Drug Use & Autism - anyone ever wonder? | Autism PDD
Yes, today I'll go with the diet coke theory! I allowed myself one a day (12 oz) while preggers, it was my coffee. That must be it. Oh if I had only known that I was gulping down autism.
I could go on a lot further here. She and I both did EVERYTHING "right." Pretty much perfectly...
Guess what...we have a beautiful boy who is on the spectrum.
[QUOTE=Taytah]Yes, today I'll go with the diet coke theory! I allowed myself one a day (12 oz) while preggers, it was my coffee. That must be it. Oh if I had only known that I was gulping down autism.
[/QUOTE]Hilarious. Funniest quote Ever!
I would say no, I have never tried alchohol, cigarette or any kind of drugs in my life...micki, I also had vile stomach flu at 4 months . Projectile that went on for hours.Went to hosp. and got injection of gravol. lost 20 lbs.
wonder if frequently coating my skin with inorganic mercury would have affected me?
Or the farm work from age 9. I was always sick to my stomach, headache and had rashes back then.
or parents exposure to workplace chemicals?
Honestly never touched drugs, and I have two autistic kids...so for us...no link whatsoever. Okay, I haven't read the replies, so I hope this isn't redundant. I've been where you are, wondering how I "made this" happen. I'm there all the time...it hurts, please don't do it to yourself. If what you're looking for is anecdotal evidence, I didn't do drugs. I was always afraid to do drugs. I did pot three times in high school. The feeling it gave me wasn't the nice, happy, giggly feeling it gave everybody else. I think that's why I tried it those three times. I kept expecting that it would finally work out great and I'd feel wonderful and all that. But the third time something went wrong and I couldn't feel my limbs and couldn't feel whether or not I was breathing, so I had a paranoia episode and freaked out and I never did it again.
So that was...I think...22 years before having C. So obviously it doesn't take drugs for a child to have autism.
It's hard...I know...as I said, I'm always asking myself the same things, what I might have done or not done, even down to my amalgam fillings. It's tough...until a concrete edict comes down of what "causes" or stimulates autism or that it's genetic and the mechanisms for which it would present itself genetically, I think we mothers will continuously wonder about the piece of sushi we had in 1988 that might somehow be linked to our child's autism today.It is difficult to draw that conclusion when you see parents who were drunk most of their lives have healthy typical kids and people who completely stay away have kids with issues.
Concernedpa.
Hope2, I know very little about what causes Autism. But after years and years of trying to produce an an offspring, I know quite a bit about fertility. You have all the eggs you will ever produce upon birth. Your body realeases one (in rare cases two or three at a time) once you are able to menustrate. As you age, so do your eggs. This means if you are 40 years old and get pregnant, your egg is 40 years old and has had time to "decline in quality". This is why ladies of a "certain age" are more at risk of having a child w/birth defects.
Consider this mind numbing fact. You were alive when your mother was born, in the shape of an egg in her ovum.
And since the subject of this thread is considering drug use, should we not look at what our mothers' did as well (I was born in 1966 and my mom did plenty .... before, during and after my birth, is still crazy in her 60s).
Is it possible we can also blame this on our mothers? Just a joke folks .... I've never touched drugs but did drink not heavily and was an occasional smoker in high school. I hadn't smoked a cig in 10 years before Quinn was born. I did drink 1/2 a beer before i new I was pregnant and that was it.
I did not even drink a cup of coffee during my pregnancy. My stepsister used Heroin all throughout her pregnancies and her children are all healthy. Of course, my father and his wife are raising the kids.
So do not even feel guilty -- it is something else.
Um, never used or tried any drugs... Except Alcohol... And... Diet Coke... Maybe Diet Coke causes Autism?
