Guest guest Posted January 3, 2001 Report Share Posted January 3, 2001 Dear B.J., I just want to let you know that your doctor doesn't really need to be " up " on the latest meds for autism because there aren't really any meds for autism. There are meds for the symptoms people with autism display. Your doctor is going by what symptoms he/she sees while in the office and you can be helpful by keeping track of what symptoms you see during the day, at school, at home, etc. I can remember a doctor prescribing Moban for my daughter and I never heard of it. It is a very " old " medication like Haldol, but, a tried and true one and it helped her extremely during her time of need when she was very stressed out in the classroom. So... for what it is worth, meds should be given a try for the symptom you are trying to alleviate/help/diminish/alter, whatever. If you don't see it helping within a few weeks, like for Prozac it is 3 or 4 weeks, you are probably not going to see much change thereafter and will need to discontinue the med. Best of luck to you, -- visit us at www.sistersdj.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2001 Report Share Posted January 3, 2001 **sib stands for self-injurious behaviors** note-some medications work well in conjunction with others and that is why my psychiatrist who has worked at an institution with autistic children and is very experienced with medication management has put our girl on a combination of these medications. Risperdal worked well for my girl and she has been taking it for 3 yrs now. She started taking 1 mg tabs three times daily then it was increased 1 tab at a time per week - she now takes 2mg tabs - 2 1/2 tabs in am/1 tab 12n/1tab pm. No side effects noted so far. My behaviorist works also at the institutions and said it was very effective there. Buspar was then added slowly and then klonopin and then depakote. No side effects and she has been taking all these approx 3 yrs now. Blood work is drawn every 3 months. What i learned going through this-is that you do want to start out with minimal dosages and then work up to a theraputic level. Your neurologist should understand what "theraputic level" means. In other words if you dont reach a theraputic level and just have child take a little bit of medication then that is not appropriate. Discuss theraputic levels with your doctor. If he is good doctor then he will help your child and help with "medication management". It does make all the difference in the world. I saw my child go from having episodes of being unstabalized to now she has not been unstabalized in a long time and is very manageable at home with me. I have great peace of mind also. and can relax at home with her now. I do hope this helps you understand about medication management and how important it is to your child. Why be so afraid of trying new medications. We have. and you have to decide if the medication is or isnt working. If it isnt working or have side effects-well then you try another one and then eventually as we did-you find a combination of them that work and can see your child relax more and play more etc. It is wonderful to be living in this day & time and not back in the time somewhere. Now there are many good medications that can help our children live a more quality of life. Prozac made my girl very unstabalized-agressive & increased sibs. Zoloft made my girl have jerky spells and head & hand shakey When we observed a side effect-we immediately stopped the medication and notified the doctor. Once discontinued- the side effects would stop and no further problems. Re: happy new year 2001 Subj: happy new year 2001 Date: 1/2/01 8:03:08 PM Central Standard Time From: rusheimlbfl@... (heidi ) Reply-to: Autism_in_Girlsegroups To: Autism_in_Girlsegroups Hello to all parents with autism! just joined group. would like to talk with others who manage sib's. what techniques you use etc. Hi Heidi!! I have a seven and one-half year old daughter named and she is sel-injurious and aggressive. We placed her on Risperdal two years ago and she has done wonderfully on that medication. Before meds I either restrained her physically or if it was mild enough, tried to ignore the behavior or put her in time out. The problems developed when the situation would escalate to such a level that I could not "calm her down" for hours. There were problems with her hurting other students at school and that is why we decided to try medication with . Now she is a much happier, easygoing child who occasionally gets angry, and may lash out, but it is nothing like it used to be and we can deal with it. I don't "push" medicines, but I believe it can be an option for those who need it. Vickie Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2001 Report Share Posted January 3, 2001 Our neurologist began our daughter on Tegretol when she was four. He also prescribed Clonidine for sleeping problems. Not quite two years ago, I read about some research studies regarding Prozac and he added that to the routine. Prozac, Zoloft, and virtually all antidepressants take time to "kick in." Last spring, because of some increase in hyperactivity, Tenex was also added. This past fall we began