Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello my autistic 16 year old son has recently been diagnosed with GAD and PTSD. It’s been a difficult journey to get support - he’s been too anxious to engage with therapy and been off school for some time and missed the whole of year 11. The hope is that the meds might help him enough to start to engage in life again and eventually access the therapy he needs. However, having read about the side effects he is just terrified of how he might feel if he takes the meds. He has lots of sensory issues around feeling nauseous had some general issues with his body and feeling uncomfortable. Although rationally he can understand that he might feel better he’d rather just stick with how he is than risk being the person who gets all the side effects. He is happy to take other medication such as painkillers and antibiotics but feels very different about this. I’ve told him he doesn’t have to take them and to think about it/wait until he’s ready. But I can’t help feeling frustrated.
Has anyone else experienced this or got any advice on how he might be encouraged to try the meds?
Thank you
All you can really do is take it very slow. Maybe it would help to speak to whoever is prescribing it for reassurance, because it's very easy to read a list of side effects and imagine them all happening to you with great intensity but a doctor is in a much better position to say how often their patients have had them and how bad they were (especially at a low dose).
Unfortunately I don't think this is a great place to ask as there are quite a few users who are very vocally opposed to medication (whether or not they've actually ever tried it). Those of us who have found meds helpful tend to be drowned out by people who will try to tell you that they're the worst thing ever.
Thank you yes perhaps this isn’t the best place to post thanks for the advice. I am realising I need to back off a bit and allow him to process and take it at his own speed.
T said:Those of us who have found meds helpful tend to be drowned out by people who will try to tell you that they're the worst thing ever.
I do agree with this.
Sometimes I just don't bother replying because of it.
My antidepressants have transformed my life.