Both my husband & I never did drugs or cigarettes. I very rarely drink & have always been very health-conscious about my diet although my husband likes beer. Neither of us have anything remotely like autism in our family histories & growing up in Ethiopia neither of us had MMR vaccines. My 2.5 yr old son got his MMR vaccine just last month because we were living in Ethiopia where the vaccine was not available. I keep thinking it must be environmental - maybe something we breathe or in the groceries we buy here because autism is quite rare in Ethiopia but who knows - perhaps it's just not reported or studied. Oh, it's all so CONFUSING... my best friend just called and said she just found out 5 wks pregnant unfortunately she was using drugs cocaine to loose weight twice a week she wanted my advice if the babys brain would be harmed i told her i never did anything but my child is aspergers any comment
I usually try to stay away from these topics but figured i would share my experience here.
My husband used drugs heavily as a teen and young adult, I only experimented with occasion marijuana use but i have to tell you all this,
Either i would make a great candidate for research or a really bad one. Both my husband and myself were in our mid 30's when we had Michael, Both worked for a printing company before and during pregnancy and was exposed to many types of chemicals, I smoked during pregnancy I lost 50% of my placenta in the first 8 weeks of pregnancy, My son had a Choriod plexus cyst on his brain found at 20 weeks during ultrasound, delivery was a disaster, He was balled up, way up in my uteris, after water breaking and full diatlation and several hours of labor, they gave me pitocin which caused Michaels heartrate to go eratic, I ended up getting oxygen because they were afraid he was deprived, All ended in emergency c section.
So, for me to say it could have been drugs or any one of these things i mention would be crazy, It could have been any one of them or None of them!!!!! Just because we don't know....
Never did drugs - ever. I had to "pretend" to smoke in college for a play (I'm sure this would not be allowed now) - but I didn't inhale. Seriously, I couldn't inhale. I actually believed Clinton in the I didn't inhale thing. I did drink in my last year of high school - but not to excess.
Dh tried marijuana once and never smoked cigarettes. BTW, he too didn't inhale!
I was substance free before having children, but had MMR vaccine early in ds gestation. While at a party with second hand fumes, I got terribly sick much like this post concussion vertigo and diplopia after the car accident last week. I have recently self medicated with 1/3 of a beer to pass out if in severe physical pain. I believed Clinton too. Was he lying??????
ps just guessing the smoke was drugs, they claim not and was hosted by police officer.
wondered if that was a cause. I agree with others that drug use before
pregnancy does not sound like a likely canidate for autism. There are a
number of viruses that affect fetal development and I'd be more inclined
to consider that. But then considering that so many people with asd have
close relatives with asd genenetics seems the most likely canidate for
most forms of autism.Not a factor here either I never did drugs nor did the father of the kids.
I do know that lsd can cause Schizophrenia and another disorder just like Schizophrenia (mind in another world for longer periods of time).
I do have a bi-polar MIL, who gives in easily to peer-pressure. Different addictions at different times in her life.Did drugs for years, shopping addiction, sex addiction etc . She gave my hubby up as a infant. (thank God!!
). 8O's were a blur for MIL!!
I agree with the others that it's best not to play the blame game. However, I do believe that lots of people with undiagnosed or subclinical AS/HFA self-medicate. You have said you feel you have some traits, and experimenting with drugs might have been a way for you to cope, since you didn't get any accommodations or help to develop healthier strategies. The teenage years are particularly tough, so self-medicating is an understandable phenomenon.
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My dad has aspie traits...he smoked weed for the first 25 years of my life. He quit when he had his stroke. My uncles who show signs, one is an alcoholic and the other is an alcoholic and smoked weed and crack. Me....I exerimented. I'm not a liar, but I'm not going to go into that problem I had on here. If anyone would like to ask any questions, feel free to PM me. I was almost thrown out of my college English class because I wrote my persuasive paper on "The Top Ten Reason's Marijuana Should be Legal." That was a fun paper to write.
I haven't read through this whole thread, but want to say that I was a "goodie-two-shoes" and there was nothing in my body aside from a wine cooler or a beer in college !! LOL
No drugs, no cigarettes, BUT.....can't say the same about Erin's dad I can say that I NEVER did any drugs...apart from the VERY occasional cigarette - nothing. DH did SOME experimenting though. I don't think it has a thing to do w/ ds. I think it is genetic with other things involved...ie immune system, lack of oxygen in- utero/birth causes delays which might delay the "full effects"...etc.
