I have been feeling that I feel like I have a man's brain in a woman's body, that has had to learn how to be a girl and did not really want to be a girl. I really identified with Simon Baren-Cohen's ideas and also Tony Attwood's about how girls adapt better due to expectations of women.
I have found out that at birth it was suggested I had high testosterone levels and this embarrassing (for research purposes I share with you) I had different genitaliar had to check I was actually a girl (clearly I am) the nurses got the peditrician to check said it was nothing to worry about just the shape. Now as an adult woman (autistic ladies do you agree?) I know it is not just my brain that is different, some areas are highly charged when they want to be if you get my drift.
I have hormone difficulties now PMS but my tests were 'normal'. Long and short I feel great in first 2 weeks of cylce and then have rapid cylcing mood swings for the rest and feel awful for rest, mood dramatically improves on day 1 of my cycle. Had real mood swings in puberty, when I am not on any contraception, felt terrible when I was on deprovera effectively shut off my ovaries. I am better behaved when on the combined pill.
This may be an important factor in my diagnosis, it is interesting from what possibly causes autism.
More importantly my PMS is being passed off as a mood disorder and it is not I have picked up clear patterns connected to my PMS. They will be reluctant to put me on the combined pill due to smoking.
Am I on to something here and what do I do about it I honestly dread my PMS it hits around 23 rd of month last 1 -3 weeks, more dragged out when I am at work.
I have a lot more body hair than the average woman (on my legs and arms, and everywhere really except my face). Is this a sign of having high testosterone?
So do I, how frustrating if maybe we have male brains and have to learn to be like a woman. Weird as I do not like your NT woman girly girl but I am very much a woman I like to be sexy but different. My hair issues started whilst on depo and have got worst while I am not on the pill. I really do not know what is going on. This would suggest I need estregen to be 'happy'.
If anyone has any ideas about PMS in Autistic women and NT women. I did read somewhere that PMS can often be misdiagnosed when its actually asperger's. I inaffect become more autistic when I have PMS, I wonder how much the misdiagnosis of conditions such as bi-polar and pms have affected the actual diagnostic criteria for those conditions. I am disturbed by the stories of possible misdiagnosis among suffer's of mental health problems in my support group. Off topic there, I have lots of thoughts and questions!!!
What do you think of them trying to give me mood stabilisers for what is in affect PMT and Asperger's? I am not taking them, there is nothing wrong with me. I will have to live with the anxiety, get used to noise again and like you said distract myself from PMS, already follow diet advice regular snacks keep blood sugars level, change thought patterns and anyway my moods were bad only when something was getting me down or angry (not being listened to, being isolated for 'mental illness', having my life onhold). What the point of drugs, if they do not tackle the route causes. Nice the mental health act gives them the power to force the drugs on you. I have made the point that I do not want them and I do not have to right? Is being honest about not liking your pychiatrist a mood swing or anger at not being listened to?
I have an unusally low voice for a female. My scream sounds male, and it is very difficult for me to actually make the standard female scream.
If I sing loudly, I think I can actually get into the high tenors!
I love my voice. ^_^
I still don't know whether my voice is testosterone based or just me transforming my voice.
As we're on about voices mine is quite deep and gruff
METALHEAD!!!!!
(Just kidding)
Are you male or female? (I think you're male)
I checked out the autism and pychology forum read there that some want to change Asperger's to be classified as a mental disorder a 'mood disorder', what they going to do change the wiring in our brains? I am not taking any mood stabilising drugs because my mood is quite stable. I might rip there heads off when I have PMS and they tell me I have a mood disorder, if they catch me before pay day I calmly tell them why I do not need mood stabilising drugs but perhaps they could refer me to a gynaecologist. Lol I quite like my natural hormones it is the stress and anxiety that makes me flip out longer with PMS (not to mention lack of routine). My PMS starts around 23rd of a month (pay day) and lasts a week if I am lucky, 3 weeks if I am not. Always changes when I get my period. I want some of the hormones that make me feel fanstastic, sexy, gorgeous, clear headed, horny, highly sexually charged (he he!), intelligent, less forgetful and calm, after pay day. Estregen???? (probably spelt that wrong). I was fat, horrible, depressed, miserable, had no sex drive, 'dim', indifferent when I was on deporavera/mini-pill. The combi-pilled makes me 'stable all month' but I don't get that fantastic feeling like I do with my natural hormones. I am not keen on messing with nature anymore, rather look at diet, strategies and reducing my stress.
