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m4tts1m
Emu Egg
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15 Jul 2010, 8:56 am

Hello. I am presently seeking an asperger's diagnosis. I am here to ask for your unprofessional opinions.

As you can imagine, i have amassed a lengthy laundry-list of 'symptoms'.
I will limit the present list to those items which are most dominant, demonstrate the variety of symptoms, and are least consistent with differential diagnoses (OCD, schizoid/schizotypal, anxiety).

1. Hyperfocus or shutdown: i focus on one thing or nothing. Often overwhelmed by social, or busy environments (leading to gas pain, nausea, dizziness, exhaustion, or even vomiting). Do not have a drivers license (age 32) for the same reason that most people would choose not to juggle knives. If i cook, i need to read the recipe 10+ times (recipes have NO logic at all), often panic if i haven't made it 10 times before. If an ingredient is missing, i get stuck (mindlock), and would usualy stop everything to go out and get that one item. (Better these days, my wife has trained me on substitutions)

2. Obsessive interests: (perhaps i diverge from aspie-typical here) My list of interests and things i have obsessed over is pages long. I tend to be very project-minded. I research a topic obsessively, then move to the next one. The list could be shortened if projects are aggregated by general theme: geometry, theology, graphic design, information graphics, maps, games, asian cultural artifacts (suiseki, go, mandarin, origami, etc). Also, my memory can be great - particularly for the current project, but it is terrible out of context. I love to collect information, but don't do much with it. Some have said my brain is like a gumball machine: a steel trap, but you don't know what you're gonna get.

3. Oblivious to social conventions. Talking over people, or too loud. Interupting or delayed reactions. Blank stares waiting for their words to make sense. My wife would write much more, but i have difficulty keeping track of everything that i miss. I have friends who visit me to play boardgames, but i don't seek out much social contact. Blurt out rude/blunt statements (i would say honest and helpful). Use of "snobby" academic language (i have tried to tone this down, but i feel it has only made my thoughts incoherent, and my speech choppy). Use of many "canned phrases".

4. Extreme sensitivity to fleece, cottonballs, new flannel, some types of dust, sand, or powders. My whole body recoils, my hands burn, fingers curl and flick. I'll stop now - if i think of it much longer i'll freak-out.

5. Very visual. At age 3 drew a detailed map of our neighbourhood from memory (showing where i was allowed to ride my tricycle). I lost a year of my life (age 20) flipping cubes in my mind (polyhedral tessellation). If i lose something, or something is out of place, i panic because i can imagine it anywhere, clear as day.

6. Rythmic walking, synchronized with breathing, and finger flicks. Especially when daydreaming on my walks to and from work.

7. Lupus (SLE). Diagnosed two years ago. Apparently some type of correlation exists with ASD/AS and autoimmune disorders.

8. Seizures. (Again, an apparent correllation exists) My aunt has epilepsy. My mother is borderline. I had 5 seizures in late adolescence, all of them during stressful situations. I paniced, lost all motor control, drop, convulse, choking, no memory of it.

9. Aspie-quiz scores. (from rdos dot net)
Aspie score: 154 of 200
NT score: 38 of 200

This was supposed to be a brief list; thanks for hanging in there.
Your feedback is appreciated.



Solitaire
Tufted Titmouse
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Joined: 11 Jul 2010
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Location: DFW, Texas

15 Jul 2010, 2:40 pm

My unprofessional opinion (although I have worked in the field as an intake worker) is that you do have Asperger's with concurrent OCD, suspected generalized anxiety disorder, and a seizure disorder.

Asperger's rarely travels alone. It usually comes with an underlying anxiety disorder of some sort, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is common.

Asperger's has been theorized to actually be an autoimmune disorder. Since I also have fibromyalgia/rheumatoid arthritis and severe allergies, I can believe it. A possible cause is the "mycoplasma" no cell wall virus that is causing the current epidemic of autoimmune disease in our population, which was actually genetically engineered by the Plum Island Biological Warfare center off Lyme, Connecticut (hence the "Lyme Disease" name). Our tax dollars at work!

Be very careful what you eat and drink, as this could aggravate your physical as well as mental symptoms. Look up "leaky gut syndrome".