But marijuana does alter your DNA...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/141891.stm
As for an asd connection, I've long since came to the conclusion that everything, everywhere, in the whole world, causes autism..
But marijuana does alter your DNA...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/141891.stm
As for an asd connection, I've long since came to the conclusion that everything, everywhere, in the whole world, causes autism..
[/QUOTE]hahahaha, ya... i mean, you hear over the years how scientists beleive this is the cause, this is a factor, this can possibly be a contributor. Indeed wayyyy to many factors, and although they ruled some out (mercury apparently in vaccines, and probably the most common beleived environmental cause) some, their are still wayyyyy to many possibilities and soo many factors must come together + DNA to cause ASD. [QUOTE=NorwayMom]I agree with the others that it's best not to play the blame game. However, I do believe that lots of people with undiagnosed or subclinical AS/HFA self-medicate. You have said you feel you have some traits, and experimenting with drugs might have been a way for you to cope, since you didn't get any accommodations or help to develop healthier strategies. The teenage years are particularly tough, so self-medicating is an understandable phenomenon.[/QUOTE]
I tried drugs as a teenager, but I really don't like the word 'self-medicating' to describe it. I consider it the more usual attempts at experimentation. I didn't have the normal reactions to any of the drugs I tried though (a supposedly "mild/benign" drug totally threw me off balance while I was on it, and a supposedly "strong/scary" drug made me more functional for a time).
My parents both did alcohol but that was pretty much the limit of any drug use of theirs, and my mom said she avoided even over-the-counter drugs while pregnant with me.
Just a reminder that mercury in vaccines has not been ruled out as a factor in a subset of our children.
My DD smokes MJ more regularly than I ever realized when we got married, so I wonder about that, in combination with genetic factors on both sides, affecting Andrew.
I agree with the others that it's best not to play the blame game. However, I do believe that lots of people with undiagnosed or subclinical AS/HFA self-medicate. You have said you feel you have some traits, and experimenting with drugs might have been a way for you to cope, since you didn't get any accommodations or help to develop healthier strategies. The teenage years are particularly tough, so self-medicating is an understandable phenomenon.
Heh, indeed, I had some interesting times in high school and collage myself, and im sure I dont have to elaborate. It was the first time in my life I was really social, and really got out their, out of my shell, learned alot and even outside of school managed to be around people often, all because I got into the party scene, first as a way to escape and then that evolved into, well... because I was a partyer and everyone in the school knew it, I was finally cool to hang around with, I was weird, but had I not done my years of partying I doubt I would be as good socally as I am. Never did I have more friends, and even those who picked on me around this time were good to me now.
My parents claim to have never partied, I dont know if they are lying. They are both in their 50's so they were around during those strange times, tho that does not prove anything and I tend to beleive them, as hard as it may be. My father has been around nuclear plants his whole life, he is a nuclear engineer and was even sent to 3 mile island in 1979 when they had serious computer and reactor problems, just 3 years prior to me being born, he too exibits signes of AS, and in some instances I beleive him to be more serious then I am, of course this is my non-medical opinion. I blaim genes from my parents for my HFA rather then what they did back in the day. I even read somewhere supposedly many engineers or similar occupations have a disperportionate number of children with ASD compaired to the rest of the population!? I dont know... but I can see a corelation perhapse we make good engineers?
