the drug and find a conclusive link between cannabis use and a decline in mental health. I have not noticed any improvements in my mental wellbeing (and I eat more now?), but I try other methods as well (CBT). My boyfriend uses cannabis everyday and he has BPD (borderline personality disorder), and this personality disorder was originally thought to be at the "borderline" of psychosis. He's been using since age 12 for a total of 11 years and I wonder if there is a connection. He has lots of rage but I am thankful when he takes his cannabis so he does not rage.

I didn't really enjoy using this drug socially, as I do not enjoy using any drug socially except maybe caffeine. I become effected and then nervous of my behaviour. That, and I worry how other people could behave towards me or if I could be harmed in any way if I were consuming drugs in a social setting. I feel too vunerable and perhaps weird, and I always already feel vunerable and weird enough.

As for other drugs, I am not too interested in trying them for the most part. My self imposed rule is to try only organic substances as opposed to synthetic or semi-synthetic substances. I have done away with antidepressants now. The other drug I tried was magic mushrooms. I drank a tea made with psilocybe mushroom about 4 years ago (p. cubensis). It was one of the best experiences of my life, and I felt I had learnt so much about myself and the world. I felt that my birth was unlikely, as all of our births are, and that I should cherish my life because of this. That being human was a great opportunity to make a positive change on earth, and I should be happy, because I am a good person. Usually I would think negative thoughts about myself but I try to control it with CBT now. The most amazing effect of the psilocybe mushroom was that I became disinterested in my OCD rituals. I decided it was all rather silly behaviour and thoughts to engage in; I didn't feel condecended to, more like it was a learning experience. I did this about 4 years ago. I could see myself repeating the experience, but I do not trust anyone to sell me the correct mushroom that is untainted. I would have to learn much more. Maybe in another 4 years I will be ready .

Heart rate does increase on onset, but I think this effect claims too much focus. Individuals with healthy hearts need not be concerned. Personally, I only noticed an increase of heart rate as one of the first symptoms upon onset, which quickly disipates after five minutes. By far caffeine produced more heart rate increases in myself. Cannabis itself does not destroy the lungs. It is the combustion of the plant material, and inhaling the smoke that does this. There are a couple of other common methods of cannabis administration which have been shown to be non-damaging or minimally damaging to the lungs. You can eat it or vaporize it.

What effect does cannabis have on the neuro endocrine system to damage it? Cannabinoids (part of the various neurochemicals already residing in your brain) from the hypothalamus can shut down the neuroendocrine stress response, and this action is prompted by stress hormone release. Is this why my eating pattern is usually disrupted when I am stressed out? heh

Purple blood? Blue, purple, or maroon, or "blueish" could describe oxygenated blood... I did a google search on this purple blood info and produced no results with information. Can you back up this claim? The only thing I can seem to find out about cannabis's effects on blood is it increases cerebral blood flow.

Cannabis doesn't permanently destory pituitary function. Cannabis inhibits secretion of some pituitary hormones, and these changes in pituitary hormone levels decrease sex hormones, which disrupts ovulation or spermatogenesis (ability to produce sperm). The effects of cannabis on pituitary function are reversible in sexually mature/fully developed animals once drug therapy stops.

I don't use any drugs. I consider drugs just another stupid thing that immature NTs do.

I've been on different psych meds. Ritalin(hated it/mania), Remeron(too sleepy), Lexapro... I didn't take many of them really long because I disliked the feeling of the meds more than my problems.

I'm on Provigil on a trial basis now... no adverse effects yet... One thing that is always disconcerning about meds to me is that there is a noticable difference in my mind. Usually, when I'm not on anything, I have the feeling of what I call static, or something like "white noise" playing in my mind constantly... Sometimes if I'm really tired and pay attention to it, I might even think it sounds like voices(it's not like they talk to me or anything, just noisy). However, when I take psych meds of almost any kind, the first thing to go is usually the "static"... It just feels wierd to me to have my mind so quiet. Have you even cleaned a really messy room to find out that you forgot what color the carpet was? It's sort of like that.

