Aspergers Syndrome Treatment

[88brenno]

I just wrote a lengthy post but BL was down as I submitted and lost it all.... So I will keep it breif.

Hello All, Please note i am not simply trying to source drugs, rather fix a mental health issue.

I have been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome as a child, never had many friends and was always the quiet one. I also stress out extremely easy over the smallest things, among other symptoms. I was prescribed dexamphetamine to help me with CBT but did not like the idea of being on medications so I never took them. The CBT obviously didn't work because of my severe debilitating anxiety.

As I grew older, took on more responsibilities, the Aspergers Syndrome became more debilitating and my GP prescribed me many different SSRI/SNRI and benzos at varying dosages to no success. I have spoken this through with my mum and she said she will come with me to the psychiatrist in hope I can get some medication to help me able to do CBT without freaking out and not saying a word.

Should I tell my psych that past MDMA use completely reversed the effects of Aspergers or will that stop me being prescribed a medication I truly believe would help me tremendously.

So my main question is given my age 24 what are the chances of being prescribed a stimulant such as dexamphetamine to help me through the CBT and how long does CBT last? (as in do I need to keep doing it forever) Will i be dependant on medications for the rest of my life?

 

[footscrazy]

I'm leaning towards closing this because one can only speculate what treatments your doctor will provide you with. I'll leave it open for a bit just in case anyone with experience with Aspergers and its treatment can add their 2c.

Usually cbt is provided by a psychologist, who isn't able to prescribe anything. Why though do you think dexamphetamine in particular would 'help you tremendously', when you haven't even tried it? If you're only using a medication to help you through your cbt then there's no reason you'll be dependent on it for life - the aim is to use it a crutch for a short time to start doing the work of cbt, which is where the real treatment lies. Are you committed to doing the work of cbt, or are you just looking for a prescription 'cure'?

 

[88brenno]

I have had dexamphetamine before without a prescription in therapeutic doses (5-10mg) recently, and it completely kills any social anxiety I have, making me able to talk to people without any problems and I feel that would make CBT feasable. If I only need the dexamphetamine temporarily to be able to complete the CBT and that fixes my problem in the long run then no I'm not looking for a prescription cure. My knowledge on CBT is very limited but I hear it is effective, for how long I have no idea.

 

[Divine Moments]

Should I tell my psych that past MDMA use completely reversed the effects of Aspergers or will that stop me being prescribed a medication I truly believe would help me tremendously.

I don't believe that would be advantageous. Most doctors would label you as a drug abuser and be far more cautious about prescribing abusable drugs like dexies. Sometimes one must use discretion when talking to those in the medical profession - stereotyping is the status quo.

 

[88brenno]

Ok thanks for the help,

I don't believe that would be advantageous. Most doctors would label you as a drug abuser and be far more cautious about prescribing abusable drugs like dexies. Sometimes one must use discretion when talking to those in the medical profession - stereotyping is the status quo.

Do you think it would be worth mentioning I have tried dexamphetamine recently in therapeutic doses to see if it would help my problem successfully? Considering I wasnt really using it to "get off" and it was a once off thing.

 

[footscrazy]

^ I don't think so. IME at least doctors hate being told what you think works for you, especially when that's an illegal drug...

I have my doubts you'll be prescribed dexies though. I mean yeah, it can kill your social anxiety; methamphetamine did the same for me. Whether or not it's actually beneficial in the long run though is doubtful.

 

[88brenno]

Do you think it would be worth mentioning I have tried dexamphetamine recently in therapeutic doses to see if it would help my problem successfully? Considering I wasnt really using it to "get off" and it was a once off thing.

^ especially when that's an illegal drug...

dexamphetamine isn't illegal or did you mean the way I used it (without an RX)

 

[footscrazy]

Yeah, I didn't word that well. But using an abusable drug without a prescription probably isn't something docs are going to look too kindly on.

 

[88brenno]

Ok cool sorry for the confusion, you can close this now, I dont think much more can be said on the matter

Thanks

 

[Divine Moments]

^ I think it's worth leaving open for at least a day or two to see if anyone has personal experience or helpful information to share

 

[Crankinit]

Admitting to street drug use is a big no-no when it comes to doctors. Sure you have the 5% who'll view it rationally, but those aren't good odds.

 

[TangerinO]

I admitted my drug use to my psychiatrist when I was getting my prescription (For ADHD, OCD and Aspergers) updated and changed when I officially entered adulthood.
I still got my Concerta prescription and he was a real douche, that being said though I imagine getting a current prescription renewed as an adult prescription is a lot easier than getting a new one.

 

[TheUnicorn]

I was diagnosed with AS as a child, i've never found it too unmanageable. Just push through it, they told me I would be a social outcast but i have many friends. It gets easier trust me.