Teen years are hard, especally for someone with a very mild form of autism, not disabled so theoreticly im treated the same as everyone else, but may be just a tiny bit 'out their' or even a nerd and during those teen years and a few years even before that it became increasingly evident to my peers. This drove me to find a solution, something to make me feel good, an escape, ive smoked plenty of pot for years, i wanted acceptance, I wanted friends, I wanted to be cool, I wanted to be like everyone else. I did plenty of other drugs as well sadly, and feel it did catch up to me later on in life because I have alot of regret. Alcohol was by far the worse IMO and over the years have gotton into alot of trouble because of that. In collage I spent all my money on pot, booze and cocane
. I am so glad when I left collage I decided it was time to cast all of that evil away, as during those times I was still seeking friends, but now something more important to me became realized, I wanted the American dream, I had to work hard, be someone, HFA or not, if I wanted to be a good citizan and provider for my eventual family, it was time, and I gladly accepted it and gave all that up, no problem. You cant distroy your body and mind like that and hope to do well in life and be a good father, or mother. Plus I feared it was making me out of shape, stupid, forgetful and I value my brain and health.
Today Im still highly concerned with my future, I really wanna do good in life, and so now I rairly drink, and am much more moderate as far as that is concerned. I dont go to bars, but now, I still feel I need something to calm me down whenever I have company, or need to go somewhere where their are people, or even when im doing something that will cause stress, such as going to an unfarmiliar place (except in a outdoor setting, I love outdoors and love to explore new areas) or if I need to go acomplish something new to me, out of the ordinary. While I have never looked back as far as the school days of partying, I do, only when I must deal with ppl (IE not sitting at home alone or hiking solo) abuse pain medication sold to me by my neghboor, it calms me down, slows down my mind so I can focus better and makes me more social, it is a problem, but I needed something to take the edge off, even to this day for now.
I dont beleive that kind of drug use will cause autism so much, but I do know LSD is beleived to damage chromosomes, thats bad for having kids. I dont think we should beat ourselfs up for youthful indiscretions, but learn from them. Autism is absolutly nature + nurture, so many variables, isolating these many causes will be very hard, but we are getting closer, who knows?? maby someday we will identiy all these factors, or at least the nature part (genes).
Indeed, I like to be honest on here, even more so then irl because at least on here im ananomous. I really dont want people on here to think because I wrote my experiences (the partying took place just within this decade, so its recent history) that i am a bad guy and a user. I try to be decent, and I dont use really except for a few codines or morphene tabs whenever i deal with people, its bad, but it helps with stress and even meltdowns. I write my experiences and tell the truth because I made many mistakes in life, and dont want to see others mess up like I did. Wanting to be popular, I did many bad things to obtain it, and while I learned alot, made many friends and really was fortunate to live the life of a very normal teen-early adult dispite my HFA, but I understand now that its not the way to go. I try so hard to tell what I know because I think many of you parents have kids that are similar to how I was, they will have a great future, but getting their can be rough and I really beleive that if im honest on here and tell what i experienced that perhapse you parents can take warning and may be able to step in and re-direct your children as they get older so their ride to adult hood can go better then mine did, granted in the end I did just fine, I could have done better.
Please dont think im bad, but be awair that at least looking thru my eyes at the world during the teen and collage years, I did what I did to be popular because I could not do it any other way, and I did a bad thing, and I dont want these kids to screw up like I did, or almost did with my life. I hope you keep that in mind as they get older.
Hi Hope, I had really healthy pregnancies and have 2 kids very affected by autism. a neighbour down the road smoked tobacco and marijuana and her daughter is just fine. A friend of mine from years smoked, used to be a really heavy dope user and it affected his memory and made him quite paranoid( but he was a really heaver user). I dont see how it would alter your DNA which is what it would take for it to affect future pregnancies if you no longer use. Please don't be hard on your self. You were young and you experimented. Like a lot of us. Hugs Liz
OOps, what I wanted to add also was I see a lot of autistic traits in my brothers and nephews and neices but not to the point that it is a disabillity like with my own 2 children.One brother I am convinced is aspergers/borderline. My father was exposed to radioactivity with his work in the airforce when they did nuclear testing at Woomera and Maralinga, as well as agent orange in Vietnam. I wonder if any of they has affected our family. I saw a documentary recently about vietnam and the terrible birth defects that have occured from villagers being sprayed during the vietnam war. I guess we are always going to wonder what caused this. Hugs LizI would say no. Like dizzy said it would have to alter your genes. The brain cells it affected were yours not your children's. Its like when you have a miscarriage, you ask yourself a thousand times, was it that chair I lifted that I shouldn't have, was it that beer I had before I knew I was pregnant,etc etc. We always question ourselves, was it something we did or didn't do, its human nature. But the majority of the time it is something out of our control and there is nothing we could have done. When you are in the very early stages of pregnancy your baby is not supported by your blood, so that drink you may have had before you knew you were pregnant (I know you didn't but I hear that many times) never reaches the baby. I beleive that also applies to that one joint you smoked early on before you knew you were pregnant. Don't beat yourself up.I had a very trouble time in high school (possible Aspie, not sure). I would often do things to fit in, pretty much anything that kept me around friends. Including LOTS of marijuana, LSD (Acid), mushrooms, and a few times even smoking & snorting methamphetamine (Thankfully never got addicted)!
