Your thoughts on medication...

[BeHereNow]

Personally, the pharma cartel and the tendency among
western physicians to treat the symptoms rather than
address/find/treat the cause, scares me; this due to own experience with it.

The psychiatrist at the treatment center my daughter is
in has suggested Wellbutrin to elevate her mood so that
she can participate in therapy.

Any Aspies here with medication experience for
depression?

All help welcomed.

BHN

[merwin]

1. I don't see the correlation between antidepressants and participating in therapy.

In fact, I would see therapy (at least initially) being more beneficial without antidepressants, as those won't get to the root of the problem. It seems like a cop-out.

That being said, antidepressants have been very helpful for me as a tool to help me deal with the issues that therapy brought forward, and also allow me to interact with people more productively (that's the best way I can find to put it).

[BeHereNow]

2. Thanks Merwin- I'ver heard two schools of thought on it

One doctor said get her clear of ALL substances, then move into therapy.
Use medication only as a last resort. Therapy first.

The other school of thought has been, medicate the sympton to provide relief
for the depression so that she can feel motivated enough to do therapy.

My instinct is the first route.

Thanks so much for weighing in.

She may indeed benefit from some sort of medication
as far as the social interaction is concerned.
She is extremely shy and has repeatedly expressed
that she has no idea what to say in a conversation
and ends up feeling like an observer rather than a participant
thus, the feelings of isolation and further depression.

BHN

[goddess40]

3. my kid is on paxil and it has helped immensely nt

[hunter]

4. You can't get me anywhere near a therapist if I'm off my meds.

I suppose it's depression because antidepressants are part of the stew that works for me, but mostly without antidepressants my obsessions take over, I become very irritable, and I can't stand to be around people, not even my family. Frankly I become a sort of animal person, a feral human being living in the shadows. I also become impossible to live with.

If you ask me when I'm in a bad place I'll claim I'm pretty miserable, but I'm also totally committed to being stuck there. I don't fully recognize the horror of my situation until I'm past it and in a brighter place. And it is without rhyme or reason as to circumstance; my moods become detached from any external reality past, present, or future.

Therapy and meds keep me functional, but I think without meds any therapy would be worthless... assuming anyone could even drag me in to see a therapist.

I joke about it with friends and family, but if my meds stop working, or I stop taking them, I've instructed them to hunt me down and shoot a tranquilizer dart in my butt if that's what it takes to haul me off to my doctor.

Nevertheless, it's too easy to get rotten and inappropriate care, especially I think with Aspergers, where a person has basically grown up trying to pass as someone they are not. It becomes second nature to try to fit into social situations, even if that social situation is a wildly inappropriate therapy.

[BeHereNow]

5. We're off to the family therapist on Monday...

She knows us well and I trust her completely-
We are open to the medication route, but I think we
want to wait a few more weeks and see if the sobriety
reveals a clearer idea of what it is we are dealing with.

The treatment center was completely not the right approach for
our daughter. It shut her down even more and once that happens
with her, even the best doctor in the world could
not reach her.

She is home now and seems to be doing fairly well.
Is agreeable to seeking further help and I think that
is more than half the way home as far as helping her
improve.

Thanks, and it's good to hear your view too.
I sincerely appreciate my DU tribe support right now.
It's been a very difficult time for me.

BHN

[Deja Q]

6. If the benefits outweigh the side-effects, I'm for it.

It's ironic; the adderall I'm on does more to counter the depression than it does ADD, but it does work on the ADD too. It does make me more bubbly; hyper...

[Deep13]

7. Drugs work. Do it.

If the only way she can be effectively treated in therapy is to get the depression under control first, then you should at least try it. The psychiatrist is a trained professional with an actual medical degree. He did not get his education from internet conspiracy theories. You should not unwittingly use your daughter as a test subject for "big pharma" paranoia.

[Deja Q]

8. The right drugs and assuming you've got the right diagnosis.

So few doctors out there are more than just pill pushers. The few that have brains are more likely to properly analyze things.

My doc recently quit her current job to work for another agency. Must to my delight, she told me where because of all the docs I'd seen, she was the only one who was accurate and would take the time to listen.

You bet I wish to remain working with her.

[lumberjack_jeff]

9. Yes

There isn't an ASD pill. I once sat in on a seminar put on by Childrens Hospital in Seattle and the head ASD doctor described the various RX which have been tried with some success. It was a bewildering array of drugs intended for radically different things. ADD drugs, anti depressants, maoi drugs etc. All have been used in specific instances with varying degrees of success.
http://osiris.sunderland.ac.uk/autism/drug.htm

[Deja Q]

11. I wish there was an ASD pill...

I'd have to wonder what the side-effects would be, however...

[Demeter]

10. The Only Way to Know If a Drug Will Help Is To Try It

and do so very carefully.

My daughter, unmedicated, had so much anxiety that she could not do much of anything. With small doses of very powerful drugs that boost serotonin and norephedrin levels, she is much more capable of learning, retaining, and enjoying life. On the other hand, her digestive system went to hell. Not sure if there was a coincidence or a correlation, but Prilosec made a big difference on that issue.

Another complication--she could no longer use decongestants based on pseudoephedrin. She developed Serotonin psychosis, a potentially fatal drug interaction. So now when she's got a cold, she uses antihistamine.

You must be very observant when trying out medication on a person who cannot adequately report on health and sensation.

But any improvement is worth it.