weaning her off some of the medications to see what if anything was helping (we had tried in the past with terrible results). She came off Tegretol beautifully. We had her off of Prozac less than a week when her behaviors began to worsen. She stopped eating entirely, became very moody, and had frequent "rage outbursts". We restarted her on Paxil instead of Prozac - there are some chemical differences between the two and it would be an ideal time to evaluate the effectiveness one over the other. When I have forgotten to give her the Tenex before school, EVERYONE knows it - so she needs that. Right now, she seems to have a hard time from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. I am going to speak to the Dr. about this. Hannah will be 9 in March, so our girls are similar age. Since adding Paxil, she has grown even more affectionate and is really loving writing and drawing for the first time, so I am really excited. And she's eating again. But she was terrified of Santa this year and that hasn't happened in a long time. It's always a mixed bag. My husband and I are both nurses and read up a lot of the medications. Since there is nothing really specific to autism, it is a "trial and error" mission to find out what works (or doesn't) for your daughter. My advice is pretty basic: do not make more than one medication change/month and avoid other changes as well to fairly evaluate (fat chance with the holidays, etc.) Try and give each medication a month but if the results are disasterous, let the Dr. know and he may change course midstream. So now, Hannah takes Tenex 2 mg. in the morning and at bedtime, Paxil 5 ml (1 tsp) in the morning, and we give her either Melatonin or Clonidine for sleeping problems if they arrive. I would defininitely focus on the symptoms you are hoping that the medication will address (i.e. aggressiveness, hyperactivity, inattention, etc.) and go from there. Also, remember that no two girls are alike and what works for us may be disasterous for you and vice versa. Good luck and I hope this helps Jeanie Mother of Hannah (8 1/2) and (4 - my all boy wild child) Re: happy new year 2001 Subj: happy new year 2001 Date: 1/2/01 8:03:08 PM Central Standard Time From: rusheimlbfl@... (heidi ) Reply-to: Autism_in_Girlsegroups To: Autism_in_Girlsegroups Hello to all parents with autism! just joined group. would like to talk with others who manage sib's. what techniques you use etc. Hi Heidi!! I have a seven and one-half year old daughter named and she is sel-injurious and aggressive. We placed her on Risperdal two years ago and she has done wonderfully on that medication. Before meds I either restrained her physically or if it was mild enough, tried to ignore the behavior or put her in time out. The problems developed when the situation would escalate to such a level that I could not "calm her down" for hours. There were problems with her hurting other students at school and that is why we decided to try medication with . Now she is a much happier, easygoing child who occasionally gets angry, and may lash out, but it is nothing like it used to be and we can deal with it. I don't "push" medicines, but I believe it can be an option for those who need it. Vickie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2001 Report Share Posted January 3, 2001 Dear Administrator, We are receiving attachments with many of the Autism_in_Girls posts and I'm worried that many of them may be a virus, so I've been deleting the posts. I wondered if anyone else has had a virus problem on their computers or if I'm worried about nothing. Warm regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2001 Report Share Posted January 3, 2001 Dear Administrator, We are receiving attachments with many of the Autism_in_Girls posts and I'm worried that many of them may be a virus, so I've been deleting the posts. I wondered if anyone else has had a virus problem on their computers or if I'm worried about nothing. Warm regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2001 Report Share Posted January 3, 2001 Dear Administrator, We are receiving attachments with many of the Autism_in_Girls posts and I'm worried that many of them may be a virus, so I've been deleting the posts. I wondered if anyone else has had a virus problem on their computers or if I'm worried about nothing. Warm regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2001 Report Share Posted January 4, 2001 Thanks everyone for your responses. It's only been 7 days on Prozac and I see her slapping herself again. Guess I'll have to wait it out for a few more days to see results, if any. I guess I'm one who uses meds as a last resort. I don't even like taking asprin. It took me 9 1/2 years to make this decision to try meds, so it IS a little scary for me. We've tried diets and vitamins, and lots of other stuff, but guess there finally came a time when I needed to let go of preconceived ideas and try something else. love, bj Re: happy new year 2001 Subj: happy new year 2001 Date: 1/2/01 8:03:08 PM Central Standard Time From: rusheimlbfl@... (heidi ) Reply-to: Autism_in_Girlsegroups To: Autism_in_Girlsegroups Hello to all parents with autism! just joined group. would