effects of drugs on aspies?

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Hi I'm new here just recently self diagnosed myself. When I read about AS it just fit so perfectly you know? Well I'm also an regular weed smoker and I find that when I'm high I will lose focus more easily day dream more, think random thoughts more and find it hard to speak or converse in general because im always thinking of something. And the second im alone it gets even worse to the point where I'll fantasize about how I wish things went analyze every situation that I felt something was wrong with obsess over my problems and before I found out about aspergers, self defeating thoughts such as I'm ret*d I'm so dumb etc. I usually try an curb the thoughts with videogames or a movie and it usually helps slightly but not much. Before I go to bed it will come back in full force and I'll lay there thinking about everything until I'm overcome by sleep. When I am not high I still over think things and stress alot but I can concentrate of games or movies. I am also quicker to react to social stimuli when I'm sober and can keep myself engrossed in conversations easier. I started smoking with my bestfriends who I have no problem talking to or being nt with since I have had my whole life to understand how they think and react and talk etc so my experiences with smoking have been good and it made me feel comfortable to smoke and it gave me something that I knew I could do with other people comfortably. As I kept on failing in other parts of my life though smoking seemed only to enhance my worrying.

So does anybody here have similar experiences with smoking and aspergers?

Also similar things happen when I drink I tend to be one step behind everybody and not know what to do with myself and not want to talk for fear of saying something stupid. Unless I get too drunk an then I do and say whatever I want, this only happens when I get drunk to the point of vomiting or passing out though. People say drinking loosens the tongue but for me it just dulls my senses and I can't observe the people around me well enough to act appropriately.

So how do mind altering substances affect you social situations and when alone?

Sorry for spelling(itouch) and wall of text its just finding out about aspergers is overwhelming and I have so much I want to ask and say.

Drugs do not agree with me at all. I get my high from dancing or studying.

I guess I used them as away to escape from the feelings of depression I got from various things it was an easy way to laugh and relax when I wasn't happy with myself.

Also does anybody start twitching when they smoke? I have recently developed this and it evens happens when I'm sober occasionally too

Facial tics? Oh yeah I get them. Once after smoking weed I couldn't stop shaking for hours.

Smoking weed = extreme meltdowns, hallucinations and seizures.

Alcohol doesn't dull my senses but make them more heightened. I think it's got to do with the seizure thresh hold lowering.

From passive smoking weed and get sleepy and alcohol makes all my ADHD symptoms worse, unless I have it with stims. Then I just talk a whole bunch of crap while getting drunk quickly.

I can push myself into overdrive with caffeine, but I don't like to do it. It always makes me go into energy debt, and I know I have to pay that back later.

Any herb or substance will have a negative side effect

The trick with herbs and medications, is too always try to bring the body and mind back into balance

Stoning is popular, and a relatively safe recreational drug and also a broad spectrum neurological medicine.

Sensible titration needs to addressed before deciding to discontinue. Cannabis isnt for everyone, but seems popular and effective for many aspies and ADHDers.

A glass of wine or small beer an evening would be prolly a safer choice again

No not facial tics body tics like my leg jumps to the side an inch or my arm jumps. I can't sit still even if I focus or try to.

A lot of drugs enhance everything that you experience. Just like weed can intensify the taste of food, make beautiful things seem more vivid, make positive things seem even more amazing, or intensify your profoundness of thought, it will also intensify anything that you are worried about, if that's what you are focused on.

The weed isn't the problem, the state of your life is the problem, the weed is only highlighting what is already on your mind, and making your thoughts about it seem a lot more significant.

If you want your experience with weed to become positive again, you have to maintain your focus on positive things, which might not be possible unless you change your life first. Negative feelings and thoughts exist for a reason, to let you know that you are not supposed to be living a certain way, and that you don't want to. They're your own feelings, after all.

If you spend your whole life with your head stuck in a video game, of course you're going to feel bad, and it will only get worse the longer you go on living like that. Weed will only distract you away from your negative feelings for so long, until they are too strong to hide from yourself, at which point the weed will just serve as a magnifying glass for that negativity, in the same way that it used to magnify all of the positive things you were focused on.

You either need to find a way to distract yourself from the negativity, or fix your life. It's pretty much just the same situation you'd be in without weed anyway.

The only other option is to use it less often. That way, the euphoria will be much more noticable, because you're not as used to experiencing it. It can be a huge relief to have some weed after going a while without it. But still, not guaranteed to work. Fixing your problems is the best thing to try.

Lots of discussion here about that.

Honestly, I feel like you probably go on with what you're doing no matter what anyone says. I only say that because you're probably young BUT the fact that you're here asking this question may indicate otherwise.

anyway, many people here do smoke regularly to control their AS and it works wonderfully for them.

