I have a 12 almost 13 yr. old daugter, and she was diagnosed with Asberger's about 2 1/2 yrs. ago. She has been on 40mg's of Adderall XR & 25mg's of Luvox. I just took her for her check-up, and told the Dr. of some strange behaviors lately, and without talking to her or anything, he put her on 2.5mg's of Zyprexa. He did tell me about the weight gain, and boy did it increase her appetite. It did help with her sleep, and I did not notice any meltdowns while she was taking it. But she and I both did not like the weight gain issue. She gained about 5 pounds in one week. So, I did not give it to her this past weekend, and last night (Sunday night), she did not go to sleep until about 2:00am. So, I call the Dr. this AM, to ask him if he suggests anything else, that will just help her sleep. And he prescribes Risperdal. Doesn't this have the same effect as the Zyprexa? I wonder why he is insisting on an antiphycotic drug. That word just scares me. Should I just go with my gut feeling and not give this to her, or should I just try it since the Doctor is prescribing it? I am very confused. I know my daughter is not Physcotic. His nurse is actually the one that called me back, and I did not get a chance to talk directly to him. Any suggestions please!!!!
Could it just be puberty that is making her have the weird behavior and stuff, or does the Adderall and stuff like that eventually stop working around puberty time?

Most kids with autism start to act different around the time of puberty...that is very normal. They can have major mood swings just like the regular kids. I never gave my son meds for his autism since riperdal can make you steril, ritlin can make you loose brain cells and make you addicted to it as you get older, and I have heard of other drugs making you violent. I'm basicaly scared to death of all drugs since they are not tested on children and no one really knows the long term side effects. I'm using a combination of naet (nambudripad allergy elimination technique), biofeedback, and vitamin therapy. I also give my son baths in epsom salt every night. If I don't give him the bath in epsom salt which will help with detox (something most autistic kids have trouble with)and if he doesn't get his calcium and magnusium powder at night...he's hyper active and very moody the next day. Anyway, there are alot of things you can try that is natural that wont harm your daughter and you will see results. Have you checked out kirkman labs? If not, I strongly suggest that you do. They make alot of different vitmins and supplements for autistic kids and they can help you with dosage over the phone.

Thanks for your reply. The bad part about trying the natural(vitamins & supplements) is that the insurance wont pay for any of that, and I certainly dont have the money to pay for it right now. I tried some natural powder stuff when she was younger, and it did not work.

About the epsom salt bath, how much salts do you put in the bath, and how long do you leave him in the bath? Does he take a shower afterwards to rinse the salts off? Thanks for the help, I might give this a try and see if she improves. Does it seem to help him sleep better at night?

with the epsom salts, use 2 cups of salt and add it to hot water (not too hot...but enought to where she can sit in it and be comfortable). She needs to soak for 30 mins. a night. With my son, I could see a difference after the first bath...he slept really good and remained calm throughout the day. About the vitamin therapy...I know it can be expensive, however you don't have to buy some through places like kirkman labs. There are times that I'm broke, and I will go to places like walmart, or even the 99cent store. You can get a calcium supplement for 3 dollars (you know it's good if you can put a pill in a glass of vinagar and it disolves within 20 min.s....not all calcuim absorbs in the stomach so this is a good test), You can also get high doses of b vit. for about $3 and same with magniusm. I think most places will sell DMG for around $8....that is the most I had to pay for a supplement. I usually get my stuff at kirkman labs now...only because it taste better and it's easier to hide in foods. Another good supplement is selium (sp?)this will help aid in detox naturally. Anyway, try the salts...that is a good place to start.

Hello Dillard02 and Nicksmom,

My son also take epsom salt baths and takes many vitamin and minerals from Kirkman Labs. We work very closely with a nutritionalist. Dillard02 I noticed you live in Texas. I too live in Texas. We live in Dallas County. You mentioned that vitamins are too expensive for you right now. They are very expensive. I just bought around $60.00 today for 3 bottles. Have you ever heard of a program thru MHMR called Inhome and Family Support? I applied for this and got it. It allows for $3600.00 per year in items of need for your special needs child. This pays for my sons vitamins and his special foods (GF/CF diet) and some test that the nutritionalist orders that are very expensive. I don't know what county you live in but if you have not got on this program it is well worth the effort. There is a waiting list. My son got on in about 7 months. Good luck.

Rachel

Thank you both soo very much!!! I will definately try the epsom salts bath tonight, before I try giving her the risperdal. It will be great if this works and helps her sleep. I really think that might be part of her strange thinking, if she is sleep deprived. If I wanted to start off with one vitamin in general without having tests done, which one would you suggest?
Thanks again!!! Both of you. I will also look into the MHMR thing. Where do I start? Do they have a phone number I can call or something?

