Prescription Medication

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My therapist and I are beginning to "chat" about medication... i have no idea what is "good" and what "works" and what I should consider or even the right questions to ask.

Any suggestions or things to research and look into?

what symptoms are you trying to treat? I can tell you more if I know which types of drugs are being considered.

for any drug i'd ask about sexual dysfunction and weight gain.

Since you are over thirty are married and have two kids, you seem to be very high functioning and doing very well in comparison to many of us. I think the first thing you need to ask is if you think you need medication. Doctors will sometimes suggest things because it's procedure, not because it's right for you. One example of such a case was, when I was being secheduled to have my tonsils removed (a long time ago), the doctor had suggested putting tubes in my ears, although I didn't need them. A more recent example is of a freind of mine, who's wisdome teeth were growing in fine but the doctor suggested he had surgery to get them removed anyway.

There are ways to improve how you handle AS without medication if you are a mild case.

If you think that you need medicine, I'd suggest looking at different medicens, finding out what their short and long term side effects are and looking for reviews to judge it's effectiveness (complaints as well as compliments).

The questions to ask are:

how will this help me? what is best case scenario for positive response to this medication?
how long must I wait before I will know whether this med is effective for me?
what are the side effects?
what is/please explain serotonin syndrome and how do I know if I am experiencing symptoms of it?
and, depending where you live, how much is this likely to cost? If cost is a concern, you should ask: is this available as a generic?

There are more, but I would need to know the reason medication has entered the discussion for you specifically. The questions and answers differ depending on whether we are talking about depression, anxiety, manic episodes, sleep disturbances, etc.

I think Mr Stewart has said most of the questions I'd ask. Just one to add to the list:

How easy/difficult is it to stop the medication should I want to? and will I experience any withdrawal symptoms?

I tried Ritalin (officially prescribed). buth that made me very unstable.

I tried dextroamphetamine (officially prescribed), but that may me rather numb.

I tried various illegal substances including LSD, MDMA, levoamphetamine, methylone and 2-FMA (self-medicated). Those did benefit me a lot, but the stimulants to tend to be addictive and result in dependence.

Currently, I try to stay free from any medication most of the time, although I do self-medicate occasionally.

My prefered combo for alleviating the more negative Autism symtoms is a mixture of levoamphetamine, methylone and 2-FMA.