 

[MrIbis]

One of my best friends has aspergers syndrome. Dexamphetamine really doesn't help him all that much as he loves abusing pretty much any drugs. It does however allow him to get out of bed as he has CFS as well. The guy is extremely intelligent (iq 162) but is incapable of communicating with normal people. Most people would say he's crazy. but I understand him.

It was strange when I met him he never spoke a word so I just wasn't sure what was wrong with him, as time went by he showed he had some amazing computer skills, and still continues to amaze me with shit he knows. If only there was more attention given to these people with aspergers, some real breakthroughs could come from nurturing their gifts.

 

[TangerinO]

^ I 100% completely agree Mr. Ibis, your last post reminds me of someone I went to primary school with who did have very severe autism: one of the most intelligent people I've met to date, with a photographic memory and encyclopedic mind I have just never ever seen the likes of since..

I haven't got particularly severe aspergers, and I also have many friends and am generally very well liked by people who don't get too irritated with my constant ranting on the state of this planet and it's people.
I honestly can't imagine dexies doing anything to help with aspergers in all honesty, in fact as I've gotten older and my ADHD symptoms have taken a back seat, I've found psychs to be extremely helpful with sorting my brain through the mess. The speedy kind of meds only helped with concentration and just not being so hyper and "in your face all the time", now I find they make more irritable than ever. Last time I took my meds I felt like a total speed head, and was even biting my fucking lip all day.

Like I said though mine is not particularly acute thanks to my amazing parents who taught me well and many years of social skills training. I can see how that works as well, I find with psychs I can actually see and feel peoples intentions behind their literal speaking and I pick up on body language infinitely better, so for me it's helped make sense of social difficulties I have always had. It's also helped with previous anxieties and depression, that still poke their head every now and then but I'd say I have control now.

By the way I'm not suggesting the cure for aspergers is lots of psychs and weed, although it definitely helped make it easier to deal with in my case, and more importantly it helped me understand that not everyone sees the world through my warped brain, meaning I can now understand why people don't always get where I'm coming from and I don't take it harshly. If I could back and do it all again, I would have tried to do it all without the meds, being on them from such a young age has truly fucked my eating and sleeping patterns and it's still a problem to this day.

Anyway enough about me, but this is a brief rundown of my experience, I figured it would be worth noting as I doubt there's many diagnosed aspergers regular AusDD bluelighters.
Sorry if this was a little off topic, I just thought I'd throw it all out there.

 

[Crankinit]

I have a relative with strong aspergers, and while I don't know the specifics of his treatment, I do know it involved SSRI's and regular therapy, and whatever it is the doctor did for him completely turned his life around. So I guess all I can say is continue to pursue treatment, it 'can' make a difference.

 

[jaurk]

My little brother has Aspergers and ADHD combo, as a lot of kids do.
I don't think aspergers is something to be "cured", there's nothing to "cure".

He takes respiredol? It wears off at 3pm.
Umm, concerta aaaand, Brb I'll check what other one it is, Faverin, don't know the real drug names.

Anyways, that's what he gets, kind of relevant I guess.

EDIT: oh yeah, I think he goes to a therepy session with the guy who precribes the drugs once a month or something.
I have low-intensity aspergers too, but I somehow learned to cope with it.

 

[orphu]

A couple of friends of mine used to work for a company called "The Dore Group" (I think it was that, Dore something) and they ran a treatment program called "The Dore Program". One of them had a very mild Autism Spectrum Disorder, below what would be charaterised as Aspergers but there were still noticable effects.

This program seemed to be kind of a combination of CBT, maybe some neurolinguistic programming and other sorts of brain retraining. This seemed to help a lot of kids, they did work mainly with kids, saying the younger they were the better results they could get. My mate with the ASD actually went thru the program himself and it has had lasting beneficial effects on him. From what he told me it was pretty profound, for example it fucked up his balance temporarily, the program for his lasted a couple of weeks, and he was litterally falling over 3 or 4 times a day during part of this phase.

My point is that while there may not be a cure there are non drug based treatments out there. The breakthroughs that have been made in the area of neuro-plasticity in the past decade are pretty big.

I understand that part of your problem is difficulty associated with undertaking CBT, and I think this related to the reason it was easier for them to work with kids. As far as helping in that area I dont know what to say other than I myself have undertaken some very mild CBT at a couple of points in my life to deal with issues associated with grief and my drug use, and the were some of the most empowering and benificial things I have done. The power of your own mind can be truly incredible. I say this to try to communicate that this kind of treatment can be very, very worthwhile.

Another point is that there are many, many people who work in this field. The person helping you need to be a good fit for you. In my case the two most useful people were a psychiatric nurse and a counsellor who was not a psychiatrist or psychologist. I spoke extensively with both these people about my drug use and one was not all that approving and the other was of the opinion that I should maybe tone it down a bit but seeing as I was able to explain the ways it benefited me that it was fine as long as was actively engaged in understand why I did it and practicing harm minimisation (he thought I should stop smoking weed mixed with tobacco thru a bong and start smoking straight weed in joints. I eventually got a vapouriser, I think he would be happy with that.)

