This struck me:
“He told his dad about how he had to fight the bad thoughts that were crowding in his head. And when he wasn’t out walking, he slept a lot.”
My neighbor was a bit depressed. She didn’t have autisim just going through some hard times. Her doctor recommended an antidepressant. She reluctantly filled it and read ALL the fine print - especially the side effects. Sure enough after an hour of taking it she had this thought that wouldn’t go away. She described as like having a pie in the oven and needing to get up and turn the oven off to avoid burning the pie. The thing is, her thought was not about a burning pie but the word SUICIDE kept creeping into her mind.
She talked to herself till the drug wore off. She was strong enough to fight it and knew it didn’t agree with her chemistry. I forget it if was Zoloft or Prozac ... one of the popular ones doctors push like candy. Boy, did she let her doctor know that under NO CIRMCUMSRANCES did she want any more of her “antidepressant drugs.
SSRIs ?
I tried Zoloft with instant bad effects from one pill - extreme agitation, bowels turned to water. On the other hand, Paxil worked wonderfully.
Mrs VS
My neighbor was a bit depressed. She didn’t have autisim just going through some hard times. Her doctor recommended an antidepressant. She reluctantly filled it and read ALL the fine print - especially the side effects. Sure enough after an hour of taking it she had this thought that wouldn’t go away. She described as like having a pie in the oven and needing to get up and turn the oven off to avoid burning the pie. The thing is, her thought was not about a burning pie but the word SUICIDE kept creeping into her mind.A few years ago, before moving to a different county, I was a volunteer firefighter. One night I responded, along with the police, to a report of a car in a ditch in a field. The car was still running, but the driver wasn't in the vehicle. When we looked we found clothes strewn about in a path away from the vehicle. Eventually we heard a rustling in some bushes. The Deputy drew his sidearm and issued a verbal command for the person to come out with hands up. Out walks this stark naked young man. The guy was completely disoriented and (at least claimed he) had no idea how he got there. And no, there wasn't a naked young woman hiding in the bushes nearby.
So this guy was on one of those anti-depressant medications, and had recently gone off of it. I forget which one it is, but I remember one of the paramedics telling me that strange behavior was not uncommon with this particular medication -- particularly if you were on it and suddenly stopped.
I'm not saying these drugs aren't without their valid uses, just that they are a very powerful medication and that we don't really have a good picture how they will impact every individual, especially in a non-clinical setting.