Research confirms antidepressant-autism link

Rez, are you seriously calling a mother 'selfish' for taking antidepressant drugs? Have you been pregnant? I have a good friend that was on antidepressants for about 10 years, she wanted a family with her husband, they tried, she fell pregnant - yay! She went off her medication under the eyes of her doctor, she got sick, as you do coming off those drugs, but then she got worse. To the point where she was on suicide watch, and couldn't do anything for herself. She turned into a total shell of the woman we knew, hated herself for feeling like she did while carrying the child she wanted for her entire life. She ended up in shock therapy WHILE pregnant, all because the advice was to stop the antidepressants. She found a different doctor who got her on a 'safer' antidepressant medication (obviously still with risks) and she and baby in the final few weeks got to have time time to enjoy the pregnancy. Now he's only about 6 months old, but dead set the HAPPIEST little baby i've ever seen. Kid always is cooing and smiling.

Then you have someone like me, who probably NEEDS these medications, as I am 34 weeks pregnant and struggling mentally with anxiety and depression. I have been left with PTSD with the birth of my daughter, and every day of this pregnancy gets harder to deal with - I choose to not take medications, but I do see a psychologist, and 'talk out' any thing I am feeling, to try do lessen the feelings of despair that hit me daily.

Long winded, but all I'm saying is, during pregnancy - THE MOTHER'S HEALTH IS PARAMOUNT. People need to stop putting the baby inside first - because if the mother isn't coping baby struggles too! Wether it be from the mother not eating or taking care of herself due to depression, or self harming etc. Pregnant women can't be denied what can be in some cases, life saving medication, 'in case' a baby gets autism down the track, that's ridiculous.

reply to post by bkaust


That came out a little wrong...I was more referring to the party on attitude I've witnessed among many women who are pregnant. I know numerous girls in my hometown who kept on popping pain killers, or snorting meth, or co ke, or whatever else after they knew they were pregnant. I do feel for those women who have anxieties and need antidepressants, but, I'm more thinking about the years (a lifetime) of suffering these children have to go through that are born with disabilities. So, as the facts begin to mount that these antidepressants are causing harm to these kids, then yes, I will feel the same about the women who continue to take them after they become pregnant despite knowing the dangers.

Tontodollydog
I wasnt on anti-depressants and my child has autism - more likely to be all the crap that is added into our food. Something is affecting our children. Wish it was something as simple as avoiding anti-depressants whilst pregnant - that be easy to solve!

May I ask if you had your child vaccinated with the full recommendations that is pushed by the medical establishment?

reply to post by bkaust


But if going off her medications was such a risk for her, why did she go off them? That is one of the things adoption exists for.

My husband and I seriously considered adoption for a long time.

i just discovered capsaicin under the tongue several times a day stops the rages cold
and i am on meds that aggravate the asd rages massively...
and capsaicin is a vasodilator..works where aspirin non magnesium buffered, does not
win win
did i mention cheep

Danbones
i just discovered capsaicin under the tongue several times a day stops the rages cold
and i am on meds that aggravate the asd rages massively...
and capsaicin is a vasodilator..works where aspirin non magnesium buffered, does not
win win
did i mention cheep

Please translate. I'm lost on what you are trying to say here??? Help me understand.: )

reply to post by watchesfromwall


i have been suffering from asd rages aggravated by heart meds
i got haha, ticked right off at the drs, and decided to replace the useless aspirin with capsaicin
which opens blood flow up and does other good things too

the capsaicin has reduced the aspergers symptoms dramatically over the last few days since i made this discovery
it works on the immune system in the gut where i have discovered the triggers are,

and im just using 1/4 teaspoon of chilly powder 4 times a day...under the tongue for a few minutes then swallowed
there are way better versions of capsaicin out there too, drops would be ideal.

(not intended to diagnose treat or to be used for anything other then entertainment purposes..lol disclaimer )

the owlbear
Couldn't the fact that the mother has brain chemistry abnormalities strong enough to have her take antidepressants make it likely that genetics might play a role in the whole situation? Autism is a broad spectrum diagnosis ailment. Just as depression/bipolar is grouped under one umbrella. One of my best buds is a kid labelled autistic. He is genuine around me because I dont talk down to him. I know he is all there but can't express himself.

