Aspies For Freedom

I don't mean to annoy by starting yet another thread, but I haven't found the subject addressed properly elsewhere, and was wanting to learn of other's experiences.

I'll explain something that I wouldn't ordinarily explain on the net if it were not for so many helpful people at this site.

When I was 24 I was diagnosed with first having "schizoid" personality disorder, meaning one who is detached from one's environment. I was very depressed at the time due to problems entering my chosen profession and due to comments made by my supervisor/ peers.

Anti-depressants seemed to make my condition worse with frequent depressing ruminations about my condition in what I would describe as in the OCD mould with some elements of panic/ heightened brain activity.

I stayed briefly at the hospital on two occasions and was finally diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder. At the time I felt more lucid than some of the staff, though I had spirals of depressive thinking.

I remained diagnosed with this label until one year later when I sought help again having received none from antidepressants. I was given a rather large dose of depakote overnight and awoke mid-morning with a feeling of renewed energy and a tingling sensation in my brain.

I asked the nurse at the station how I had been diagnosed and she said: Bipolar Disorder. Later that same stay, a doctor sat me down and explained that I couldn't have schizo-anything since I behave quite normal and didn't hear any voices.

Now, I'm a fairly precocious fellow and so I read up on these things from time to time. According to the medical information I've read including Patty Duke's book, bipolar disorder usually goes along with spending sprees, brief psychotic mania, and heightened sexual need, as well as increased talking and seeking people to talk "AT".

I don't even have a girlfriend. In fact I've had few friends of either sex my entire life, and so meet very few potential girlfriends.

So, the next thing that happens is that an 80 year old doctor comes up with information from the internet on "Asperger's Syndrome" and diagnoses me as such.

Now what would you think? Both about bipolar disorder and mysterious autism diagnoses at age 27?

Have any other people had this experience? If you have any questions I will answer them in full. If the answers are embarassing I will PM the answers.

I greatly appreciate any help in understanding this.

I can't tell if I have bipolar tendencies since Zoloft fused them into me when I took it. I literally had to buy a CD every week. I spent all my money. Since being off of it, I've bought maybe two things. I do occasionally have a lot of mood swings but that could be me in general. Before it was really bad. With Zoloft I'd wake up and feel like my brain was racing, than I'd feel sad, than angry, than happy, than back to the mind racing. Now that is all gone. So can Zoloft do that to a person? It did more harm than good.

Shame on them for diagnosing Schizoid when you were clearly depressed

This is what I tend to believe as well. When I see someone who is depressed, such as at one of the support groups I was encouraged to attend, I immediately think: why is this person depressed?

As for Depakote, it is an anti-epileptic medication approved by the FDA for mania. It did work much better than an antidepressant in my case, however.

I've heard that lithium, which is strictly an anti-manic, helps some people with depression and other issues.

Does anybody know just how common Bipolar disorder really is?

I believe the frequency is 1 in 50. Keep in mind that there are 2 types of bipolar disorder: type I is the standard manic-depressive disorder,type II is called "hypomania"-cyclic depressive episodes without the manic episodes. Type I is equally common in both sexes but AFAIC type II is more common in women than in men.

So that would mean it is approximately 3 times more common than ASD.

i have bipolar II, and i get hypomanic.
thing is when i feel really bad i get manic.
not full on mania, it _can_ develop to that though.
i usually stop when i notice ive "gone too far"
i have this panic button that gets pressed.

lalalaa naananaaa

Bi-polar run's in my mum's side of the family, affects the women more.  Before my diagnosis of HFA my pych thought I had a mood disorder an not an ASD (like it was a case of either or!) that was whilst I was treated at home for mania by home team (triggered by anti-depressants) my pych word's were I think you have a mood disorder made worse by anti-depressants.  Changed pych's and the new one think I GAD that I don't have bi-polar.  My GP write's on my medical report for work that I have HFA and stressed triggered hypomania.  My other doc write anxiety disorder on me sick notes.  I don't know what I am and I just get on with it.  I am seeing a neurologist to investigate absent seizures though.

I think in the past many people with Asperger's were misdiagnosed with bipolar.  

I think for the mania part -- shopping can be part of an obsession thing with a special interest.  I collect items about my special interest  -- so if I going out and buying a bottle of new shampoo to try every week -- is that a spending spree?  Is it only a spending spree if I buy what I don't really need or can afford?  Or would I have to buy 50 bottles of shampoo for it to be a spree?  

People might also say that I am moody.  I have emotions that change from day to day or hour to hour but usually they are for some reason about what is happening to me or what I am thinking about.   Is there a difference between a mood and an emotion?

I don't really understand the questions.

Will the Moderators(or Administrator) Please delete this Bitch's posts!

Who says it's a she?

Ziyaret, who's posts are you referring to? I didn't see anything offensive.

Zoloft is evil. Medications that are supposed to help most of the time do the opposite.

Ah, ok. I saw that in another thread.

I made a pact to myself that unless I'm dying and need drugs I won't take them. If I'm in the hospital and I need painkillers, fine. But no more "oh you talk fast so you must need drugs." That'll just screw it up even more. Zoloft made me bipolar while I was on it. I'm off it now and its gone. Strange how drugs work. I also did take the advice of someone here and gave a report of it to my doctor (which I carefully wrote) so he could add to my file that I shouldn't take it.

I believe the idea with that sort of therapy is to treat resulting things such as depression, OCD or social phobia, rather than AS or autism itself.