I basically had no supervision as I lived alone with my Dad who traveled all the time on business & had my own job & money. Anyway, I still graduated on the principals Honor Roll from high school & was in advance placement (gifted) classes for Literature, Economics, Social Studies, History, Art, basically everything but science & math - even though I smoked marijuana all the time after my homework was done & dropped acid & took mushrooms probably once a month or once every 3 months! Don't ask me how this is possible, I still dont get it. I was just really smart back then, didn't even have to try! (those were the days).
Anyway, do you ever wonder if they are linked? I know there are lots and lots of people who never touched a drug or even a cigarette in their whole life, but sometimes I wonder - as drugs alter brain cells right? Like isnt there something about them altering cells, brain damage? Has that been debunked or is it true? TY!
BTW I did not take any drugs AT ALL while pregnant but I do remember smoking a joint at a friend's house before I knew I was pregnant. Did not drink at all (never been a big drinker). just wanted to clarify that, this was all in MY past. But I am just wondering if it alters brain cells, could it alter other cells or do other damage as far as future pregnancies?
Probably unlikely. Again, just another "Weird late night Hope thoughts". Feel free to throw a shoe at me or something!
"Located inside each ovary are hundreds of thousands of follicles--tiny clusters of cells that function as storehouses for immature eggs. There are about 1 million follicles present in the ovaries at birth, but their number declines with age, until there are less than half--about 400,000--by the time a woman starts menstruating. For an egg to mature inside a follicle and be released from the ovary, it needs stimulation from certain hormones." (From "the Female Body: An Owner's Manual).
I read somewhere else that heavy smoking can affect egg quality, but I think when they talk about "ovum quality" they mean whether it's likely to miscarry or reach full term.
Maybe someone else knows more about this than I do.
I agree Kristy, I dont really mean the POT - I was thinking more along the lines of some of the harsher LSD, meth, & such. I think there is probably no link, but it has always sort of made me wonder. But I guess - I dont really know how eggs work 7 all that - does the ovary just release the egg or do you actually produce an egg, or do they "sit" in there throughout your life? Weird. Anyway no biggie!i'm pretty sure that the eggs are sitting around in your ovaries for your adult life, from at least the time of puberty, maybe even earlier... that's why i'm concerned. i also don't think it would be marajuana because it is way too common, but some of the "other stuff" ...
I highly doubt my recreational marijuana usage in college has anything to do with C's autism. My initial reaction when I saw this post was that I was born in 1968 and if pot smoking was linked to autism, then I should know tons and tons of people my age on the spectrum (and I don't).
Recreational drugs have been around a long, long time - long before autism started to become an epidemic. Using drugs during preganacy probably opens the door to all kinds of potential issues, but I would be very shocked if recreational drug use prior to pregnancy is ever linked to an increased prevalence in developmental disorders. I don't think this is something any of us should be beating ourselves up over. Just my opinion for what it's worth.
I just wanted to add that although I drank in high school and college - I did NOT drink in my pregnancies AT ALL. I didn't think that was clear in my original post. I've never used drugs, never smoked, and maybe have a glass of wine once or twice a year but didn't drink at all during either pregnancy. My husband hasn't done anything since I met him but in his youth he was a smoker and drank heavily. I don't know if it was a factor or not?My son (adopted) was exposed to cocaine and marijuana throughout his gestation, and was born positive and experienced withdrawals. He's got PDD-NOS, my daugher (adopted and his sibling) also was exposed, but is NT.