This seems like Jenny McCarthy biology. Except no scientist will make commercials about huffing e cigs after railing about immunology.

I agree with the genetics POV.

Many more studies need to be completed concerning the OP's assertion, and conclusions. Like control studies that identify diagnosed who do/do not take medications during pregnancy, environmental issues within the location of pregnancy, etc.

Doubt many of these will be performed, though, given the special interests of big pharmaceuticals.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. Also to bkaust for yours.

Same to OP for bringing up this topic... flagged.

reply to post by ketsuko


Thank you, Ketsuko. Your words mean a whole lot to me. From my perspective, autism is like a series of trade offs. Those neural differences have both their upsides and downs because of a difference in information processing. For instance, I'm extraordinarily sensitive to sound. Just walking through a grocery store can be a maddening experience between the ambient noise of the buildings, the registers and all the chatter. However, that same sensitivity to sound is also very likely why I have absolute pitch. I can play any song by ear with a high degree of accuracy and rapid correction on either the clarinet or piano. In fact, I used to tune my own piano and when I had to sell it, a piano teacher tested each tune and found it perfectly in tune. He was so surprised that a 17 year old could do that.

Autism is like an extraordinary sensitivity to detail and systematic processing. There's been some research that part of the reason why we're not so good at the emotional cues is because the region of the brain that is typically the center for that processing is not used in the same way and instead may enhance things like memory while creating a sort of extreme objectivity. My son had to actively learn to not go on long winded and highly detailed explanations of things because he was completely missing the bored looks on the listener's face. He had to learn to recognize those cues and adapt. He just got an A in public speaking in college and the staff was so impressed by this "overcoming of autism" that they removed him from disability services. They said he's absolutely autistic but he's not disabled. He's 17 and he has already learned to manage and adapt the disability aspects of autism while reaping the benefits.

If adaptation can occur, then why cure something that could be beneficial? We see the world differently but maybe that's not a bad thing. My son is lucky in that his mother understands him and wouldn't change the way he is one bit. Unfortunately, the world doesn't seem likely to adapt to us totally so we have to adapt to it in many ways. Some things would be silly to try to change like dimming the lights and having the grocery store go quiet when someone with autism enters. However, not seeing us as irrevocably broken and something that needs to absolutely be cured would be something that the world could do for us.

www.nytimes.com...
chronicle.com...
www.michigandaily.com...,0

in short im so effin happy right now
that's how i spell relief
anyone who knows me knows i usually have to do multiple edits just on a one line post because of the dyslexia
the came in the box and installed itself with the asd

the dyslexia seems to be somewhat reduced

Danbones
reply to post by watchesfromwall

 

i have been suffering from asd rages aggravated by heart meds
i got haha, ticked right off at the drs, and decided to replace the useless aspirin with capsaicin
which opens blood flow up and does other good things too

the capsaicin has reduced the aspergers symptoms dramatically over the last few days since i made this discovery
it works on the immune system in the gut where i have discovered the triggers are,

and im just using 1/4 teaspoon of chilly powder 4 times a day...under the tongue for a few minutes then swallowed
there are way better versions of capsaicin out there too, drops would be ideal.

(not intended to diagnose treat or to be used for anything other then entertainment purposes..lol disclaimer )

OK, thanks. That clarifies things A LOT. : )

First, sorry to hear of your ongoing medical problems! : (

Second, I am happy to hear that you have found some alternate treatments that work for you.

I don't have Asperger's, but know some that do. However, I am allergic to aspirin so your reply has given me another solution I might be able to use in the future. Thank you. : )

reply to post by Danbones


My fits have been kept down to minimum except in super overload times through practice. When I was 23, I learned how to meditate in jujitsu and the first time I emptied my head, it was amazing. I think it's harder for us because the ambient noise of a room can take on the sound of a trumpet blaring but it's possible to learn to tune stimuli out. It just takes a whole lot of practice. It's much like mind based pain control actually because it's basically turning volumes down. Of course, it might work for me because I'm dissociative to boot but it isn't a pill so it's worth a shot, right?

reply to post by ketsuko


Are you serious? Adopt a child when she is FERTILE but just struggles with depression? She went off the mediation on advice of her GP, how was she to know how serious it would get once weaned off them?

