topic question

Post Reply New Topic

Hi, I'm Alvin

I have been here before, mostly reading but now there are a lot of nice expanded topics. I would like to get feedback about my meds. What is the most appropriate topic? I am 43 and newly diagnosed, but having success with meds for the anxiety. Also just had eye surgery, so my eyes get tired easily, so I can't write a lot just now.

Thank you for your guidance, I find the whole forum a bit intimidating as I haven't done this very much before.

Thank you,

)Alvin

Welcome aboard the Wrong Planet, Alvin.

Hi Alvin.

From what I can tell you about myself and my 3 kids ... sure wish they even understood what causes Autism with certainty, but they don't. There's really no "medicine" to treat Autism, its not a "disease," and not sure really what kind of brain wiring it is...

Simply, we're all on the wrong planet.
As far as meds go, I take an occasional Tylenol for a headache.

Self acceptance and friendship are the best medicine.

Welcome.

Welcome to WrongPlanet, and welcome to my time warp.

Hello Alvin, welcome, enjoy your stay on the Wrong Planet!

Thank you all for the welcomes and replies!

RE: meds, the anti-anxiety meds have really helped me a lot, but I wanted to see what others have found successful because I think my shrink might be a little shy of real smart.
She doesn't seem to really understand what aspergers is. I don't want to be cured! LOL! Actually I think there are some real advantages to me being the aspie I am. But everything is so much easier, more functional, and more fun when I'm not in a state of constant anxiety.

Like, I have a real problem with insomnia a lot. I don't sleep and then when I'm awake I'm so tired I can barely cope. So my shrink tried to put me on Trazadone, which I understand works really well for some people. But it didn't help me get to sleep and it was like the worst hangover I ever had the next day. So then I just struggled with sleeping like I have my whole life and then I talked my shrink into giving me something else. This is lorazapam and it works great! If I'm having a lot of anxiety and can't get to sleep, which probably happens once or twice a week, I can go to sleep about an hour after taking it. It doesn't make me feel like I'm knocked out, just sleepy and relaxed. Then I sleep really well and usually have good dreams! I wake up feeling well rested. I think it is like valium, which is addictive, which is why she only gave 15 pills for 3 months?? Well, it's been two months and I'm running low, so I would like to ask her for more, but if this is an addictive thing, I don't want to get into trouble with it. Thus seeking feedback about that.

Also, she has me on 50 mg Paxil a day, which I know is a really high dose. When I went in for eye surgery they looked at me like "You've got to be mistaken." That the dose is so high makes me wonder if it's really the right med for me, although I must admit that it does work fairly well to help me cope with the anxiety. It's an anti-depressant, and I'm not depressed, but my shrink says that it's the same thing. Again, I don't think she's the brightest bulb in the gazebo.

The whole forum structure is very difficult for me to understand. I feel like I should have already taken this to a new topic, but I'm not sure which one to use. I'm still struggling with finding the reply button! I really need my nephew to sit down with me and show me how to work all these things to click on. I don't even know what BBCode and Smilies are. ???BG

While I'm rambling on, I am so frustrated with the response I get to letting people know I am autistic. Either they assert that they must have it too because they feel the same way, only they are a better person than I am, or else that I should just get over it.

I hope I haven't broken any forum rules and thank you all for listening.

)Alvin

the first thing I'd switch instead of meds, is the doctor.
I'm not joking. When an Asperger person is dealing with an incompetant doctor or therapist, people in general, its enough to make them toss and turn and stay awake at night. So it is with me. Sometimes I've laid awake tossing and turning, thinking about stressful people and stressful situations that were being imposed on me.
You've got to ... must ... cut the deadweight out of your life. When those kind of people begin interfering in my life... and you know yourself they're incompetant, you'll suffer with insomnia and anxiety. That's not good... not sleeping... it affects your performance in your waking/daily life.
I don't take meds, period. Mainly because, when I see I'm dealing with incompetance... "OUT" I don't play around with it, I say "OUT".

Get another shrink, ASAP. The less stressors in your life, the closer you'll come toward sanity.

There is no medication to treat Autism.

You're speaking of Anxiety too, though,

She may have been babbling and confused, and confusing you in the process. Which is not good. But I have heard that there's some drugs used to treat both depression and anxiety.

"Duloxetine is used to treat major depression and anxiety."
- healthcentral com › ADHD Home › Find

Behavior: Treating Anxiety and Depression - The Doctor
"Although developed to treat depression, these drugs can be useful for treating panic disorder, mixed anxiety and depression and generalized ..."
- thedoctorwillseeyounow com/content/behavior/art1962.html

I think your doctor confused you instead of being very clear. There is no "medication" to cure Aspergers. But many attempts to treat anxiety and depression as if they're the same thing (they are still not the same thing).

