controlled substances

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do you think doctors are more or less likely to prescribe controlled substances to an individual with aspergers? why why not? it has been said on here that we have a lower substance abuse rate, although from personal and secondary experience i found this to be false. would this diagnosis have any impact on their decision or do they treat every patient the same?

I cant imagine how a pill would help an aspie, or an autie.

Are there pills to cure dorkiness or social ineptitude?

Never heard of such a thing.

Never had a doc perscribe pills to me, either before, nor after dx.

i mean for other unrelated conditions... like if you went in asking for pain meds or something. i don't consider myself dorky...

Do you mean prescriptions for Asperger's directly (Does this actually happen?!?) Or prescriptions for comorbid conditions such as depression, anxiety, etc.?

i mean for any condition comorbid or unrelated involving controlled substances. for instance adhd or chronic pain or anxiety. any disorder in which treatment would involve controlled substances. i was asking if aspergers would have any effect on a doctor's likelihood to prescribe these drugs. (would it be more or less likely or the same?)

I would think that people with autism would be more likely to have prescriptions than people without autism. I think this because from what I've read, rates of depression, anxiety, ADD, Tourette's, OCD, and other medication-treatable psychological/neurological conditions are higher within the autism community than without. People with such conditions are more likely to be prescribed medications than people without them. Therefore, the logical conclusion from this argument is that people with autism are more likely than people without autism to be taking a prescription drug.

I do not sure it is causal but there may be a correlation.

If I had my way about it, it would be less likely, or at a lower dose. I've heard--and experienced--too many problems with medication hypersensitivity not to think that it might be prudent for doctors to, at least at first, prescribe the lowest dose of the least extreme medication possible. I have only been on a narcotic pain reliever once, after having my wisdom teeth removed, but I hated it. I turned into a zombie and got off it as soon as I could. I had absolutely no appetite and couldn't think. I'm pretty sure it delayed my recovery, until I came to my senses and decided to switch to double-doses of naproxen instead (over the counter, similar to acetaminophen, except it actually works for me).

But that's not the only problem with autism and medication; autistics can also have problems with communicating their pain properly. They may simply be unusually quiet where an NT would be crying or moaning. Doctors need to know that the actual pain level may be higher (or, due to hyposensitivity, lower) than expected, and that being aware of and communicating that you are in pain may be more difficult than it would usually be because of overload caused by that very same pain.

I take Concerta for ADHD-like symptoms, and it's a controlled substance, but I've never had trouble with that. It's extended-release, so I don't have any problems with either the zombie effect or any sort of "high". Extended-release medications are very hard to abuse anyway, because of the low, steady dose they give you, and because they can't simply be powdered and inhaled or injected. If you have a history of substance abuse and you need to take a stimulant or another controlled substance, try asking the doctor whether there is an extended release version.

Regarding your question about whether doctors are more or less likely to prescribe drugs to someone with an ASD, I think that it depends on the doctor and their understanding or beliefs about autism. Probably many doctors would ignore the asperger diagnosis when it comes to writing prescriptions. I don't think most doctors consider someone with AS to be more or less likely to abuse drugs. Maybe some would, but by and large I wouldn't expect it to be a big factor.

As for whether people with AS actually do have a higher or lower likelihood to abuse drugs, in my experience it's no different than in NTs. I have a couple of aspie friends and between us we've tried just about every substance imaginable in a recreational manner. One of them (not me, fortunately) even has an addictive personality and history of drug abuse. On the other hand, I have one aspie friend who dismisses drugs as wholly uninteresting. I don't think these things are related to the spectrum at all, just up to individual people.

EDIT: While I have experienced many controlled substances in various contexts, I do have to admit that they always affected me differently than my NT friends. I wouldn't say that they are stronger or weaker, but the effect was simply different. So perhaps the neurological difference is a factor in how the drugs work in the system (or maybe I'm just weird), but I don't think enough research has been done on the subject for any doctor to base their decision of whether to write a prescription solely on AS. Again, whether they would be influenced by that fact or not is up to each doctor and their own opinions.