[quote=Gareth]
I hope this is not too personal a question but what is your sexual orientation?
Feeling like the opposite gender trapped in your current body is commonly reported amongst transgendered individuals and homosexuals. If this is caused by testostrone it would explain the higher than average number of lesbians and female-to-male transexuals on the spectrum. However, we also have a higher than normal percentage of male-to-female transexuals and homosexual men.
As a research subject this would be interesting to look at simply by blood tests of women on and off the spectrum and would be quite simple to do. I fear though that it could have obvious abuses by the curebies.
I am female and hetrosexual. I am more like metro sexual. I seem to be happiest around guy friends but they don't tolerate me when I have emotional issues. The female friends I have tend to be not typical girly girls. My interests men tend to like, heavy metal music and typically films that guys like. I can be girly when I want to be not overly. I also like chick flicks and the like, same goes for the music. I met a guy who I would discribe as a lads lad with a femine side it was the most perfect match and it went pair shaped. I love Metallica and I like Kelly Clarkson/Nelly Furtardo, I love Pulp Fiction/Bridget Jones's Diary. You get the idea. It all fits with the research done into girls that suggest that we have to learn to be girls in away. I hate small talk, especially about make-up/clothes and would much prefer guy pub talk/more intellectual conversation.
I had hormones tests done 3 times this year they were all 'normal' even the recent ones when I was at my worst. Apparently you have to test on a certain day of the cycle. I just think my body like Oestregen and hates progestergon. I actually think they may be a possibility of diet being behind a lot of this. Yeast intollerance - Candida. I am exploring this with the dietician. I have already been cutting out yeast as much as I can and watching my sugar intake.
Still not got the foggiest what is going on with my hormones. Hey I just have to live with it. If there is nothing stressing me or making me anxious then hopefully it will not be so bad.
i am thinking of allergies and mood swings. i've just come across this article relating to sulfides in foodstuffs
http://www.beatcfsandfms.org/html/Sulfides.html and wondering whether i actually ought to do the tests they suggest or just initially cut out all foodstuffs with that additive.
Cut out all processed food with artificial additives as that is not good for anyone, as much as you can that is common sense which apparently I lacked. I have done so, I will have the occassional treat when it comes to the like of sweets and chocolate, skittles in moderation and in controlled circumstances ie not at work!
As for anything else such as yeast, wheat etc there is no point cutting the lot out as you will never know what affects you. Keep diaries of what you eat and how you feel/physical affects.
I know white bread, pizza (esp pizza), beer, some wines affect me, but not pasta. I have already noticed too much sea food makes me feel sick, I have noticed when I eat peppers I react (get the sXXts! lol). I have also read that certain foods can make you 'hyper' so I have cut them. Doing the things I am doing does not prevent me from having a balanced diet. Anything more radical I would not do without a dietician. I suspect that I may have candida, the diet for that is extreme and I don't think I would want to do unless it was necessary and most certainly not without a specialist.
As for taking any supplements I advice extreme caution. I took B complex before I considered I may be autistic, I did this because I heard that it can help anxiety/panic attacks, along with stress relief tablets (included varlium extract which is like Valium, Valium makes me high and I am not prescribed that). I did all this with SSRI which I reacted to by going into hyper mania on the verge of severe. I will not take any supplements now. I choose to look at diet, B12 I can get from green leafy veg, red meat, eggs (with foods high in Vitamin C). Moral is be very careful what you mess with. Just because it is 'herbal' does not mean it is safe.
As for PMS I have read that it is advised to eat regular small amounts to keep blood sugar level, the likes that realise blood sugar slowley (eg porridge - there a word for that forgot what is, what Diebetics follow ) and drink plenty of fluids.
I also eat lots if I am having a bad bowt off acute anxieties, as my metabolism is high. I have also read that on these days its good to have a protein based breakfast (I have veggie breakfast, beans, quorn sausage, eggs, mushrooms) as it gives the addrenalin glands a break. This is especially important if you are underweight or of a normal weight (Body mass index) which I am not. I have eaten very very well and have actually lost a little weight, I am overweight about 13.stone 10 for my height of 5 foot 6. I am happy with my weight. When I have been at my worst in crisis I have lost weight very quickly by going into melt down and not eating. Or running on a adranlin and not even noticing I have forgot to eat. I went from 15 stone to 13 and half in a month earlier in the year. This was not a healthy way for me to lose, but I have maintained it by in large all year give or take half a stone. I diet now for mental health not weight, by consequence I am losing weight as by product.