I dont want to be the one to say "yeah, yeah tell every one about your drug use straight away" and have that back fire for you, preventing you from getting the best possible out come, I also think that honesty is a very important part of the process and if you felt that MDMA and dexamphetamine helped you then the almost certainly did in fact help you. This is not to say that they should be pursed as part of a treatment program, but that is probably important information relating to what may be happening in your brain, this could possibly be translated into some non drug related aspects of any treatment program. Any councellor who does not understand that MDMA can be useful is not worth their salt in my opinion.

My mate with the ASD loves MDMA and weed by the way.

In conclusion best of luck, there is always hope, your own brain is the most powerful tool at your disposal and there are people out there who make it their life's goal to help people just like you. Hope this helps.

P.S "The Dore Group" went bust, I think it was because they were basically selling information at a very high price ($3000 a kid for treatment) but this doses not meant that this information was faulty or worthless. Im pretty sure that elements of the program were being redistributed by parents via support groups, undermining demand. This is also something to look into, any support groups for people with ASD.

 

[88brenno]

maybe some neurolinguistic programming and other sorts of brain retraining. This seemed to help a lot of kids, they did work mainly with kids, saying the younger they were the better results they could get. My mate with the ASD actually went thru the program himself and it has had lasting beneficial effects on him. From what he told me it was pretty profound, for example it fucked up his balance temporarily, the program for his lasted a couple of weeks, and he was litterally falling over 3 or 4 times a day during part of this phase.

My point is that while there may not be a cure there are non drug based treatments out there. The breakthroughs that have been made in the area of neuro-plasticity in the past decade are pretty big.

Im pretty sure that elements of the program were being redistributed by parents via support groups, undermining demand. This is also something to look into, any support groups for people with ASD.

Wow thanks for all the replies, and orphu you have made my day, just knowing someone took the time out to write such a lengthy post to help me made me feel better. I had no idea about neurolinguistic/brain retraining. I will definitely keep trying to seek help. If the non drug therapies are not effective and I do open up about MDMA/dexies curing me in hopes that would give them some idea of what is going on in my brain and the psych is a douchebag about it considering I don't even take drugs anymore, will he record what I have told him, so when I see a different psych will the new psych have access to that information?

 

[orphu]

I really have no idea about psych recording of info and that side of thing. One of my councellors was a psych nurse who worked at a kind of drug and alcohol out patient center type thing and he certainly wrote down all the details of my drug use. Like I said though he was really cool about the whole thing, it was a drug treatment place after all. The next time I went to see someone was about 4 years later in a different state and she was a qualified councellor but not a psych, and I started from scratch with her, she had no info on me at all.

Both times I started the process with a GP though. I just went in, told a random doc (my normal one was on holidays) I was trying to quit weed, was depressed, wanted some anti-depressants and needed to see a councellor. He didnt really like it, I could just tell from his face, but he gave me a script for effexor and a referral and sent me on my way, I was in there for like 10 mins max.

The second time I was having more trouble, 12 year relationship broke up, was really down, some minor suicidal ideation (idealation?). Walked into a random doc's office in my new town and asked for a Mental Health Plan. This is kinda what it sounds like, just a plan to get your mental health sorted. The best bit about it is that it gets you at least 6, maybe 12, sessions with a councellor of your own choice off a list of ones near you and although I had to pay it was all rebated through medicare. The session with the doc was really detailed, I was in there for more than an hour and totally fucked his day up but he was a champ. Lots of questions, forms, questionaires. The councellor got sent this so yeah actually she did have an idea about me before I got there.

Even if your not all that depressed it does sound like your situation is getting to you, and negatively impacting your mental health. Just coz you have Asperger's doesnt mean you have to live with depression or anxiety or any of that crap, so you could go down this route. If you do though it would probably be really appreciated by the doc if you let them know you are after a Mental Health Plan when you make the appointement, just so they can put enough time aside for the whole process.

But back to your actual question, I really dont know how much of a problem talking about the dexies and stuff would be. Maybe it doesnt need to come up right at the start, I dont know. Maybe someone who has had a crappy experience with their drug use being looked down upon by med professionals could tell you a bit more about that. I think, but am not sure, that it would only be a problem in relation to being labeled as "drug-seeking behaviour". This im pretty sure could go into your med records and send up a red flag. But to me you dont really seem to be "drug-seeking", just help-seeking. Ive never really wanted any fun drugs from doc's, just ones that let me breathe, so its not been an issue for me. Once again I dont want to steer you in the wrong direction.

Ill give my other mate that worked at Dore a call tomorrow, and see if he can suggest any useful resources.

Alright im going to bed.