RachaelK;

We live in Grandview, not far from Grand Prairie. I grew up in Grand Praire, went to Northside. Anyway we are in Johnson County. Do you know if they offer this service there in Johnson Co?

RachaelK;
Sorry for so many questions. What exactly does your son have? Does he have Asperger's or a more severe form of Autism? How do you do the GF diet? Is your son just doing this, or is he on medication too?

If I wanted to start off with one vitamin in general without having tests done, which one would you suggest?
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When I first started vitamin therapy on my son, I was told to start off with b-6, DMG, calcium and Magnisum. I saw a big difference by the end of the week, and I saw a HUGE difference within a couple months. To give you an idea of what I saw...my son just turned 4 and he could only say 10 words, within a couple months he could say 200 words. He also lost his repetitive behaviors and slept better. I don't know how much your daughter weights, but there is a formula on to tell how much to give. For instance at the time when my son was 4, I gave him 100 mgs of b-6, 200mg. of magnisum, 1000mg of calcium, and I gave him 125mg. of dmg. I gave him three capsuls of dmg a day at a total of 375mg's. If you go to the autism research institutes website in San Diego, theres a link on the page that talks about dosage based on the weight and it will give you more detail on how these vits. and supplements improve brain function.

Rachel, that is an awsome service you guys have in Texas....we don't have anything like that in California that will fund for vitamin therapy.

What is the DMG?

Below is something I cut and pasted from the autism research institite that talks about dimethylglycine (dmg). You can buy this at any health food store.

Dimethylglycine is technically classified as a food. It is found, in very small amounts, in some foods, such as brown rice and liver. Chemically and physiologically, it resembles the water-soluble vitamins, such as the B vitamins. The main reason it is not classified as a vitamin is that there are no specific symptoms associated with a deficiency of DMG.

Many parents have reported that, within a few days of starting DMG, the child's behavior improved noticeably, better eye contact was seen, frustration tolerance increased, the child's speech improved, or more interest and ability in speaking was observed.

For a pre-school child, I would start with 1/2 of a 125mg tablet or capsule a day, with breakfast, for a few days, or one tablet a day for a larger child. I would go up, gradually, to one to four tablets a day for a child, and to 2 to 8 tablets per day for an adult. If there is an initial increase in hyperactivity (rare) reduce the dosage. If the hyperactivity continues, the child may be telling you, in effect, that he or she needs more folic acid. Folic acid is a very safe B-vitamin. Purchase some 800mcg folic acid tablets and give two of these with each 125mg of DMG.

Would it be okay to introduce these vitamins along with the meds she is currently on? (Adderal XR & Luvox), and then after a week or so,(if I am seeing a difference in her behavior) maybe try reducing the amount she takes?
I tried the epsom salt bath last night, and she said she slept good. I will try it again tonight and see what happens. I have decided not to pick up the prescription of the Risperdal. I will wait and see what happens by introducing the vitamins and such first. Thank you for all of your help and quick responses to my questions.

vitamin therapy is safe to use with prescription drugs...and if you see results you should reduce the drug dosage to see if it is the vitamins that is helping and not the drugs itself. I would strongly recommed you talk to your doctor if you find the vitamins helping and you decide to take her off drugs completley....only because with some prescription meds, you can have side effects if you stop cold turkey...you sometimes have to keep lowering the doesage untill you don't need them at all. Also, I'm glad the espom salts worked....the salts do wonders for my sons sleep and it also keeps his skin nice.

Dillard02,

My son has a mild case of autism. Some have diagnosed PDD-NOS. He is on medication. He just started adderal XR 6 weeks ago and he takes Zoloft too. Do you pay Tarrant Co. taxes? I'm not sure if Johnson Co has MHMR. If you you pay Tarrant Co taxes it may be Tarrant co MHMR you have to contact. I really recommend this program. Look in the bluepages under Mental Health & Mental Retardation. Ask them for a application for Inhome & Family Support. Kirkmans has a vitamin that is called Super Nu Thera. This was specially formulated for autistic spectrum children. It has a combination of alot of different vitamins and you can get it directly from Kirkman or you can get it from Healthy Approach in Grapevine. They have a representative here and we are able to get it from this store only. Instead of me going into a lengthly description of the gf/cf diet...I would recommend looking at some of the posts here under different topics. I think there is some good informtion under the topic of "respidal" and GF/CF diet.
Ask any questions you have. That is what we are all here for...is to help one another.

Rachel