All these things are harmless if done with knowledge of your own body and what you are doing. No harm in eating lots of nice healthy food, varied and wonderful. I am trying to go for organic as I am able to afford, sensibly. I am considering being a veggie again and only eat occassional meat.
I am very much interested in the affects of diet upon learning dis and mental health as I work in learning disability with challenging behaviour/mental health. This applies to all people, you are what you eat.
Off topic but its one of my interests, still on topic, basically you have to look at the whole body as part of the picture, I was going to go on the combined pill but I rather not, I believe that diet is better along with keeping check on my moods and though patterns and relaxation strategies.
Read that article, my family reacts to sodium benzonate, all get coughs and catarrh. I generally avoid most of those things now by eating healthy unprocessed food. Won't over do the dried fruit and I had developed a thing for grape juice. I have grape juice and lots of dried fruit of I want to be tired lol!
I also read somewhere that artificial sweetners can give you more sweet cravings. I figure there was some sense in that as I was on a slimming world diet that encouraged us to replace sugars with sweetner's, I graved chocolate worse than ever and often slipped on my diet. I gave up that diet, kept the healthy eating principles I had learnt, avoided all sweetner's. I rather have actual sugar in mooderation or honey even, or not at all.
The modern world has gone crazy with all these addatives and the mass production of food, are grand parents do not eat like this and my african friends do not eat like this in africa. Not to mention the enviromental affect of transporting foods from abroad that we want when out of season.
Oh, god, I HATE girl presents. I remember I once got a full set of makeup a couple years ago. I never used it, and my grandma (who gave it to me) wondered why, and kept showing me how to use it until she gave up.
I'm female, though not stereotypically female. I have only mild PMS, though my menstrual cramps are severe enough to make me pass out sometimes. (Well, not much anymore. I wised up and decided to lie down and wait them out.)
Oh: Sexual orientation--asexual female. I have a sex drive but it is purely physical; I have no desire for romance or romantic attachments.
Despite my lack of a true sexual orientation, I do identify strongly as "female"; I don't think I'd be happier as a male, though I'd probably be pretty similar to the way I am now.
If being androgynous wasn't a disorder, I'd want to be androgynous.
I have bad PMS and also very bad period pains and heavy bleeding (sorry if this is too much info for some!).
I'm asexual.
I have found that some medications in the past made my PMS a lot worse.
I wouldn't say I'm a tomboy - I like to wear long skirts etc. but I don't wear make up or heels or have complicated hairstyles.
I think of myself as a 'girl' rather than a women and as such was very distressed by puberty and also by the fact that I am technically an adult and also the idea of the ageing process in general.
Other than this I don't really think of myself in terms of gender. I think of myself more as a 'thing' or as some weird creature then as a real person.
Wow, most of the straight women who posted here act more traditionally "masculine" than I do. Seems that most people seem to think I'm straight when they meet me, even though I really, really am not (in interests or appearance) what's stereotypically femine.
I wish that there wasn't any stigma to sexual orientation, so I'd wear a pin that says "I'M A LESBIAN" so that anyone who's interested would know where to apply. ;-) Although, I wish even more that lesbian and bisexual women would also have such identification. Also we should all wear tags indicating relationship status, so there's none of this, "sorry, I have a boyfriend/girlfiend already" stuff. At least married people have rings, though those can be hard for me to detect (oh well most people my age aren't married yet, so not so much of a problem yet).
Realistically, while I doubt I'll be getting a big "I'M A LESBIAN" pin anytime soon, a rainbow pin might just do the trick - I just wish that every girl looking for girls did the same; it'd really make life simpler.
In some ways I identify with the extreme male brain thing, but it's definitely an oversimplistic look that doesn't account for every autistic individual. I think more of a gender nonconformity theory would do better.
For instance, my dad, while very straight, has had a number of experiences being mistaken for a woman by phone, though by the look and the sound of him, you'd never guess it. He has interests in things like playing and watching sports, but in a lot of ways that are difficult to described, he doesn't seem too stereotypically male.
When I was young, I would have my Hot Wheels cars enact emotional and romantic stories, whereas my dolls and stuffed animals were doing espionage and blowing things up and having space battles.
Make of that what you will.
I have a boyfriend/girlfiend already"
Freudian slip, anybody? 