I had somewhat similar but my autism and ADHD were overlooked until I was an adult. I was diagnosed with bipolar, schizo affective disorder and a scattering of others. I was put on;
Efexor 400mg - still can’t get off this though I am down to 225mg
Seroquel 1300mg - which is an insane dose. I was 40kg (teenager) when I started this medication, a year later I was 70kg. I am still struggling with my weight and down to 100mg. For context, they say 600-700mg is the standard for a severe schizophrenic adult. I was an underdeveloped teenager (as in underweight, “failure to thrive”, lack of nutrition etc) and I was not experiencing psychosis. I had years where I could barely get from the bedroom to the lounge room because I was that sedated.
Lithium - 1000mg.
And I would be here all night to list every medication. Seroquel was the worst - it has significantly reduced my quality of life and my life expectancy and contributed to developing other health conditions.
So the issue is ANY misdiagnosis. That’s the conversation to have. Mental illness and neurodivergent conditions are all extremely difficult to get right and that’s an important discussion to have. But when we start targeting one or two conditions; autism and ADHD, that’s not a discussion in good faith - it’s a discussion with an agenda.
I have cPTSD - which I have been told is from drumroll the medical system (as well as childhood trauma). Medical trauma is a true cruelty because sadly, you can’t avoid being re-traumatised because you can’t avoid the medical system… especially when you have chronic conditions and disabilities. You literally have to continue engaging with the system that has traumatized you. Repeatedly. Medical trauma is another important discussion.
Let me guess: early 2000s? I had a friend back then who was on a similarly asinine dose of Seroquel, and it also gave her significant weight problems. It’s only been recently that she’s been able to get to a healthy weight and find some peace. I’m also genuinely surprised that that much lithium didn’t flat out kill you.
I absolutely agree on targeting one or two specific conditions. Adderall was shoved down the throats of probably 10% of my middle school class, whether or not they needed it, because ADD went from a newly-discovered mental illness to a polite way for parents to say “my kid won’t shut the fuck up and sit still.” I don’t know if they were being given doses like mine, but my parents went to a very, uh, experimental psychiatrist because they were so out of ideas.
From one misdiagnosed kid to another, my heart weeps for you, and I hope that psychiatrist has lost his license to practice.
Yep my first diagnosis was 2004 and from that point I was on the conveyor belt, the lab rat, the guinea pig - exactly as you say. It’s really quite awful to think about teenagers who labelled themselves as guinea pigs. I’m a writer and it’s quite confronting to go over my teenage poetry and stories and realize how young I was and already describing myself as a science experiment, lab rat etc.
Seroquel is horrible. I am obviously biased, I am glad if it has helped anyone reading. Everyone I knew on it put on at minimum 20kgs. Imo, it’s one that deserves a huge expose and discussion like adderal (or equivalent, we actually don’t have adderal here!) has.
I think, in my experience, young males were labeled as ADHD and/ or just “bad” kids whereas young females were depressed/anxious/bipolar and a little later borderline personality disorder and/or just “bad” kids. (Can I ask if your experience fit this?)
So the misdiagnoses go wide sadly and whilst medication absolutely has its place I do think it’s often too quickly prescribed. I think it should be the last resort, not the first! The shitty thing is that it’s also seen as part of the process so, as far as I know, there’s very little recourse to take around misdiagnosis for these kinds of conditions. Did you get any “justice” yourself?
My heart aches for us all honestly, who were diagnosed so young with any medical condition wrongly that has had long term effects. We deserved better and it’s one of the reasons I advocate for the next generation to receive the support (not just diagnosis or medication) that will give them the best chance at a fulfilling life. I work in disability, sorry this is long, I’m passionate about these discussions! Take care of yourself!
My experience definitely matches what you saw. I actually got expelled from a fancy private school because once they put me on ritalin at 7 years old, I started getting in fights, and they used that to attempt to paint me as the next Columbine shooter. That was what set off the whole cascade of antidepressants and antipsychotics that followed. Of course, nobody ever considered the idea that giving speed to a 7-year-old might have undesirable side effects, so they just kept acting like I was inherently a violent person (which I’m not). My parents still occasionally act like I’m a murderous psychopath to this day, even though the last time I ever got in a fight was 20 years ago and it was in self-defense.
Unfortunately, I never got justice. That shrink is still practicing, and from time to time I consider setting up an appointment to rub it in his face that I managed to do all the things he said I’d never be able to do. It’s not going to accomplish anything meaningful, though, so I always talk myself out of it.
