Re: medication and other (many) questions

[Guest guest]

> Has anyone had any " luck " with anti-depressants meds OTHER than

> SSRIs? I can't take SSRIs, and I am not sure I can take others, but

> I think I need to try something because I am not doing very well.

Everybody reacts to different meds differently. It will probably

take some experimentation on your part before you find one that works

well for you. That having been said, I'm on Wellbutrin XL, and it

works wonderfully for me. I get only one side effect from it

(headaches, which is a price I'm more than willing to pay).

There are also a number of over-the-counter things you can try, such

as St. 's Wort, sam-e, and 5-HTP. Sam-e doesn't do anything for

me, but I also take 5-HTP in addition to my Wellbutrin, and it helps

quite a bit. I used to take SJW and it also did a good job for me (I

had to stop taking it when I started taking Wellbutrin; there's a

drug interaction problem). Again, though, different people react

differently to different meds.

--Parrish

<o>

[Guest guest]

Rhonda wrote:

> Do people with Asperger's stop talking sometimes?

Yes.

> Is there really any difference between having Asperger's and

> not being able to talk sometimes, and being " autistic " with

> communication problems. " Is it just a matter of degree?

Yes, we're all different, and some days are better than others.

> And when I read about Asperger's why don't I ever see some of

> the things mentioned that I do, that are never talked about in

> discussions of Asperger's but are talked about in discussions of

> " autism, " like banging my head... and why when I wrote about this

> one time before did nobody answer? (Maybe because ya'll think I

> am a nut?

Heh. You're not a nut. Maybe when you wrote about this before,

you caught people who might have answered on a day when they weren't

being too communicative? Trust me, there are aspies who bang their

heads, and auties who don't, and the point is, it's a very blurry

line between them. We feel it just isn't worth trying to draw that

line.

> Or maybe nobody knows...) I just don't know. Maybe it is something

> depressed people do. Bang their heads and refuse to talk.

Or people who are frustrated, or that's how they stim, or....

> I NEVER see ANYTHING about people with Asperger's doing some things

> I do. So, is it autism or is it mental illness or both or what?

You'd have to give some examples. Depression can be a kind of mental

illness, depending on degree, I suppose. If possible, the reasons

behind the depression should be targeted and worked on, rather than

masking it with pills. But sometimes, pills are exactly what's needed

to break the cycle.

> Maybe there is nothing to DO, other than to try to be the best mom

> I can to my son, which is the main thing I care about in this world.

> And seem to fail at every day.

You'll do allright, so long as you're neither physically nor verbally

abusive with him.

> I guess my question is, " Is this WEIRD? "

To paraphrase PeeWee Herman, " I know you are, but so am I! "

Meaning, " Don't worry about it. " You're just getting used to

your new Dx, Rhonda. It'll take awhile to get comfortable with it.

Clay

[Guest guest]

I have stopped talking for

> the past few hours.

> Usually if I " go nonverbal " it is just for a

> few minutes or maybe an

> hour.

> Do people with Asperger's stop talking

> sometimes?

***

I do the same.

I can do a day's shopping--interacting with sales

people, holding the door open for other people,

smile when somebody wishes me a good day, even

ask where a product is located--without speaking

a word.

I function except for speech.

***

***

> I NEVER see ANYTHING about people with

> Asperger's doing some things I

> do.

***

I learned more about Asperger's and how it

affects me on egroups than from other research.

After spending time on groups, research was

helpful for an overall understanding of

Asperger's and sensory integration. After

learning from egroups how it affects me,

research tells me the physiology of my traits.

***

***

> Rather than DOING anything about my issues, I

> seem to want to

> endlessly sort through them and categorize

> them.

***

Sorting and categorizing is doing something about

your issues. It clarifies and provides you with

an understanding of how to handle them.

***

***

Maybe there is

> nothing to DO, other than to try to be the best

> mom I can to my son,

> which is the main thing I care about in this

> world. And seem to fail

> at every day.

***

Ah, so are the trials of motherhood. Keep your

intention of being the best mom you can to your

son (notice: not the best mom, but the best mom

-you can- to -your son-) and things will work out

in the end.

My adult son with Asperger's brought up this

issue resently. He said I raised him correctly.

He acknowledged that I was often unorthodox; but

in his 29-year-old wisdom, he said overall he was

raised right. He even went on to say that, in

comparison, he was raised better than his

friends.

Wow. Who knew when he was five, or nine or

fourteen that I was doing things right.

***

***

he

> wanted me to play with him, so I did but I just

> did not say anything.

***

I did the same.

It's the play that's important. He said " Play

with me, " not " Talk with me. "

You did fine.

***

***

> I gave him lots of hugs and smiles but that was

> all

***

Tactile speaking is louder than vocalizing.

***

***

I can

> write I just can't

> talk.

***

I do the same.

Also when I am able to speak, sometimes I can't

speak about an emotional topic. When the topic

changes I can speak again. Once while talking on

the phone with my friend about an emotional

incident, she spoke to me; and I replied to her

via Instant Message.

***

***

> I also can't make eye contact,

***

Avoiding eye contact and not speaking are both

indications of sensory overload.

Now that you are diagnosed with sensory

integration, Google it to learn more about it.

After decades I finally learned that the

diagnosis is not enough. I had to know how my

different senses respond to situations, and

prepare myself in advance of a triggering

situation and be aware of my response during a

situation in order to control the sensory

integration.

Also, I take a day of rest after an incident or

after a day with sensory stress. I call it

degaussing.

***

***

I am not nonverbal in the sense of never

> having talked. I can

> talk your ear off if I get wound up...

***

Yes, I am that way too.

***

***

I am almost

> thinking of myself as " having talked in the

> past, but now I don't "

***

This is a good description that I have often

thought.

***

***

Also I

> can write like a

> maniac.

***

Yes. It's like writing has surpassed speaking for

communication. Thinking is active, but speaking

is closed for the season.

***

I guess if I

> WANTED to and could not, that would be

> something else again.

***

Nope. It's the same thing, if it's temporary.

At Thanksgiving I completely shut down. It took

several comments from my friend for me to realize

that my answers to her were only in my head. My

comments never made it out of my mouth. Then I

went even farther over the edge in that I could

not think at all, only gesture and shake or nod

my head.

I could take orders though. Like: sit down here,

go stir the wassail, fill your plate, leave the

kitchen.

So here we are at Thanksgiving. The three of us.

My friend in a bipolar, sensory overload. Her

husband in an Asperger's overload. And I in

sensory overload.

We are all feeding off of one another until my

friend escapes to the front porch to smoke, her

husband disappears to where I do not know and I

am sitting alone in the living room in great

confusion what to do with the various

Thanksgiving foods on my plate and a cup of

wassail and a glass of liqueur next to me.

What do I take first? What do I do with it? What

is happening to me?

The good thing was that this happened in the

company of caring, understanding friends. My

friend said I lost speech, she lost selfcontrol

and her husband lost his mind.

***

***

But I LIKE not

> talking, I must say.

***

Yes, my bipolar friend tends to get talkative

during her sensory overloads. She told me that

she thought my mutness was the better way, and

she would prefer to not talk; but talkativeness

is the way it goes with her.

***

***

The more you learn about your sensory integration

triggers and how you act during overloads, tell

your husband the warning signs and what to do. It

sounds like he is cooperative. If he isn't, like

mine wasn't, you can still have a preset plan of

how you can function during these times. Each

episode is followed by your reviewing what

happened before, during and after giving you

information to fine tune your plan of care for

yourself for the next time.

It happens. It can be managed. Your family need

did not suffer. You are not weird.

~Bonnie

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