like to talk with others who manage sib's. what techniques you use etc. Hi Heidi!! I have a seven and one-half year old daughter named and she is sel-injurious and aggressive. We placed her on Risperdal two years ago and she has done wonderfully on that medication. Before meds I either restrained her physically or if it was mild enough, tried to ignore the behavior or put her in time out. The problems developed when the situation would escalate to such a level that I could not "calm her down" for hours. There were problems with her hurting other students at school and that is why we decided to try medication with . Now she is a much happier, easygoing child who occasionally gets angry, and may lash out, but it is nothing like it used to be and we can deal with it. I don't "push" medicines, but I believe it can be an option for those who need it. Vickie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2001 Report Share Posted January 4, 2001 Thanks everyone for your responses. It's only been 7 days on Prozac and I see her slapping herself again. Guess I'll have to wait it out for a few more days to see results, if any. I guess I'm one who uses meds as a last resort. I don't even like taking asprin. It took me 9 1/2 years to make this decision to try meds, so it IS a little scary for me. We've tried diets and vitamins, and lots of other stuff, but guess there finally came a time when I needed to let go of preconceived ideas and try something else. love, bj Re: happy new year 2001 Subj: happy new year 2001 Date: 1/2/01 8:03:08 PM Central Standard Time From: rusheimlbfl@... (heidi ) Reply-to: Autism_in_Girlsegroups To: Autism_in_Girlsegroups Hello to all parents with autism! just joined group. would like to talk with others who manage sib's. what techniques you use etc. Hi Heidi!! I have a seven and one-half year old daughter named and she is sel-injurious and aggressive. We placed her on Risperdal two years ago and she has done wonderfully on that medication. Before meds I either restrained her physically or if it was mild enough, tried to ignore the behavior or put her in time out. The problems developed when the situation would escalate to such a level that I could not "calm her down" for hours. There were problems with her hurting other students at school and that is why we decided to try medication with . Now she is a much happier, easygoing child who occasionally gets angry, and may lash out, but it is nothing like it used to be and we can deal with it. I don't "push" medicines, but I believe it can be an option for those who need it. Vickie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2001 Report Share Posted January 4, 2001 Heidi, Yes, I have heard of H. Pylori. For years Dr.'s thought the stress was the cause of ulcers. A Dr. in Australia (I believe it was there) noticed that in almost of the biopsy specimins of ulcer pt., H. pylori, a bacteria was present. No one believed him at first, but eventually his theory was proven. I believe he won some prize. Anyway, now the standard treatment for most ulcers is antibiotics and antacids, usually for one to two months after the antibiotics are completed so the stomach lining can heal. How old is Alina? I can't imagine how terrible it must have been for her. I recently had to have a colonoscopy done (thankfully, no problems) but it was a scary procedure for me and I knew what was going on, why, etc. I am glad you found someone who was able to help you. Yes, God does watch out for all children! Have a great new year Jeanie Re: happy new year 2001 Subj: happy new year 2001 Date: 1/2/01 8:03:08 PM Central Standard Time From: rusheimlbfl@... (heidi ) Reply-to: Autism_in_Girlsegroups To: & nnd may lash out, but it is nothing like it used to be and we can deal with it. I don't "push" medicines, but I believe it can be an option for those who need it. Vickie Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2001 Report Share Posted January 4, 2001 Heidi, Yes, I have heard of H. Pylori. For years Dr.'s thought the stress was the cause of ulcers. A Dr. in Australia (I believe it was there) noticed that in almost of the biopsy specimins of ulcer pt., H. pylori, a bacteria was present. No one believed him at first, but eventually his theory was proven. I believe he won some prize. Anyway, now the standard treatment for most ulcers is antibiotics and antacids, usually for one to two months after the antibiotics are completed so the stomach lining can heal. How old is Alina? I can't imagine how terrible it must have been for her. I recently had to have a colonoscopy done (thankfully, no problems) but it was a scary procedure for me and I knew what was going on, why, etc. I am glad you found someone who was able to help you. Yes, God does watch out for all children! Have a great new year Jeanie Re: happy new year 2001 Subj: happy new year 2001 Date: 1/2/01 8:03:08 PM Central Standard Time From: rusheimlbfl@... (heidi ) Reply-to: Autism_in_Girlsegroups To: & nnd may lash out, but it is nothing like it used to be and we can deal with it. I don't "push" medicines, but I believe it can be an option for those who need it. Vickie Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.