My current predictiment

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I have been having a really tough time coping with what I think is a combination of autism and servers anxiety symptoms. So I finally took advantage of my state issued insurance and made an appointment with a shrink that specializes in ASD and anxiety disorders.

My dilemma is this: I hAve a history of substance abuse and I'm going to be asking to get put on some kind of anxiety medicatioan. incase you don't know, doctors are really reluctant to put patients on benzodiazepines especially someone with a history of opiate use.

I could do the usual routine and lie through my teeth about my drug history and tell him what he needs to hear to prescribe a anxiety medication....

However I'm sick of feeling like a criminal or drug seeking junkie that's just pill shopping. I've finally realized that I've only been using substances as a way of self medicating, and only out of absolute misery and desperation for some kind of relief.

Since I've quit that routine of acquiring drugs to ease my symptoms, I've been a total wreck. I'm so paranoid I can hardly make it to the curb to get the mail. It feels like everyone is watching me and coming to horrible conclusions about who I am, what I'm doing or thinking and talking about how weird I am...etc it's absolutely crippling me I can't even think about anything else.

I just want to be completely honest with him about everything including my reasons for using but I'm really afraid he'll automatically deny me any kind of benzo and I'll be stuck glued to my bed for eternity.

I Know I sound fixated on getting only one kind of medication to help me but that's because I had been using an anxiety medicine the two months thats available online without a prescription, and it saved my life. I was able to leave the house, talk to people and interact with my family, get chores around the house done, take care of myself hygenically, exercise, and just take care of life's priorities. My quality of life literally turned around and I had my life back....

Sorry that was probably a bit more then you needed. But anyways do you think honesty is the best policy in this scenario? I don't want to risk not getting the help I need by getting labeled as a drug addict again.... That would only make matters worse.

You sort of admit in your last couple of sentences that you need to be honest to the doctor so you can get a proper diagnosis. If you need to be prescribed benzodiazepines for your anxiety disorder then I think the doctor will prescribe it.

If the doctor doesn't prescribe benzodiazepines for you then you have the alternative of going back to your alternative supply of tablets online. So I really think you have nothing to worry about. Good luck with your appointment and I hope the doctor discovers what is behind your addictive behaviour of past substance abuse.

Here are some thoughts:

1) Complete honesty - making full disclosure - won't work in this scenario.

2) If you get benzodiazipines, never mix them with opiates; you can go into a coma/lose consciousness without any warning period.

3) Standard doses of drugs like Clonazepam have been shown to be less effective for people on the spectrum than low doses. The neurology is different.

4) GABA (which is both an amino acid and a neurotransmitter) is often low in ASD populations; this is thought to be the reason that anxiety is a prominent feature. There are various ways of raising GABA - Clonazepam is one of them.

5) Some foods and herbs are GABA agonists - that is, they increase the amount of GABA available to the neurotransmitters. Herbs that do this include valerian, passionflower, skullcap. Herbs are chemical compounds, though we think of them as "just plants".

6) Some common substances, like coffee, are GABA antagonists - that is, they decrease the amount of GABA available to the neurotransmitters, and can intensify anxious states.

7) Vitamin C is a GABA agonist, so if you are not getting at least "five plus a day", you may need to supplement this to the point that you can tolerate high doses without getting dysentery (usually takes a very high dose before that happens).

Benzodiazepines can be tremendously helpful though over time the brain 'habituates' to them and they stop having an effect for most people. Don't increase the dose if this happens. Go off them for a while and use alternatives.

9) Don't mix them with alcohol - ever. It's a dangerous combination.

10) No-one ever can or does tell "the whole truth" - you focus on the most important relevancies. Focus on the 3 most relevant things.

Have used methamphetamine for 27 years. Daily. I eat well (20 lbs. overweight actually), sleep 8+ hrs a night, have clear skin & my own teeth. The only time I did not use was about 11 yrs ago, after my first experience with a neuropsychiatrist (to whom i did NOT disclose my history to) who prescribed stimulants. When I lost my health insurance due to change in employment, I had to go back to the "street" stuff.
I can't stand the dope scene & don't associate with anyone involved. Every time I have to re-up I panic about getting caught.
So, last year I made appointments with 2 mental health providers, 1 with prescribing authority & 1 without. The 1 with i did not disclose my history to. She prescribed wellbutrin & i tried to have an open mind & try it. It was horrible.If i had to take that every day i wouldn't last long here on this "wrong" planet! The 1 without i did disclose my history to. During my 2nd appointment, he told me to "please" contact the doctor i saw 11 yrs ago & get back on the legal stimulants. He said he had never told a patient that before, but that i was the rare exception.He even said "tell him i sent you. please."
Unfortunatley my husband cancelled his through-employer insurance in January, so once again i'm left to flirt with danger (that i do NOT find exciting) or suffer the consequences. The consequences being too awful for me to try to write. I will say i would never wish this on anyone. Methamphetamine is a very dangerous substance, I don't advocate it at all. Stay far away! I have never met anyone who metabolizes it the way I do; it's another thing that makes me so very alone. good luck.

The War On Drugs will make any doctor nowadays unable to legally prescribe you any medications that can possibly be abused if you disclose any substance abuse issues in your past. They can't legally prescribe such medications to anyone who has self-medicated ie. "abused" anything. What they will prescribe for you is an antidepressant, claiming it also helps anxiety -- but they rarely help anxiety at all. If you are honest, you will simply walk out of the appointment with an antidepressant prescription.

Lying is usually a bad thing, but I don't see how you could be hurting anyone by not telling the whole truth in this special case.

Hi, back to answer your question...
It helps me with sequence. I guess the more appropriate word is mult-tasking, but it's not just with tasks, it's also with the thought process. Distractions that I guess NT's don't notice so much make my thoughts "scrambled". Without it, "A B C D" turns into "D A B C". Unfortunatley, after 27 years I am neurologically dependent on it & am way worse without it now than I ever was before I started! The legal stuff provides a better balance but oh well, sucks to be me.(right now, at least)