Do you find any antidepressants are effective for depression symptoms for those with ASD?

I’ve tried fluoxetine mirtazepine, venlafax, Maoi,, amitrip, citalop, sertrine and all the usual ones. Now my psych is talking about vagal n st but that was. A year ago and still going through approval process. Bad effects sound likely 

I take venlefaxine too (with a side serving of a very low dose of quetiapine, mainly for sleep). I find its very good too. Nothing much else has worked well for me. Exactly the same effects of citalopram and mirt for me as jenbear!

Could be venlefaxine works for autism, or maybe is good for lovers of bears jenbear! Bedtime is my favourite :o)

I'm on venlafaxine, which is an SNRI and it works for me (mostly - I sometimes forget to take my night dose!). Citalopram turned me into a zombie and mirtazapine caused me to gain 4 stone very quickly.

I don't know if there's any research into SNRIs and autism, but maybe have a look or ask your GP. Otherwise, there are the MAOIs, tricyclics or atypicals to try.

Sorry to hear you've not had any luck so far, but hopefully there's one (or a combination) out there that will work for you.

Sadly, it can often be the case of having to try a few medications before finding one that works for you. I tried Seroxat when I was in my teens and it didn't work for me, it just made me feel all jittery and gave me pupils as big as saucers! I hope you will eventually find something that works for you.

I am far more of a mess than you might believe from my posts on these threads!

Well you are lucky to get a try with this as it is not readily given!

I was on Seroxat which my then doctor assured me was the answer to all of my problems(!) It did nothing and as that seemed to be the only thing available at the time, I decided to not bother with anything. I think the best cure for ASD-related depression would be to mix with as many on the Spectrum as possible and learn coping mechanisms from them, the drugs we take only tinker with the symptoms and if we stop things will return to where they were before unless new ways of looking at our lives and ways of dealing with what life throws at us are learned and applied, drugs alone cannot cure anybody.

I am on Lisdexamphetamine for my ADD-I only started on it 10 days ago- and I have to report that the effect is extremely disappointing,apart from loss of appetite and early difficulties getting to sleep I feel no different. 

Hi, I personally have taken Citalopram on several occasions in the past and I have found it to be effective, both for Depression and for OCD. However, these medications do take about 6 weeks before they’re working fully as it takes a while for the level to build up in your system. Also, different medications work for different people, ASD or otherwise.

I too am on fluoxetine. It helps me hold myself together enough to have had a shortish spell of therapy for PTSD with a psychologist. Soon it will be up to me to put all we have done into practice without her support/input. Then I plan to stop the antidepressants. I’ve been on them a long long time. Amitripyline mostly. So it would be amazing to be in control of my life without drugs. That’s if it is possible. That’s my hope, but nothing in life is certain. Hope this helps you a little DaveA in some way. 

My personal experience is that I haven't found them particularly helpful. I'm on them more for anxiety but I still go through the same highs and lows that I did without them. If I get depressed it can still be crushingly deep and all that helps is time. I've tried Citalopram, Sertraline, Mirtazapine and am currently on Fluoxetine. Changed a few times because they didn't seem to help much but Mirt was a bit of a nightmare as it gave me angry outbursts and weird surges (brain zaps). Stuck with Fluoxetine as I don't want to play side effect roulette again and this at least at a low dose does't seem to hurt - although 40mg and above makes my ears whistle.

If I get diagnosed with ASD when my turn comes I'll probably try and work up the guts to ask my dr if taking these pills is any use to me... 

My personal experience is that I haven't found them particularly helpful. I'm on them more for anxiety but I still go through the same highs and lows that I did without them. If I get depressed it can still be crushingly deep and all that helps is time. I've tried Citalopram, Sertraline, Mirtazapine and am currently on Fluoxetine. Changed a few times because they didn't seem to help much but Mirt was a bit of a nightmare as it gave me angry outbursts and weird surges (brain zaps). Stuck with Fluoxetine as I don't want to play side effect roulette again and this at least at a low dose does't seem to hurt - although 40mg and above makes my ears whistle.

If I get diagnosed with ASD when my turn comes I'll probably try and work up the guts to ask my dr if taking these pills is any use to me...