Sometimes I feel like that static is some form of creativity, other times it's just a distraction. It's almost as if I can hear something coming clearly everyone once in a while in the noise and pull something out of it I wouldn't normally think of. When that happens it would be something really random but it's pleasant to remember/think ideas that way. Without the noise I tend to get alot more work done(including art if I'm in the mood)...

Anyone experience anything like that with the meds/drugs they take?

I was very anti-drug until about 17...then I got tired of trying and failing and was very depressed.I started drinking to see if that would help my social insecurity and it worked so well I continued it for that purpose for the next 10 years.I cant imagine being around most social situations without being really drunk.It numbed the sensory overload and most of my paranoid self talk.It wasnt until I decided to quit drinking at 26,that I realized I had a problem being around people because I avoided them unless drunk.Inever drank to get a "buzz"...I drank to stop being me,usually to black-out.All the punks I hung with drank as much as me,so I didnt think I had a problem until I tried to quit...ooops.


I hated pot.Made me paranoid.My opinion was that when I used pot I was stupid and knew it but when I was drunk I was stupid and oblivious to my stupidity...heaven.

I really liked acid.I only used it a few times a year but it was fun.I stopped useing it because the last few times I did I couldnt "come down"...very scary not being able to dress yourself for several days.
I think it turned me into a low functioning autistic because I couldnt figure out how to do basic daily tasks....really frustrating and scared me away...didnt want to be that way for life.Has made me more empathetic to people with disabilities like schizophrenia and LFA.

Prove it. I've known... several... dealers and we've talked about this before. Thing is, it's not profitable to sell doped dope at regular prices. Usually the adulterated stuff is done on request.
In 15 years of smoking pot I've known exactly 1 person who'd gotten adulterated weed.
An aunt of mine that's smoked for over 30 years has known exactly 1 person who's gotten adulterated weed.

Purple blood. Interesting. Got the report handy?
Marijuana is not in and of itself damaging to your lungs or heart. Eat all you want. Now, if you smoke it, then yes, it can be damaging to the lungs and the heart. Smoking just about anything will do that, however. Have none of you nonsmokers ever heard of a vaporiser? Or pot brownies? There are other ways to ingest it than smoking.

As for the 'I don't do ANY drugs... except caffeine, acetominophen, adderal, wellbutrin, etc etc etc... guess what? Like it or not, they're drugs.
Drug: A chemical or substance, not necessarily for medical purposes, that affects the way the mind or body works.
Hell, traditional Chinese medicine even considers food, under some circumstances, as a drug.
An argument could even be made that water could be considered a highly addictive drug.
(I don't necessarily agree with that, but it can be done).

Antidepressants don't get you "high." If it's the right med, it corrects a chemical imblance in your body and makes you feel normal. I hate feeling "high"--it scares me. And I don't like my perception to be "off." Also, I don't want not to remember everything I did the night before. I've tried pot, and it changed how I thought and felt. The only thing an antidepressant did was to normalize my mood, and allow me to function as myself again. I personally can't see that they are in the same category. Now stims for ADHD are speed. Some shrink gave me Ritalin once. I was flying, and then I crashed and was depressed for months afterwards. THAT affected me in a very bad way. I won't take even prescription meds if they make me feel unlike myself.
I don indulge, quite liberally, in coffee Love my caffeine rush.

I forbid myself from doing drugs or smoking based on my own principles, not religious or culturally influenced. Alcohol on the other hand is only forbidden when it's not a special occasion, but I do drink on special occasions. As for psychological drugs like anti-depressants, I try to avoid resorting to them at all costs, besides I've developed somewhat an immunity to their effects, therefore I feel worse than better when I'm medicated.

RecoverED heroin addict here. I would caution Aspies away from any addictive substance as one of the fundaments of addiction is obsession--- and Aspies already have some trouble in that area. Imagine that one of your favorite perseverative interests also happens to be one of your favorite drugs of abuse...well, you understand what a sticky situation that might be.
I am not sober now by AA standards as I maintain an interest in using herbs of an "entheogenic" bent.

I have used drugs, partly because I was upset about having Asperger's Syndrome. I most regret using cocaine.