My concern is the relationship to schizophrenia that AS may have and how any kind of drugs can affect someone who may have the potential to develop it.

Yes, I know it has not been proven the smoking marijuana or taking other drugs actually causes schizophrenia in individuals who are predisposed to it, but it also hasn't been proven that it doesn't. You don't see it happening often, that's because most people aren't predisposed.

Even pharmaceutical drugs can change the shape of someone's brain and I didn't read the entire OP but there's really no reason to think that marijuana might not have that affect after many years and I would especially advise you to stay away from lsd and mushrooms. Natural does not mean safe.

Anyway, I did a lot of these drugs around 18-21 and that's why I don't expect people listen. I didn't care then, I also didn't know that I had Aspie traits then however. I DID know that my father and other family member have schizophrenia so I was stupid for doing the drugs anyway but I thought I was just completely different them, not realizing that having Aspie traits made me more similar to them than most people.

Now that I know this stuff I'm extremely careful about all drugs and I don't even want to take SSRIs. I didn't lose my mind after doing drugs but I do now have sensory issues that I didn't have before(or at least not all the time). I think it can cause a worsening of some traits without ever leading to madness.

alcohol is certainly not safer than cannabis necessarily...for one the only real physical damage cannabis can do depends on if you're smoking it, smoking in general is not very healthy so obviously that would be the most dangerous way to ingest cannabis. But other then the respiratory damage that could potentially cause cannabis does not kill braincells like alcohol can, nor does it cause liver damage. Even just a small amount of alcohol every day for any length of time could have negative health effects....not to mention some people develop tolerance pretty easily......for instance I highly doubt I would get the desired effects from 1 regular sized beer.

That said cannabis does not work for everyone, some people do prefer alcohol and there is nothing wrong with that, however they should keep in mind that too much alcohol too often will increase risks of damage it causes.

A related question, I have a friend who claims to be self-diagnosed AS, however I worry that her social isolation, anxiety, and lack of motivation may simply be caused by too much mary jane. What are some obvious differences between someone who is "true AS" vs. an "introverted stoner"?

Many years ago I smoked weed with an acquaintance and a friend of his I didn't know at all, in some poorly lighted small room. I got really high and just said down in a chair trying to calm down. Everything just seemed so much more intense and it freaked me out rather terribly, and after an hour I just passed out on the floor.

That was my first time smoking weed, and I haven't tried it again, until yesterday. I was in the park with a good friend. We we're having a lot of fun, I felt safe and comfortable. I had a few puffs from his joint, and that was just perfect. I enjoyed it a lot this time, didn't have any weird side effects, apart from feeling just a bit high of course.

Not sure if it was the dosage or the environment, or both, but it's probably best to feel comfortable before you use anything.

Well first off it would depend on if she was like that before the weed as well, for all you know she's smoking cannabis to self medicate, that is actually quite common. But even if she is just an 'introverted stoner' who cares I don't really see the problem with that as it does not seem like something that would cause much harm to anyone.

Depends on the potency & if it really is the stuff your buying & probably other things, like any drug. Really it only takes 1 bad batch. Up to you if you want to take the risk. But if you think it has no negative effects. Just look at Legal drugs.

Not as bad as legal highs. But you could be buying stuff like that, that they say is something else. Really find it funny when people look at illegal, compared to legal, nope things don't happen with illegal drugs like that. :/

Maybe matchsticks & bringing in all the people will make them see.

I don't do drugs, but I seen the documentary on it, also included legal high users.

Thanks for your reply. For the record I am pro-legalization; this is not a "how do I convince my friend to stop?" question.

So let me rephrase: Is a daily toker capable of an objective AS self-diagnosis?

Conversely if my friend goes to see a doctor for an AS diagnosis, but is dishonest with him about her (illegal in this country) habit, will the diagnosis be accurate?

Furthermore: I see some overlap of traits between AS and marijuana abuse. Picturing a "venn diagram" (two overlapping circles) where the overlapping area might contain terms like "social anxiety, difficulty remembering faces, fascination with patterns or parts of objects, poor executive function," what are some terms that describe AS but not MJ, or conversely, describe MJ but not AS? (For example, AS isn't commonly associated with "the munchies.")

Is there a link to this, I would prefer to check it for accuracy.......as far as I know those are not typical effects of cannabis. As with the poor executive function that is a bit of myth mixed with fact in my opinion. I mean when you get stoned it typically relaxes you and maybe 'slows' you down......this is a desired effect for most people who smoke. Obviously if someone is stoned 24/7 it might slow them down and they will be more lazy than if they where not smoking weed...but that is not poor executive functioning that is called being a lazy stoner, then of course one might already have poor executive function due to some other issue.....and in my experience cannabis helps my executive function so it can have that effect as well.