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Medication
For many children, medication when prescribed appropriately can be the important adjunct for supporting stability and calmness while addressing the root cause of those issues with diet and supplements. It can quickly control extreme behavioral symptoms. Medications can also serve to support the healing of the gut, by initiating yeast die-off and other bacterial issues. My experience has shown me that medication may not be appropriate for certain children, due to adrenal and metabolic issues — the inability to assimilate a particular type or prescribed dosage of a medication, in which observation of side effects is that much more crucial. Then there is a need for alternative non-medication options for achieving the same result.
Dr. Kenneth Bock writes:
"Sometimes using the right medication is like turning on a switch. Everything just clicks,"
"Medication can work wonders. Pharmaceutical medications, in particular, can produce fast, robust and lasting changes. However, some integrative physicians have a visceral distaste for pharmaceutical medications. They are irritated by the over reliance of modern health care upon pharmaceutical medications, they're tired of the side effects of medications, and they're disappointed by patients so often settling for pharmaceutical symptom suppression, instead of trying to achieve true healing. Therefore, these doctors sometimes become antagonistic to the use of almost any medication for any condition. These doctors tend to rely strictly upon nutraceuticals, such as herbal formulas, which can be extremely helpful, but usually aren't as powerful as pharmaceuticals."
"I can understand these doctors' antipathy toward pharmaceutical medications, but I don't share it. I believe that pharmaceutical medications can have extraordinary effects when they are properly used. In fact, at this stage of medical evolution, I believe that integrative medicine is not truly integrative unless it integrates all necessary modalities, including pharmaceutical medications and natural modalities."
Kenneth Bock, MD
Rhinebeck Health Center
Dr. Timothy Wilens writes:
"Unfortunately, there is no specific standard medication regimen, so prepare yourself to be patient through the trial and error process that treatment of PDD often demands..."
"The problem with Zoloft and other individual drugs is that they blunt only some of the core symptoms and therefore cannot entirely resolve the impairment caused by autism or PDD. The SRIs Xoloft, Prozac, Paxil, Celexa and Luvox, in addition to Anafranil, reduce the obsessive and compulsive activity, rigidity, anxiety, and irritability that often accompany pervasive developmental disorder and autism. They are not useful, however with the communication or social interaction problems. You also need to know that these medications may cause severe agitation in addition to their typical side effects of stomach upset, headaches, nausea, or sleep problems, so make sure the doctor starts your child on them slowly."
Excerpted from Timothy E Wilens, MD's book: Straight Talk about Psychiatric Medications for Kids
Dr. Evdokia Anagnostous
During a presentation titled "Pharmacological Treatment of Autism" given during the Advances In Autism 2007 Conference, Dr. Anagnostus of the Seaver and New York Autism Center of Excellence, provided the following information:
In Core symptom domains and associated features, charting main issues surrounding autism are Social Impairment, Repetitive Behaviors and Compulsivity, and Speech/Communication Deficits. Surrounding those three are social phobia, ADHD symptoms, Expressive/Receptive Language Disorders, EEG Abnormalities, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Impulsivity/Aggression, Aspergers Syndrome and Schizoid/Schizotypal Personality Disorders.
SSRIs in Autism:
- Clomipramine (Anafranil)
- Fluoxetine (Prozac)
- Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
- Sertraline (Zoloft)
- Paroxetine (Paxil)
- Citalopram (Celexa)
- Venlafaxine (Effexor)
- Escitalopram (Lexapro)
There are no control trials for babies for Selexa or Lexapro. There is no convincing evidence for primary involvement of the dopamine system in autism. However, typical antipsychotics have been shown to be effective in this population.
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