Published on 12, July, 2020
Is my GP correct? Can I challenge this?
I have a diagnosis of high-functioning asperger's but that's all. I don't need appointments with psychiatry to keep trying to get me to take medication. There's actually an anti-psychotic called Risperidone which is actually approved for "irritability caused by autism". No joke.
A new paper has been published. “In the UK, risperidone is the only psychotropic medication approved for the management of the behavioural symptoms that may accompany autism.”
Available from here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-019-04291-8
Some people find a very low dose of risperidone helpful. However, like all anti-psychotics one can eventually develop adverse effects.
It is not usually given to autistic people. It used to be given in quite high doses, this can make people lactate - even men.
Your GP is an idiot, change him.
There is a book available as a free download which has a chapter entitled, Autistic People Against Neuroleptic Abuse. You can find it here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-981-13-8437-0
all i can do is give you my experience of some of these things iv gone though these psychiatrist think there god and so do some of the gps there not we humans only know a small amount about most things but what we do when we find out about anything is think we know it all take autism im 64 yrs old had it all my life being trying to find out what its all about since i was first told i had this condition 1 + half years ago and the 1st thing 2 people said to me when i first found out thats me is autistic people dont have empathy well iv researched this and in fact it know appears we have more than the typical person due to the fact that we are highly sensitives people , a psychiatrist forced me to take psychotic meds years ago and i still wonder if its effected my mind for the worse on a permanent basic why does this psychiatrist want you to take it? what is it suppose to do its to stop having psychotic episode
autism is a neurological condition there are no meds specifically for it i have heard some people can get relive from some but not me and iv been on psychotic and antidepressant which actually made me depressed my advice would be go to the psychiatrist with a list of questions and whats and note down what he says then ask him the same questions wks or months later and i wouldn't be surprised if you get diffrent answers and even see if you an get a second opinion even though most of the time they ie gps and psychiatrist ect normal stick up for each other
Absolutely. Please register with another GP surgery. It is pot-luck but there are some good ones out there.
After years of not being listened to by my family GP, I switched practices and they basically started with a clean sheet and ignored all the notes from previous GPs, who, among other things had repeatedly referred to me as 'an attention-seeker'. Upon switching, my Asperger's got diagnosed as well as my endometriosis, both of which had crippled me in one way or another for decades. And, since moving out of the area completely (from the Midlands down to the south-coast), I've honestly never had better medical care—kindness, professionalism, and determination to get to the root causes of my symptoms—rather than being labelled a time-waster and ignored. That said, I've yet to speak to them about my Asperger's specifically, but I feel fairly confident that I will be listened to when the time comes.
I've been on and off anti-depressants all my life, I've never asked for any of them and all the prescriptions were written on either what my mum or Social Worker has told or passed onto Psychiatry. I didn't find any benefit from any of them, I don't quite understand what was meant to happen since I didn't feel depressed or anything when they were prescribed and some do have unpleasant side-effects and are quite difficult to be on. Mental numbness, loss of motivation, and sexual side-effects are amongst the common side-effects. I find I can function wayy better without them.
Your gp is wrong. Autism is a built-in thing that you can't fix - but a lot of life's problems can cause you all sorts of processing issues - typically, we tend to have black or white thinking - things are either right or wrong - but it seems that most 'normal' people seem to work in a very grey area where lies and falsehoods are ok and continual contradiction is perfectly acceptable.
As time goes by, all this garbage we are subjected to causes all sorts of stress for us - nothing makes sense so we can't process it so we often appear depressed - and that's when we hit the local mental health team - and it's the medication highway from there onwards.
Some people may function better when slightly medicated - everyone's experiences are different so it's a very personal thing.
Disambiguating Cynosure said:...I am really preferring that someone else here can give proper/better advice than I can.
...I meant that, truly, so I post it again. You do not have to take this sort of thing... but I cannot advise anything else apart from what I said before, there. Be calm.
(Sorry about any multiple postings, the Quote function is difficult to use. Also, I have corrected spelling mistakes in My previous Post. Making so many mistakes is a sign that I should sign off, now... it is One in the Morning.)
Longshanks said:No joke.
...I am really preferring that someone else here can give proper/better advice than I can. But the fact that You are aware that something is uncomfortable/not right... is a very good thing, because You are correct. I post here to support that.
All I can say is to try another GP, or if this their policy, then change Practices altogether. There is no "drug" for Autism... that is wrong and You can try to challenge that, but they have Authority in the end, so as I said, try to get away from them. Not all GPs are like that!
What I *can* advise is to keep calm, and when challenging, remember what You Yourself are about, and state it calmly. Keep insisting at it, calmly, and eventually You may gain an explanation or re-direction to another GP. (A Psychologist is better than a Psychiatrist for Autism.) But from what little information is in Your OP, I would, as said, advise abandoning that GP... Some people are just like that about Autism, and have no intention of learning about it or understanding it! (This is the way that Life currently is.)