Melt down or depression??

[hazybabe]

Hiya
About a year ago I (with doctors support) weaned myself off of anti depressants. I've been on varying doses and types of anti depressants from the age of about 13 or 14 and im 27 now so roughly 13 years but on and off, I've had 2 6 month periods and a year I haven't been on them but still a sizable portion of my life medicated.
The first 8 or so months have been fine however one dramatic event after another has left me very emotional. The last 3 months have been hard
1. Uni this year is too difficult it's the same info and level as I did last year but now that I'm studying distance the teaching methods doesn't suit my dyslexia.
2. My beloved Orchide ran into difficulties and lost four of her six puppies as well as damage caused meant she had to be castrated (no more beautiful puppies). But most of all I was so scared I was going to lose her.
3. I had to fight with the insurance company on what they will our won't pay for orchides treatment and tell them the story of that horrible night over and over again.
4. Three weeks ago I had to do some medical testing before an operation to help me be able to get pregnant. The surgeon has now explained that I won't be recieving the operation due to their hospital policy.
5. Two weeks ago I was lied to and betrayed by someone I had gone above and beyond for and she did it so skillfully I had no idea she was so incredibly deceitful.
6. Four days ago my Princess passed ago after a short illness. She was my oldest dog and had 12 happy years of life before she passed away from renal failure.
I'm aware most of the things that have recently happened are bad luck and that of course the bad luck won't last forever but I have been getting more and more emotional, angry, frustrated, tired and short tempered with people around me. I have had two melt downs in the last week and the one I had yesturday I was unreasonable and really quiet hurtful. My question is how do you know with so much going on if you have depression or the symptoms are related to being an aspie?

 

[Astroganga]

Crikey you have been through the mill recently. For me, I was on anti-depressants for nearly three years from the age of fifteen to eighteen, then my ex-husband who came from a very backwards northern town and family said anti-depressants were all a plot by the pharmaceutical giants and made me stop taking them. I then became very emotionally unstable, and started having crazy meltdowns on a regular basis. I am not sure how much these episodes were caused by depression or if they were wholly due to autism but the medication must have been helping with them (though anti-depressants don't actually help me stop feeling depressed a lot of the time). After I got rid of him I have been on the meds again a few times and I would not hesitate to take them again, if I felt the need.

 

[hazybabe]

That's the difficulty I'm finding. I don't know if the meds treat depression or if they help calm the anxieties that lead to melt downs. It's the chicken and the egg question. I struggle to figure out if depression or aspergers causes the meltdowns.

 

[Judge]

My question is how do you know with so much going on if you have depression or the symptoms are related to being an aspie?

I can only cite from my own perspective that my autism is mostly relative to when I interact with other human beings. Conversely both my chronic clinical depression and OCD are issues which impact me when I am completely alone. They ebb and flow, but never really go away.

Autism is not really an issue for me when I am truly by myself. It won't be my undoing. If something causes me to shutdown, it will likely have to do with the exposure to others. Something I always come out of after so much time and solitude.

Depression on the other hand...that's another matter.

 

[Astroganga]

Grr. Won't let me quote. Some anti-depressants deal with anxiety and depression, so probably a bit of both.

 

[On the Inside]

That is a rough patch, to be sure.

I have generalized anxiety, somewhat debilitating, I also have had infrequent periods of "depression" that I always considered periods of a quiet, low energy, rather peaceful and introspective state. Once I started therapy to work out my adulthood problems, I was diagnosed with ASD, generalized anxiety and mild depression. Those introspective quiet times were characterized as depression. I have recognized that they often follow meltdown/shutdown events, times of overwhelming stress and/or disappointment. I was prescribed Effexor to treat the anxiety and depression, which seems to work fine. Mainly I have much less trouble with the racing mind and rumination.

I've only been on it for about a year, after trying some other things for a few years, but I haven't had one of those quiet periods since, and I kind of miss them.

 

[hazybabe]

Since I recieved my diagnosis I just wonder how I can tell the difference. When speaking to doctors I have found that most commonly I get anti depressants thrown at me as a standard response or I get a shrug of the shoulders.

 

[On the Inside]

Since I recieved my diagnosis I just wonder how I can tell the difference. When speaking to doctors I have found that most commonly I get anti depressants thrown at me as a standard response or I get a shrug of the shoulders.

My Pdoc says that meltdowns, avoidance, procrastination and the like are things that a person can work on once they find the proper medication and dosage to deal with the presenting problem, ie. anxiety, depression, things that there are medications for. He says that is what he has in his tool kit, which will allow me to work on things with my own tool kit. I've been able to be more receptive in therapy sessions, better prepared for stressful times, a bit more productive and effective.

 

[shinkansen]

That's the difficulty I'm finding. I don't know if the meds treat depression or if they help calm the anxieties that lead to melt downs. It's the chicken and the egg question. I struggle to figure out if depression or aspergers causes the meltdowns.

It seems to me that depression can be chronic and brought about by a set of events which can make you feel sad, hopeless, low or helpless. Depression can come about for no reason at all, it's just the way your mind words.

Meltdowns may be the result of being overwhelmed with too much information, changes to routine and sensory overload.

Following some unwelcome episodes, my doctor prescribed the anti-psychotic drug Olanzapine. Since then, these 'episodes' have been virtually eliminated and I find the drug beneficial. The doctor prescribed this drug while I was on the waiting list for the autism spectrum assessment. I've come across some websites which link anti-psychotic drugs with managing some of the symptoms of autism spectrum disorders. http://www.autism-help.org/points-medication-antipsychotics.htm

My answer is based on personal experience. It's not professional or medical advice.