do most aspies have to be on antidepressants permanently?

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Toy_Soldier
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15 May 2013, 10:29 am

I was on an anti-depressant for about 5 years. It wasn't actually doing anything useful except reducing tension/cluster headaches. So I went off it when I went on anti-anxiety medication, which was actually what I needed and which I expect to be on for the rest of my life and gladly so. The anti-anxiety med keeps the boogie men away. :lol:



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15 May 2013, 7:09 pm

I used to take them for depression. I ended up with no emotions at all and disturbing intrusive thoughts (and though I didn't know it at the time, they increase the risk of suicide). When I stopped taking them I had a couple months of pretty intense withdrawal symptoms. Do some careful research if you're considering starting them.



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17 May 2013, 7:59 am

If you've got other people around you that believe in them, you might as well accept being on them forever.

It makes the act easier. It's part of the stage set.

With a little bit of Prozac, I do pretty well at keeping my mouth shut and pretending to be happy, horny, and carefree.

Every time I fail, we fight about whether or not I need to increase the dose.

That's the way it is. Everyone wants someone who smiles all the time and has no wants, no needs, no problems-- Someone who can take others' wants and needs and problems in stride, and meet them all apparently effortlessly, without ever asking for reciprocation.


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17 May 2013, 10:05 am

I've been on antidepressants for about 12 years, they occasionally work for me. I've done ECT for my depression (not a great experience for me), I'm currently looking into TMS treatment. I recently turned 30 and would say I was first very depressed when I was about 10. I have been on 30+ antidepressants and many more combinations, but I have people I know on the spectrum from support groups, that don't have depression in addition to being on the spectrum. Some have depression chronically, and are treated for it others have depression on occasion. Personally, I was first diagnosed as being on the spectrum because I was undergoing extensive testing psychological testing to try to help understand my depression.


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Yayoi
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18 May 2013, 6:30 am

Parents want me on antidepressants... I'm fine with it as long as I get prescribed a kind that doesn't have weight gain as a side effect. My mum's had depression for ages and she gained so much weight she had to have weight-loss surgery, and I'm already slightly chubby so I definitely take after her, and my parents' attitude is the "you're fine the way you are" attitude so they'd NEVER consent to me getting surgery to keep myself out of plus sizes.


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djdaza
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18 May 2013, 8:12 am

I've never been on drugs



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21 May 2013, 5:23 pm

Yayoi wrote:
Parents want me on antidepressants... I'm fine with it as long as I get prescribed a kind that doesn't have weight gain as a side effect. My mum's had depression for ages and she gained so much weight she had to have weight-loss surgery, and I'm already slightly chubby so I definitely take after her, and my parents' attitude is the "you're fine the way you are" attitude so they'd NEVER consent to me getting surgery to keep myself out of plus sizes.


I haven't researched anti-depressants, but just from being some around people who were on them, have not made an association between them and weight gain. You are right to be concerned and should stand your ground about which side-effects you can tolerate and which you can not. It would be so counter-productive to be chemically treating the depression and then adding something that would add to depression.



Hollie1996
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26 May 2013, 2:16 am

I am on lovan 20 which is an antidepressant.



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26 May 2013, 7:20 am

Every anti-depressant I took made me really mentally ill, like 10x worse than no drugs. That effect lingered for about a year after I stopped taking them. My psychiatrist told me that paradoxical reactions to anti-depressants are not-uncommon in autistic patients.

In answer to the OP's actual question: I doubt that "most" aspies are taking anti-depressants indefinitely. It's very likely that more aspies are doing so than average people because the rate of mental illness is significantly higher in autistics.



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26 May 2013, 8:57 am

The best antidepressant is to do something with your life to make it less depressing.


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invisiblesilent
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26 May 2013, 8:59 am

Spiderpig wrote:
The best antidepressant is to do something with your life to make it less depressing.


That's true, but people don't always have the motivation, the ability, the knowledge or the means to do that.



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26 May 2013, 11:44 am

I've been taking antidepressants for about a decade, and anticipate staying on them indefinitely.

Almost daily exercise also helps me deal with depression.


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28 May 2013, 12:30 pm

I've been running on meds for a while now, and I plan for it not to be permanent.
While it does make me emotionally stable, it also has a few side effects I don't want to live with, most notably I feel that I can't "obsess" like I could in the past, and that was a part I actually liked about myself.

so for now I'm gonna finish my study, go back to my quiet house, get a job I can enjoy, and then when I have little to unbalance me I can work my way off the meds.



JacobV
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10 Feb 2014, 5:51 am

Tyri0n wrote:
I ended up getting off that stuff due to the side effects. It may still have caused bipolar disorder, which would really suck. Too soon to tell.

There are natural seratonin boosters like 5-HTP and aniracetam that probably work better anyway.

When I was on zoloft, by the way, everyone treated me like a big f***ing creep. I also literally became big. Zoloft is a good way to get fat and more autistic.

Lexapro gave me schizoid symptoms and symptoms of bipolar disorder when I got off it. My doc suggested it may have damaged my nonverbal/performance IQ as well.


I took lexapro for over a year. I also had a bad experience with it. It helped relieve my anxiety for a while but the side effects were weird and looking back it didn't change my behavior for the better. And when I stopped taking it, it actually gave me withdrawal symptoms like nausea, dizzyness, extreme depression, etc... it's a horrible drug and i don't suggest it for anyone.

I think at the end of the day an aspie will be an aspie. And the solution is learn about your differences, learn how to use them and survive with them, and most importantly learn how to live in the moment (which is the hardest part for many aspies)



Toy_Soldier
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10 Feb 2014, 8:43 am

I have been on an anti-anxiety med for ages but never was on an anti-depressent med per-se. I am not sure if there is cross over in the meds used for those things.



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10 Feb 2014, 11:53 am

Just started another stupid anti-depressant....uhh I feel like crap so kinda more willing to try whatever. But yeah it might help a little or just make things worse like all the past ones. Either way not sure I'd want to be on such things for the rest of my life.


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