ETA: So because I KNOW I suffer, are you saying I shouldn't be having my children either? I'd like to hear what my daughter says about that! Adoption wouldn't make a difference in terms of passing on mental health, as it can be just as ingrained watching you, and how you cope and react to situations, rather than having it passed through you.

Just wait two weeks and a different "cause" of autism will be confirmed. Just a year ago (March 2013) there was a report showing that autism, depression, ADHD, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder all shared some common genetic links. So, is the correlation between antidepressant use and autism due to the antidepressants, or is it due to the shared genetics of both traits?

Autism Depression link

I have a son with high functioning autism. I have major clinical depression (third generation, genetic for the win!) that triggered at age 12. I weaned off meds before pregnancy and lasted until my 2nd trimester before having to be put back on meds. Something about reviewing all the ways to off myself was probably more dangerous to the kid than the meds. I do not believe antidepressants *caused* the autism. If you look at both sides of the family, there are a lot of members that are undiagnosed aspies or autism. Since my son was diagnosed his first cousin has been dx'd aspergers, two second cousins also dx'd aspergers. Now, the theory of a genetic link between the two conditions seems likely to me.

WhiteAlice
reply to post by Danbones

 

My fits have been kept down to minimum except in super overload times through practice. When I was 23, I learned how to meditate in jujitsu and the first time I emptied my head, it was amazing. I think it's harder for us because the ambient noise of a room can take on the sound of a trumpet blaring but it's possible to learn to tune stimuli out. It just takes a whole lot of practice. It's much like mind based pain control actually because it's basically turning volumes down. Of course, it might work for me because I'm dissociative to boot but it isn't a pill so it's worth a shot, right?

I'm a sound tech among other things and a martial artist as well, I get you completely.
pills are the last thing to take if possible
i like to chef and i am a fan of herbal medicine so this is good news to me
the dr's aren't getting it so far IMHO...hopefully they will...some day

reply to post by Mountainmeg


there are three in my family with aspergers, maybe four if a parents parent had it..which she behaved like.
but that would be pre antidepressants at that time
im not so certain about the cause, but I know i wanted to share what i just discovered about capsaicin in case it might help someone else

reply to post by Danbones


If you're close to Sacramento, CA I could hook you up with more capsaicin than you'd care for! Powder or oil. Wouldn't use jalapeños either. I have ghost peppers, trinidad scorpions, and naga vipers ^_^

I'd never heard of that usage. Really interesting… Maybe I'll help someone out with some spare fruit

reply to post by Mountainmeg


Just chiming in as well to back up the more probable genetic link. Myself, my son, my nephew, my father, and my paternal grandfather all were either diagnosed with autism or have definite traits of autism. It's kind of funny but we noticed the pattern in my family. For the males, they all have/had fine motor skill issues, toe walking, extreme sensitivity, eye contact/social issues, OCD, and an inordinate love of puzzles. I had gross motor skill issues that I apparently grew out of--only difference. The men don't ever grow out of their fine motor skill issues.

We're pretty darn sure that it is genetic in my family, too. Not a single one of us had parents that were on antidepressants during pregnancy. Absolutely positive of that. Couple cases of depression in the family. No schizophrenia or bipolar disorder...that's just not how we roll (and my fellow autism sufferers, have fun imagining a family rolling together, lol).

It wasn't you. I don't know where on the spectrum your child lands but be certain that there is a special little brain in his noggin. We all have our fortes in my family that we excel at. It's just finding them. I know it can be frustrating sometimes. I'm autistic with an autistic son and he even drives me nuts, lol, sometimes.

reply to post by Mountainmeg


I believe in the antidepressants as a cause because I've witnessed it in my own family, but we didn't put two and two together until now. But, I also don't think this is the only cause of autism. I believe there are other causes, such as vaccines, and maybe genetics.

reply to post by Rezlooper


Were they all SSRIs? That's what my first post was about. Antidepressants don't just target serotonin. The OP article is talking about SSRIs. So if there is a correlation, let's be clear on which antidepressants we are referring to.