[QUOTE=Payne's Mom]I can say that I NEVER did any drugs...apart from the VERY occasional cigarette - nothing. DH did SOME experimenting though. I don't think it has a thing to do w/ ds. I think it is genetic with other things involved...ie immune system, lack of oxygen in- utero/birth causes delays which might delay the "full effects"...etc. [/QUOTE]
I agree that genetics and less than optimal in utero or neonatal conditions are the most likely culprits. That's what all these researchers are saying.
However, in the off chance that booze, pot, & other mind altering stuff DOES have an influence, it is extremely important that we teach our kids to keep a clean lifestyle. They already have a possible genetic predisposition, so to possibly confound that with drugs is just plain stupid when you are forewarned.
Nobody told me that drinking beer at frat parties could lead to me having a kid that was autistic, nor the wine I tippled in my 20s at dinner parties. If someone HAD told me that, it may have made me become a teetotaler before than I eventually did.
I am missing the enzyme to process booze (its called ADH) and stopped drinking probably around 3 years before Cole was born. So, unless it was from libations I drank years prior, I don't think booze or drugs had anything to do with Cole's condition.
Seems to be that this would not explain the increase in dx. What about the drug use in the 60's/70's? In the early 90's, when I was in college, I don't believe drug use was as prevalent- sure, people smoked pot, etc., but I don't believe as much as in prior decades (granted I have not researched this, I may be wrong.)
Also, not commenting on personal experience! My parents both did a lot of drugs (everything but heroin) before I was
born, and my mom drank and used some drugs during her pregnancy
with me. My mom's bipolar, my dad is in a profession with a similar skill
set to an engineer. I have a lot of traits, but no diagnosis (ADHD? Aspie?
Quirky?). There are many people on my mom's side of the family with
traits, or with various mental illness. So, whether my quirkiness was
caused by my parents' drug use, or was genetic is hard to say.
Donny (adopted) was exposed to drugs and alcohol in utero, but was not
born crack addicted. He had poor pre and post natal care, was abused
and neglected. Any number of these things could've caused his autism.
There's also a family history - Don's older brother has PDD NOS, his uncle
is LD, his grandpa, had he been born today, would've been dx ADHD, he's
got a second cousin who is developmentally disabled, his dad's side has
problems too...With Don, we'll never know what exactly, caused his
autism. Most likely it was a combination of things.
On the other hand, my foster son has FAS, and was born crack-addicted.
In his case, we know exactly what caused his disability. Drinking before
pregnancy won't cause FAS. However, drinking during pregnancy
very well could. FAS is the most prevalent preventable
developmental disability, even today, even in developed nations...
Okay, got off topic there, will climb off soapbox 
i wonder about this myself often, esp. considering what i did in a hotel room in vegas once. but what happens in vegas, stays... (oops). i think that for women, our eggs are establish and any drugs that we may have taken during our lives, prescription or not, can potentially affect them and cause birth defects. so, yes, i wonder about this very often, "what if I hadn't done XXXX..." and "what if I hadn't taken XXXXXX..." etc.
hmmm...
not necessarily admitting that i did "do" anything here...
Dont know if there is a link, I never did drugs but the boys Dad did and he was in the Gulf War and exposed to God knows what. We even think that he was exposed to uranium, I often wonder if there is a link. Our guys were given many medications during the war that were never tested on humans......Imagine that!!!!Never did drugs, but have often wondered about my own and their dad's immunizations. He had the anthrax series....It's genetic. Oh, remember me saying I have a fried uncle, got that was in the 60's. I was born in 1981. My completely gone uncle, got another completely gone person pregnant in the late 80's. The kid was put up for adoption and is NORMAL. If 2 fried people can have a normal child, you get my point.Copyright Autism-PDD.net