I do not have any of these conditions (I do suffer at times with traumatic stress... but that's when super-annoying people begin interfering and literally bungling and fumbling my life and affairs, and I tell them "please" to back off... or let me decide ... or any number of ways that I "squeak up for myself".. and make an effort to advocate what I need and want known, and they completely/blatantly ignore my wishes, and begin imposing their way... more annoying than the direct approach to imposition of their will, by subtle approach -- esp. going behind my back through people I know... not being honest and literal... then, I get really stressed out.

Medication doesn't help. Getting those kind of people out of my life is the "cure" to my problem.

My stress is caused by environmental factors.
What is causing your stress? Is it environmental, or an chemically-induced condition.

I guess it wouldn't do, to ask if you're taking anything else? Sometimes medications have been known to be dangerous when combined with some medications or have the opposite of the intended effect, i.e., Prozac is suppose to treat depression, but has been documented to make some users depressed and suicidal.

I guess that's a question only you can answer. Think carefully about everything you're taking. Your insomnia / anxiety... its "all the time" as you say. Are their conditions in your life, that are stressing you out and making you anxious "all the time"?

Are there any meditation approaches, perhaps? Something you can do at night to relax and key-down from the anxiety... beginning about an hour or two before bed.. where when you are in bed, you're ready to sleep.

Because, if you're anxiety-prone "all the time" I just don't see how "mood swings" or bi-polar apply here, because you're not describing "ups" and "downs" which come and go, over a period of weeks .... or months. You're saying your anxiety is all the time.

If you have things in your life which are causing the anxiety.. you probably need to speak to a counselor, to find some way to resolve the issues, so they are not causing you all this anxiety.

I think you need a new doctor... and explain to the new one, why you quit seeing this woman you speak of. Just on the basis she is not communicating properly with you and confusing you. You have the right to be fully informed and take a conscience, consentual part in your treatment plan. It's your life, and you have the right to a second opinion.

Depression | Anxiety Disorders Association of America, ADAA
Depression and anxiety disorders are different, but people with depression often experience symptoms similar to those of an anxiety disorder, ...
http://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/depression

Depression, Anxiety, or Bipolar Disorder - Which Is It? Mood Disorders Similar to Depression. Indeed, sadness, depression, and anxiety are often triggered by life events - and the symptoms are not easily ...
http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guid ... depression

To WrongPlanet!! !

Thank you to everyone for the welcome and especially AspieForty for taking so much time to help and write back to me.

When I said I was anxious all the time, I meant before the meds. I didn't really know I was suffering so much until the meds kicked in and it is such a relief. You are absolutely correct about me needing to get the deadweight out of my life. I was just diagnosed in December and have since then been able to focus on changing my environment, rather than thinking there was something wrong with me. So people who can't accept me for who I am have got to go! So I am on a lot of Paxil which really helps with the anxiety. I also take lisinopril for high blood pressure every day, but my MD (not the shrink) is thinking about reducing or eliminating that if my blood pressure stays down as well as it has been since the paxil kicked in. When I have a really stressful day I take a lorazapam, maybe twice a week. I think you are right that I should focus on the CAUSES of these stressful days and work to change them. Some things, like having eye surgery, well I can't control that, but other things I can and if I record them in my journal I can work on reducing or eliminating the stress.

I have a really great counselor who helps me with this kind of thing. Been seeing her since November. She is a psychologist. She works with the psychiatrist who writes my scripts. I did talk to her about Dr. Sneed and committed to trying one more appointment with Dr. Sneed before I switch docs. I guess I just wanted feedback from other aspies about what meds they have found work well for anxiety and insomnia so the next time I see Dr. Sneed I can intelligently discus options.

Again, thanks,
)Alvin

I have anxiety and depression too, and I have tried many different meds over the years (long before i was dx with AS). One thing I found is that i am very sensitive to meds, so a very low dose is often the best option, and I've read this is not uncommon with AS.

Everyone is different. I'm glad to hear Paxil is working for you. For me, all SSRI antidepressants were a nightmare. Trazodone did not help for me either. Ambien is good for sleep but I tak it very rarely because it makes me feel out of it the next day. Ativan helps me a lot too (at a very low dose, half a milligram) but like you I am concerned that it is addictive so I only take it in "emergencies."

I also found Risperdal helpful, but many people have reported unpleasant side effects. I was told it is the only med approved specifically for autism, though it's actually an anti-psychotic. I was recently prescribed a very low dose of Abilify (also an anti-psychotic) together with Lamotrigine (normally an anti-seizure med) but it's too early to tell if it's helping. I am not psychotic, but these meds can be helpful for anxiety.

My insurance pays for it, but Abilify is very expensive, which could be a concern.

The anxiety so often associated with Aspergers stems from being adrift in a world full of people for whom life works by rules, principles and mechanisms to which the Asperger's sufferer is blind and - often - of which the sufferer is ignorant.

The blindness doesn't go away, but the ignorance can be worked on. Meds for anxiety should be viewed as short term support, with CBT or other thought pattern training as longer term treatment. (All just my opinion - I've no medical training whatsoever).