In closing, I would say that it is important to first understand what your issues are, and then either work on changing what you want to change, or accept yourself as you are if you cannot or don't want to change. Of all your issues, I would say that the OCD may be the hardest to deal with, and if it's affecting your life negatively, medication may be necessary. If it doesn't bother you or anybody else, and it's not getting worse, then don't sweat it, and be happy that you have a life partner that loves you for you. :D



Chronos
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15 Jul 2010, 3:39 pm

m4tts1m wrote:
Hello. I am presently seeking an asperger's diagnosis. I am here to ask for your unprofessional opinions.

As you can imagine, i have amassed a lengthy laundry-list of 'symptoms'.
I will limit the present list to those items which are most dominant, demonstrate the variety of symptoms, and are least consistent with differential diagnoses (OCD, schizoid/schizotypal, anxiety).


By definition, though not necessarily by physical impossibility, one with schizottypal personality disorder would not have AS. People with AS do not have psychotic or quasi-psychotic episodes.

m4tts1m wrote:
1. Hyperfocus or shutdown: i focus on one thing or nothing. Often overwhelmed by social, or busy environments (leading to gas pain, nausea, dizziness, exhaustion, or even vomiting).


This sounds more like social anxiety. Having social anxiety is not necessarily an indication of having AS. Some with AS may have the degree of social anxiety you experience but others may just have a sense of social mis-coordination.

m4tts1m wrote:
. If i cook, i need to read the recipe 10+ times (recipes have NO logic at all), often panic if i haven't made it 10 times before. If an ingredient is missing, i get stuck (mindlock), and would usualy stop everything to go out and get that one item. (Better these days, my wife has trained me on substitutions)


This would not be a sign of AS, however many with AS have other learning disorders so it does not exclude having AS either.

m4tts1m wrote:
2. Obsessive interests


In the sense you described, quite typical of AS.

m4tts1m wrote:
3. Oblivious to social conventions. Talking over people, or too loud. Interupting or delayed reactions. Blank stares waiting for their words to make sense. My wife would write much more, but i have difficulty keeping track of everything that i miss. I have friends who visit me to play boardgames, but i don't seek out much social contact. Blurt out rude/blunt statements (i would say honest and helpful). Use of "snobby" academic language (i have tried to tone this down, but i feel it has only made my thoughts incoherent, and my speech choppy). Use of many "canned phrases".


Another common AS trait.

m4tts1m wrote:
4. Extreme sensitivity to fleece, cottonballs, new flannel, some types of dust, sand, or powders. My whole body recoils, my hands burn, fingers curl and flick. I'll stop now - if i think of it much longer i'll freak-out.
m4tts1m wrote:
nsitivity is quite common with AS, however you could also be allergic to these things you listed.

m4tts1m wrote:
5. Very visual. At age 3 drew a detailed map of our neighbourhood from memory (showing where i was allowed to ride my tricycle). I lost a year of my life (age 20) flipping cubes in my mind (polyhedral tessellation). If i lose something, or something is out of place, i panic because i can imagine it anywhere, clear as day.

Again, quite common among those with AS.

m4tts1m wrote:
6. Rythmic walking, synchronized with breathing, and finger flicks. Especially when daydreaming on my walks to and from work.


Not sure about this one.


m4tts1m wrote:
7. Lupus (SLE). Diagnosed two years ago. Apparently some type of correlation exists with ASD/AS and autoimmune disorders.


The theory is that in some instances antibodies can attack the brain. This type of mechanism is implicated in PANDAS, a still somewhat controversial disorder thought to be responsible for OCD in some individuals. There are auto-immune encephelopathies as well which cause typical encepholactic symptoms. The issue of autoimmune disorders and neurological conditions is still in it's infancy.

m4tts1m wrote:
8. Seizures. (Again, an apparent correllation exists) My aunt has epilepsy. My mother is borderline. I had 5 seizures in late adolescence, all of them during stressful situations. I paniced, lost all motor control, drop, convulse, choking, no memory of it.


I have read that roughly 30% of autistics also have epilepsy, however in that case I do not think the definition of "autistic" expanded to people with AS.

m4tts1m wrote:
9. Aspie-quiz scores. (from rdos dot net)
Aspie score: 154 of 200
NT score: 38 of 200

I do not put much weight on these tests for various reasons.