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Medication

Judetheobtuse

Does anyone here take medication to deal with anxiety and burnout?  I was on an antidepressant for years but stopped about 4 months ago. However it has been suggested by my gp (via a psychiatrist) that I take venlafaxine.  However when I took the first tablet I felt terrible so I decided not to take any more. Apparently venlafaxine can help with social anxiety and similar stuff which I thought might help me to be more social and less awkward. All this was suggested before I got diagnosed too, so I am not sure it still makes sense to use - however I had a diagnosis of GAD which may have been caused by the autism and associated problems. 

I don’t feel any better or worse off the antidepressants so I am not sure they were doing much anyhow. I use diazepam for anxiety at the moment which are useful but doctors seem to think they are as bad as heroin so getting them regularly is almost impossible (but there are ways). I have also tried pregabalin which did nothing at all for me, literally. 

I try to manage the anxiety via exercise- I have a dog so I do a lot of walking and I also like cycling and running. But occasionally I get breakthroughs of anxiety- especially if I have to go somewhere new or use public transport. I used to self medicate with alcohol but that ended badly. 

has anyone had success with anything?

Parents

  • Before I was diagnosed autistic, I had previously been on (so many) medications for anxiety and depression. None of them had worked to any great extent, and some of them left me feeling so flat that i couldn't do anything. Some of them gave me such bad insomnia that I wanted to not be here any more.

    Two years ago, I made the decision (with advice from my GP) to gradually come off the depression medication I was on at the time, as it had caused me to gain weight, which was negatively affecting my mood as I felt I did not look like myself, and hated being photographed and had no body confidence at all. 

    I have now been medication free for a year, and my weight has returned to normal. (I'm pretty active generally, cycle to work, have a good diet and don't drink much alcohol, and I never take fizzy or flavoured drinks). This has massively helped with my general mood. I still have depression, but it's something I can (mostly) manage, because my baseline is no longer 'I hate myself and the way I look'. 

    I was previously on pregabalin for restless legs, but I came off them as soon as I could because I didn't want to be on them long term.

    Personally, I feel like most of my depression and anxiety is because I'm autistic and I didn't know it for so long, so I internalised everything and blamed myself for stuff I was struggling with. Now that I know there is a reason for it, I find it easier to recognise, cope with, and work out strategies to improve.

    I found singing really helped with anxiety. I used to walk into the middle of the big field near me where no one could hear and just sing random stuff. I joined a casual choir at uni and quite enjoyed that as there was no pressure and we were all just beginners anyway.

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  • Before I was diagnosed autistic, I had previously been on (so many) medications for anxiety and depression. None of them had worked to any great extent, and some of them left me feeling so flat that i couldn't do anything. Some of them gave me such bad insomnia that I wanted to not be here any more.

    Two years ago, I made the decision (with advice from my GP) to gradually come off the depression medication I was on at the time, as it had caused me to gain weight, which was negatively affecting my mood as I felt I did not look like myself, and hated being photographed and had no body confidence at all. 

    I have now been medication free for a year, and my weight has returned to normal. (I'm pretty active generally, cycle to work, have a good diet and don't drink much alcohol, and I never take fizzy or flavoured drinks). This has massively helped with my general mood. I still have depression, but it's something I can (mostly) manage, because my baseline is no longer 'I hate myself and the way I look'. 

    I was previously on pregabalin for restless legs, but I came off them as soon as I could because I didn't want to be on them long term.

    Personally, I feel like most of my depression and anxiety is because I'm autistic and I didn't know it for so long, so I internalised everything and blamed myself for stuff I was struggling with. Now that I know there is a reason for it, I find it easier to recognise, cope with, and work out strategies to improve.

    I found singing really helped with anxiety. I used to walk into the middle of the big field near me where no one could hear and just sing random stuff. I joined a casual choir at uni and quite enjoyed that as there was no pressure and we were all just beginners anyway.

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