I had somewhat similar but my autism and ADHD were overlooked until I was an adult. I was diagnosed with bipolar, schizo affective disorder and a scattering of others. I was put on;
Efexor 400mg - still can’t get off this though I am down to 225mg
Seroquel 1300mg - which is an insane dose. I was 40kg (teenager) when I started this medication, a year later I was 70kg. I am still struggling with my weight and down to 100mg. For context, they say 600-700mg is the standard for a severe schizophrenic adult. I was an underdeveloped teenager (as in underweight, “failure to thrive”, lack of nutrition etc) and I was not experiencing psychosis. I had years where I could barely get from the bedroom to the lounge room because I was that sedated.
Lithium - 1000mg.
And I would be here all night to list every medication. Seroquel was the worst - it has significantly reduced my quality of life and my life expectancy and contributed to developing other health conditions.
So the issue is ANY misdiagnosis. That’s the conversation to have. Mental illness and neurodivergent conditions are all extremely difficult to get right and that’s an important discussion to have. But when we start targeting one or two conditions; autism and ADHD, that’s not a discussion in good faith - it’s a discussion with an agenda.
I have cPTSD - which I have been told is from drumroll the medical system (as well as childhood trauma). Medical trauma is a true cruelty because sadly, you can’t avoid being re-traumatised because you can’t avoid the medical system… especially when you have chronic conditions and disabilities. You literally have to continue engaging with the system that has traumatized you. Repeatedly. Medical trauma is another important discussion.
Let me guess: early 2000s? I had a friend back then who was on a similarly asinine dose of Seroquel, and it also gave her significant weight problems. It’s only been recently that she’s been able to get to a healthy weight and find some peace. I’m also genuinely surprised that that much lithium didn’t flat out kill you.
I absolutely agree on targeting one or two specific conditions. Adderall was shoved down the throats of probably 10% of my middle school class, whether or not they needed it, because ADD went from a newly-discovered mental illness to a polite way for parents to say “my kid won’t shut the fuck up and sit still.” I don’t know if they were being given doses like mine, but my parents went to a very, uh, experimental psychiatrist because they were so out of ideas.
From one misdiagnosed kid to another, my heart weeps for you, and I hope that psychiatrist has lost his license to practice.
Yep my first diagnosis was 2004 and from that point I was on the conveyor belt, the lab rat, the guinea pig - exactly as you say. It’s really quite awful to think about teenagers who labelled themselves as guinea pigs. I’m a writer and it’s quite confronting to go over my teenage poetry and stories and realize how young I was and already describing myself as a science experiment, lab rat etc.
Seroquel is horrible. I am obviously biased, I am glad if it has helped anyone reading. Everyone I knew on it put on at minimum 20kgs. Imo, it’s one that deserves a huge expose and discussion like adderal (or equivalent, we actually don’t have adderal here!) has.
I think, in my experience, young males were labeled as ADHD and/ or just “bad” kids whereas young females were depressed/anxious/bipolar and a little later borderline personality disorder and/or just “bad” kids. (Can I ask if your experience fit this?)
So the misdiagnoses go wide sadly and whilst medication absolutely has its place I do think it’s often too quickly prescribed. I think it should be the last resort, not the first! The shitty thing is that it’s also seen as part of the process so, as far as I know, there’s very little recourse to take around misdiagnosis for these kinds of conditions. Did you get any “justice” yourself?
My heart aches for us all honestly, who were diagnosed so young with any medical condition wrongly that has had long term effects. We deserved better and it’s one of the reasons I advocate for the next generation to receive the support (not just diagnosis or medication) that will give them the best chance at a fulfilling life. I work in disability, sorry this is long, I’m passionate about these discussions! Take care of yourself!
My experience definitely matches what you saw. I actually got expelled from a fancy private school because once they put me on ritalin at 7 years old, I started getting in fights, and they used that to attempt to paint me as the next Columbine shooter. That was what set off the whole cascade of antidepressants and antipsychotics that followed. Of course, nobody ever considered the idea that giving speed to a 7-year-old might have undesirable side effects, so they just kept acting like I was inherently a violent person (which I’m not). My parents still occasionally act like I’m a murderous psychopath to this day, even though the last time I ever got in a fight was 20 years ago and it was in self-defense.
Unfortunately, I never got justice. That shrink is still practicing, and from time to time I consider setting up an appointment to rub it in his face that I managed to do all the things he said I’d never be able to do. It’s not going to accomplish anything meaningful, though, so I always talk myself out of it.