Aspies For Freedom

Cong! Rat! Ulations! To the Dx, Fruitcake!!!

Tomas

I meant this to be a happy jolly celebratory posting, I should say.

The jury is still out on whether I am autie or an aspie, will hell I got multiple personalities so I am an autie, an aspie and can disguise very well as an NT spy!!! ha ha.  

I think there is a secret aspie in my workplace who is in the closet!!!  I have come out because I am proud of who I am and hell I will not be fixed, I will be understood and improved ha ha!!

I don't like the "closet" term, as that was a term that, at one time, was exclusively used to describe homosexuals who hadn't disclosed their preference to people around them.

I have nothing against homosexuals or anyone else with any kind of difference, but I just don't see how the "closet" term can be applied to someone with Asperger's who hasn't told others.

BTW congrats on getting an ASD diagnosis, I would like to head in that direction if I can find some gumption one of these days.

I also have multiple personalities, sort of.  Either that or I have an inconsistent personality; OR I "act NT" in a lot of situations, and that's where my conflicted personality comes from.

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I have nothing against homosexuals or anyone else with any kind of difference, but I just don't see how the "closet" term can be applied to someone with Asperger's who hasn't told others.
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Yeh you are right and had I not been manic I would have not told everyone everything, but however I was often referred to as in the closet gay which I am not.  I am not bothered by any remarks now, but what got me was people telling me I was labelling myself, well hell I have been labelled all my life very incorrectly.  I had a chat with my gay friend and we both agreed that what I have gone through is not to different to what he went through when he came out (knowing you were different all your life and not knowing why etc), I was watched him go through that and I am happy to see him as he is now.

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I have nothing against homosexuals or anyone else with any kind of difference, but I just don't see how the "closet" term can be applied to someone with Asperger's who hasn't told others.
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Yeh you are right and had I not been manic I would have not told everyone everything, but however I was often referred to as in the closet gay which I am not.  I am not bothered by any remarks now, but what got me was people telling me I was labelling myself, well hell I have been labelled all my life very incorrectly.  I had a chat with my gay friend and we both agreed that what I have gone through is not to different to what he went through when he came out (knowing you were different all your life and not knowing why etc), I was watched him go through that and I am happy to see him as he is now.

i have autism but i started talking before i had teeth. id like to hear doctors chew on that.
they think nonverbal always means you cnat talk, tehrye wrong, it usually means you dont want to.

I have gone sick from work within a week of being diagnosed.  It seem's I may have epilpsy and I having rapid cyling mood swings, plus I was also stressed with my colleagues, well meaning but I felt like I had become a burden at work.  My sinuses problem flared up, I was getting dizzy everytime I bent over because of my glue ear and my absenses are so regular I was becoming dangerous.  My enviroment is making me worse, well noisy, I was going to work to escape but I was forgetting how to talk when my brain just switched off from sensory overload.  As I work in a residential home I cannot do my job with all this.  I was getting confused counting the monies, I started keyworking and everything I say or do is questioned.  I honestly feel I am being treated differently but also I think my colleagues just do not know what to do with me.  I had become a distraction with my chit chat.  I am not too sure if I want to go back but I am kind of trapped as I know how hard it is to get a job.  

I am more impaired and they need to find out why.  I am having trouble reading fiction and newspapers.  I can only read on the pc with my music on my headphones.  My speech has got worse.  I am not socialising anymore.  I bearly go out and don't especially want to.  I have alienated people from me whilst I have been ill.  I keep in touch with friends outside of where I live and one of my friends comes over occassionally.  When I cycle on my moods down hill, I focus on not doing what I did before, when I am fine I amuse myself fine.  My only care is getting sorted and well enough to go to download festival.  I could not care less about work right now.  I have an advocate to help me sort out my housing and benefits needs, plus access to careplan/health needs and to help sort out my work needs.

Whilst I am off sick, my employers will get my work statement from lifespan, they will get the GP medical report, I will have a meeting with the big manager and my line manger, they will send me to OT.  I intend to get in touch with my union rep for advice.  I will be taking my advocate to any meetings at work.  I have been looking into disability discrimination.  

It looks like I have High Functioning Autism plus pretty much all of the extra's plus co-morbid CAPD/hyperacusis/bi-polar/anxiety disorder/personality disorder/epilipsy (petit mal/complex partial)/chronic sinitus/glue ear/gastro problem's to boot/back problem's plus there maybe a hormonal thing going on.  Fragile x may underlie this.  I seem to be collecting diagnoses.  My GP say's it all connected.  I know there is no way I can be at work with all my physical and mental health problem's.  I am seeing the specialist at ears, nose and throat on tuesday which is a start and well over due (about 23 years overdue).

I have figured complex partial seizures that trigger partial pychosis and insomenia.  I also figured they get worse before a period or illness sometimes with aura.  Generally I am fine if I eat regular, am relaxed and avoid noisy enviroments and strobe lighting.  My GP asked for witnesses, get this about 12 people witnessed this and they thought I was just drunk and because of my 'behaviour' that night they all pretty much hate me nice.  I passed out at one point, had stairing moments like I was in a fish bowl, aware and not aware at times, founded by rapid cycling moods swings, in a big venue dark with disco lights with 300 people at a comedy night, I had loads of nervous tics, hit the floor screaming and shouting at college who told me everyone hated me (it was like someone else was controlling me), I self harmed and woke up angry and shaky all day.  Was fine within 24 hours.  I got concerned when the same thing happend (less severe without the screaming and shouting!) in a pub at work (with an aura and weird messed up senses) that followed me throwing up later.  I have avoided such places since.  I turn into a zombie in tesco's.

Ask your GP about PCOS, (polycystic ovarian syndrome) it can give you migranes with halos, causes havoc with hormones, sends women off the deep end on a regular basis around menstration time.

Feel better,

Paula

I definitely get sensitivity to light and sound, if we're driving somewhere an I get an early morning shard of sunlight in my bad eye I'll be sick for a couple of days with a migraine, if the pitch of a sound is too harsh it makes me feel unwell and stressed also - I always thought this was only to do with PCOS until I found out about Aspergers.

If you goto http://www.soulcysters.net they have checklists and advice on how to get your Doctor to take your symptoms seriously and diagnose them. Doctors want to write it off as hysterical but the sad fact is that PCOS is one of the leading causes of fertility problems, onset of heart disease and diabetes type 2.

A lot of women with PCOS take a diabetes drug called Metformin, even if you don't have diabetes it is recommended for use with women diagnosed with PCOS - I hate taking drugs but last year I was so run down and sick I gave in to a 6 week course of Met and I bounced back like you wouldn't believe.

Go get em and tell em what for!

Paula