My Experience with Medications

When I was twelve years old I was taken out of grade school to adjust my medications around. For four weeks I was an outpatient at the Fox Center in Pontiac Michigan.  It was a controlled environment where different medications could be used to determine exactly what I needed to function in day-to-day life. This was the time when I was officially diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified. 

Prior to this time, I had been taking Ridalin since I was three years old.  I had also taken medicines that, instead of helping me, created psychotic side effects.  My parents would refuse to give me those medications.

It was determined during the four weeks I was out of school that I needed a different combination of medications to work with my ADHD, my chemical imbalance, my autism, and my depression.  So they tried different combination's of medicines to find out which dosage suited my needs in that controlled environment.  I remember sitting in a circle with the other patients discussing what was on our minds (this was their way to determine which patients were feeling suicidal thoughts (there were approximately fifteen of us, ranging from age eleven to age sixteen).  In this particular instance, I was heavily sedated, the doctors having overestimated the the dosage my body required.  I remember feeling incredibly drowsy and was completely unconcerned with the fact that I was drooling on the floor while leaning forward in my lap.

Eventually I was prescribed with Remoron, a form of Mirtazipine, to deal with my depression symptoms; Risperdal, a form of Risperidone, which helped me think more clearly through my autistic mind (Risperidone has been associated with weight gain.  I was fairly skinny before this point and I have been struggling with my weight ever since seventh grade); and I was prescribed the controlled substance Concerta to help me think more clearly through my ADHD.  Concerta is a controlled due to the "high" it produces in those who do not have ADHD.

My medicine has been stable for the past ten years and their are noticeable differences in my clarity of thought if, for instance, I forgot to take my Concerta one morning. I accept the fact that I will probably have this combination of medications for the rest of my life.  I'm okay with this, if that's what it takes for me to be able to do the things I want to do with my life.