While I was in the hospital for a week the docotors started me on Anafranil and Welbutran. I am curious as to how often doctors perscribe medication for Aspergers Syndrome.
According to my doctor the Anafranil is used to help me think less obsessivly, and the welbutran is to help cope with the depression that comes along with the social isolation.
I think I can cope with Aspergers just fine, but recent circumstances caused me to get way overwhlemed with a lot of stuff causing very severe anxiety.
I am wondering if people with Aspergers Syndrome are often perscribed medication? If so what meds, and how well do they work?
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I was prescribed Paxil a long time ago, but had to discontinue it because it triggered suicidal feelings. There really wasn’t any reason to prescribe it in the first place, since I wasn’t in crisis. I was in poverty and under stress but a few little pills weren’t going to solve that one.
I can see that crisis is different, though. Hopefully you’re on the right meds.
I’m not sure how I feel, but I sure do not enjoy the side effects. I have a tremmor in my hands, my face twitches sometimes, and I get constipated to the point of I feel like I know what Kate’s going to feel like
I’ve tried some for anxiety and for ocd symptoms; i’d get unpleasant side effects with absolutely no benefit. interestingly though, when i started to take opiate based medication for my joint pain (a separate condition obviously) it unexpectedly also alleviated some of the sensory pain and anxiety caused by that- not completely, but enough to make some difference to my functioning (eg: if the phone rings, i don’t end up sick) It also confirmed to me and to family members that sensory pain is literally pain, and not some kind of strong dislike or ‘all in my head’)
My son is somewhere on the spectrum .. Dont know where exactly but I have a diagnosis of High Functioning, Aspergers, and PDDNOS… so what ever you want to derive from that. He also has ADHD and ODD respectively. I choose to have him in public school, I know alot of people dont. I choose to medicate, others dont. I choose to vaccinate, others dont. You get my drift here. Ok so Josh is on Vyvance (sp?) and Risperdal. I recently ( in the past 3 weeks) have been weaning him off the Risperdal from all the negative responses I get because the documentation is so little on the long term effects of this medication on children. Im keenly aware of the adverse effects when the medication is used for elderly patients who have dementia or bi-polar or schizophrenia. The risks with long term in children 5-16 per my in depth research would mean my son would have to take this for 20+ years before the adverse problems would become something to worry about. Now with that said Josh is 7 , and has been on this medication for almost 3 years. With the weaning we did, and introduction of a lesser ( side effect ) drug, we have experienced a great ( not good) change. He was switched to Remeron (sp?) Which basically had no affect on him whatsoever. But the uncontrollable and independent body movement in arms, legs, hands and face and feet, combined with exacerbated agitation, and utter insomina… led me to investigate more. And due to my finding and speaking with the doctors and family we have decided to go back to the Risperdal. Whether the medication cause it, taking him off it cased this, or whatever the whatever is… we are dealing with it. He is on the Risperdal 4 mg and Vyvance 50mg a day, its what works for him. He functions so well at school. Hes starting third grade this year. He made student of the month and was almost completely mainstreamed last year. He read at a 6th grade level, does math at 5th grade and loves to write books and is a wiz on the computer. Almost 3 years ago pre diagnosis this was a kid who was pretty much thrown outta school in kindergarten ( not compulsory here) and first grade was even worse. The medication allows him to have the quality of live I think he would not have if I did not medicate. He has no siblings, so his best chance in building the social skills he lacks is in school in a controlled environment, and the best part is the school strives to do whats best for him. Imagine that a PUBLIC SCHOOL working with a parent and child to help him achieve the very obstacles that Nuero-typical children take for granted. Ok I spoke my peace, Im pro medication, provided there is constant supervision, medical exams and therapy… so on and so forth. Thanks for letting me share this, I only hope it may help someone else.
Leslie,
I think it all depends on the child. Do the benefits outweigh the adverse affects of the medication? If so then it needs to be done. The kids are the ones who pay the price for adamantly non med parents, even when the meds could be helpful.
Thank you for your post!
Danielle
Zach,
My son was given Strattera. It did seem to help curb his anxiety. However, he was unable to eat and in the end the side affects did not outweigh the benefits. He is med free now and we have made some adjustments to his diet. He seems to be doing well but only time will tell.
I truly hope that your meds help you through your current crisis.
Danielle
… oh Gods did I ever go through the medication wringer. At times I suspect that I’ve been on every SSRI invented (okay, I’ve only actually been given five different ones that I remember)… not to mention one amphetamine.
Of course, most of that was while I was going through the whole misdiagnosis gauntlet. They did screw me up pretty seriously, though.
I’ve been on more medications then I have fingers on my hands. I’ve also been on the misdiagnosis marry go round.
Medication for me has really been a mixed bag, sometimes it works and other times it’s been disastrous. Probably the worst offenders for me, were the paxil/prosaic/SSRI class of drugs, which in short created hell. Once on paxil I actually had a severe insomniac reaction that gave me a bout of insomnia induced psychosis-so that’s definitely not a drug I’d recommend.
However, I’ve been on welbutran for almost a year now, without any horrible side-effects. Personally, I find this medication great for helping me to coupe with a lot of the anxieties that I experience. Taking this medication allows me a bit more emotional control than I’d have otherwise, which has helped me in numerous ways. Another big thing is that with the medication, I find myself more in control of my mental state as well, which means less obsessive thoughts. Sure, there are issues that the welbutran doesn’t address very well, but for for the most part I believe it’s worth it.
Aaaargh! Please spell the names right!
I’ve been on Celexa, Seroquel, Haldol, Zyprexa, Geodon, Prozac, Abilify, Risperdal, Ativan, Loxapine, Depakote, lithium, Wellbutrin, clonazepam and Dalmane. 15! More than a lot of you, haha. It’s like a competition sometimes.