Efexor and female aspergers? Any help?

Page 1 of 1 [ 11 posts ] 

Caro69
Butterfly
Butterfly

User avatar

Joined: 15 Oct 2013
Gender: Female
Posts: 10

05 Mar 2014, 7:22 am

Our daughter in on Efexor and we have said that it doesn't help her it makes her angry.
Is this our imagination or can anyone give me advice on this medication and girls with aspergers!



Naturalist
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 25 Oct 2012
Age: 45
Gender: Female
Posts: 170
Location: Missouri, USA

05 Mar 2014, 11:36 am

I don't have any personal experience with Effexor, but I can tell you that many "mood-stabilizing" medications which were prescribed for me had a similar effect. Some exacerbated anger or anxiety; others made me totally laconic; others caused hallucinations, even at very low (even sub-therapeutic) dosages. There is a good deal of discussion about the possibility that people with ASDs are simply too sensitive to handle many medications (even otc drugs like Tylenol). I suspect that in females, fluctuation in hormone levels during the course of month can make this sensitivity even more pronounced. But I am not a doctor...



goonmommy
Butterfly
Butterfly

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jan 2014
Gender: Female
Posts: 13

05 Mar 2014, 12:50 pm

I don't have an aspergers diagnosis but I see many of the traits in myself.
I have tried several medications and combinations. Effexor gave me similar issues with feeling very irritable and angry. Wellbutrin did the same thing. I ended up finding a balance of zoloft and wellbutrin xr. My psychiatrist said the zoloft would help to balance the irritability and feelings of anger. It worked for me for a few years but I eventually got off everything when I was pregnant.
I remember I really wanted the effexor to work for me and I tried it more than once, in different dosages. On top of the anger, it also made me lose my appetite. If I remember correctly, its also one of the harder ones to get off of.



Caro69
Butterfly
Butterfly

User avatar

Joined: 15 Oct 2013
Gender: Female
Posts: 10

05 Mar 2014, 8:12 pm

She also had a strong reaction to Zoloft. We feel that the medication is suppressing any feelings she has and can't help herself. She is like a totally different person on them.
Doesn't even really want to do things that she knows are good for her.


:(



goonmommy
Butterfly
Butterfly

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jan 2014
Gender: Female
Posts: 13

05 Mar 2014, 8:36 pm

I did not do well with zoloft on its own. It was only with those two together and I also took meds at night for sleep.
I think I know what you mean about the meds supressing feelings. I definitely struggled with that. I don't think the combination I took was perfect. But for me, at that time, the pros out weighed the cons.
There are other drugs out there. Its possible one might be better than the others. I hope you can find something that helps. I know how upsetting it can be. These drugs are supposed to help, right? But sometimes they make you feel even worse. :(



inachildsmind
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 13 Feb 2014
Gender: Female
Posts: 212

06 Mar 2014, 2:01 pm

Caro69 wrote:
Our daughter in on Efexor and we have said that it doesn't help her it makes her angry.
Is this our imagination or can anyone give me advice on this medication and girls with aspergers!


Mood Stabilizers only made me hullicinate and act worse during my monthly. They had me down for Bipolar as a child and now as an adult I am clearly not. I have been strictly on medications of all sorts my whole life and after my second pregnancy I said enough is enough, I stayed off after my daughter was born and I have had no problems with anger or anything. It was as if the meds were giving me symptoms of bipolar. I have been off for over a year now and the only aggression I see is when I have a meltdown or tantrum, and as long as I am given space and understanding it does not last long and its more frustration than actual anger. So as I am in the middle of an ASD diagnosis, I believe mood stabilizers made me worse and is why I went in and out of the hospital through out my teen years. My boyfriend says I am better without them. The only medication that has ever helped is anxiety meds, as most of ASD anger/frustration is caused by anxiety. So less anxiety, less anger. But I am not a doctor, I only speak from experience. I am 27 and have been on meds strictly since I was 16. No matter the dose amount they bounced me from one to another to another and they never helped with anything. Good luck!



886
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Jan 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 6,663
Location: SLC, Utah

09 Mar 2014, 6:35 am

What symptoms are you hoping to curb as a result of medication?

Noteworthy, though, please consider studying the side-effects and dependancy risk of effexor. Many people (the majority) have stated that effexor is an absolute nightmare to discontinue taking.


_________________
If Jesus died for my sins, then I should sin as much as possible, so he didn't die for nothing.


CWA
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Jun 2012
Age: 45
Gender: Female
Posts: 669

09 Mar 2014, 11:16 am

Yes effexor is evil stuff.So is pristiq. I was on it for 3 months and it took me over a month to ween myself off. I had no side effects while taking it, other than a flaky memory, ut coming off I had hallucinations, lost time, and memory jolts. So much not fun in there. If a kid had that... can't imagine they could even verbalize those side effects, theyd probably just be scared out of their mind.



Caro69
Butterfly
Butterfly

User avatar

Joined: 15 Oct 2013
Gender: Female
Posts: 10

10 Mar 2014, 6:12 pm

Thank you everyone.
My daughter is 22 years old.
So officially an adult and this is another thing we are trying to fight as she is unable to remember things, gets angry and it doesn't seem she will ever cope on her own.
However she used to be the responsible one. And even left her alone at home. Wouldn't even think of doing that at all now!



Caro69
Butterfly
Butterfly

User avatar

Joined: 15 Oct 2013
Gender: Female
Posts: 10

10 Mar 2014, 6:13 pm

Thank you everyone.
My daughter is 22 years old.
So officially an adult and this is another thing we are trying to fight as she is unable to remember things, gets angry and it doesn't seem she will ever cope on her own.
However she used to be the responsible one. And even left her alone at home. Wouldn't even think of doing that at all now!



Schneekugel
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 18 Jul 2012
Age: 43
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,612

13 Mar 2014, 5:23 am

I got treated with Trittico for a certain time, while I had an breakdown, depression and sleeping issues. While for that short term, they sure did help getting that anxiety and fears away and being able to sleep healthy again, they had tons of negative side-effects.

They calmed my feelings down, so I felt very comfortable, but I was completely hyper focused (=maximum concentration on one thing, while ignoring any other sensory inputs). That may sound great, but isn´t really that cool, when you are in traffic and dont mention whole motorcycles passing you, or if you are not able to do an single order at an restaurant, without you passing away 5 times in "your inner world" because of you actually thinking of something.

Best thing that helped, was changing my lifestyle and diet into a more healthier one. (= less events that stress me, more resting time and caring for my needs, healthy diet with tons of vegetables and reducement of wheat and processed wheat, reducement of drugs like cigarettes, caffeine, sugar, ..., moderate sports and movement)

Quote:
However she used to be the responsible one. And even left her alone at home. Wouldn't even think of doing that at all now!
The medication was sure of help for a short amount of time, but running around with these permanently, would have completely enabled me to do my job, care for my house, ...