Sort of an intro and also a question

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I'm new, only found out about the existence of AS recently. I'm a 42-year-old woman, and I'd like to know to go about best getting tested for AS.

I've been going to some psychiatrist or another for the past almost 17 years. I've been with the current one for about 11 years give or take. I have a definite diagnosis of OCD and have symptoms of anxiety/depression, I'm dysgraphic both with handwriting and typing (though I compensate for it and actually type for a living), and I have something else the psychiatrist can only best label as "unspecified hyperkinetic (or hyperactive) disorder" (this is mostly with my mind racing around, not my body, LOL). I suspect this "something else" may actually be AS, not hyperactive/hyperkinetic disorder.

What's weird is that I've taken the tricyclic antidepressant Anafranil (clomipramine) for my OCD and it gave me the extra benefit of feeling very "together," which is not an OCD problem per se. In other words, the medication had the added benefit of mysteriously "treating" something else in me besides OCD -- the doctor doesn't know what. But what makes it difficult is that if I take a high enough dose of this drug to really feel great and "together" all the time, I have too bad of side effects, so I can't take that much, unfortunately.

Just to give some history of me in what I feel may be my AS-type symptoms, despite being normal in size and appearance as a child (not overweight), I was hopelessly clumsy and non-athletic with large motor skills, e.g. couldn't climb playground equipment, took years to learn how to swim. I wanted to do those things -- I just couldn't! I did manage to ride a bike, that's all. I was always in trouble for talking too much, saying everything (supposedly) on my mind. Talking, I go into categories, subcategories, off on tangents, all kinds of things, all in my obsession with being "accurate" and "thorough." Was bullied in school for several years. Wasn't even remotely popular in high school despite being, at the time, reasonably attractive. After overcoming one setback in my math education, I ended up flying with it, was an ace math student. I'm definitely naive and don't "get it" when people are mad at me. I've done well in many things in life but I've also had some failures, including having to leave one job because everyone was so mad at me. I realized after reading the AS description that I can also be very pedantic -- just the other day I gave two cashiers at Wal-Mart the low-down on how to use proper pronouns -- but only because one of them asked whether she was saying something right. It's probably things like this that make people mad at me, especially when I've had to work with them or go to school with them, etc., though some people appreciate me. I helped a couple of friends in high school pass algebra, and they were thankful.

I was a talented pianist (did pretty well in fine motor skills) and also played the violin for a while. In my 20s I became very interested in theology and count myself as practically a lay expert. I even changed my religion after what I learned.

I missed going to college due to family problems, but I found my "niche" typing medical records, which I now do at home over the internet. My absolute hands-down favorite is radiology, because it's so technical and uses lots of big words which I have to know how to spell. So give me your brain MRI and I will have it typed up in no time! LOL (Oh, and I won my school spelling bee three times as a kid, twice as first place). I still want to go to college one day, but I have a lot of obstacles to doing that right now. Perhaps one day.

I am married and have three daughters, two from my first marriage (ages almost 21 and 14), and one who just turned 2! I find that as far as family members go, I am very much like my dad. I'm not sure if he has AS, but he certainly has at least a few traits -- and there are enough people out there who hate him, too, just as they do me!

Seriously, once people get to know me, they will see I'm a giving person. I'm actually very affectionate with my family and will do anything for anyone that needs help. They just have to be willing to get past my weird personality first. LOL

So, I am seeing the psychiatrist again in about a month and have thought to bring this all up with him. We have a good rapport going, but I'm not sure what he will say or if he is really the right kind of person for this, because I would have thought he would have mentioned it before -- but you know, there were things I've found out are AS related, like the large motor skills clumsiness, that I never thought to tell him before, so maybe he just didn't put it all together. So I'm soliciting opinions here -- what kind of workup should I expect? Should I expect him to refer me to someone who specializes in autism-type problems?

Thanks in advance.

Cathy

Last edited by Snickerdoodle on 23 Feb 2007, 2:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

Can someone tell me why it says "emu egg" under my name?!?

Your title, as you post it changes.

At 1000 posts you can set your own title.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to you

Welcome to our Palaver

I'm Gunslinger Aaron

Thanks, Flagg.

The member titles all seem to have something to do with birds.

By the way, this was also my way of saying "hi" and "do I sound like an Aspie to you"?
I'd like to know the answer about the testing, but that isn't the only reason I'm posting.

I'm not sure why this post had so many views but the only responses so far have to do with my question about the title below my name. Maybe my point didn't come across so well, so I'm clarifying it here.

Cathy

P.S. I want to add to my intro that I also don't look people in the eye, but I'm not sure if I've been doing that all my life or only in recent years. I don't remember. I've often thought it was a self-esteem issue, but now I wonder if it is AS.

I don't look people in the eye when I talk to them, and I'm starting to think it has something to do with AS as well.

Welcome to WP!

BTW, the only non-bird-related rankings are:

Deononychius, post count between 300-399

Velociraptor, post count between 400-499

Tim

Raptors are primitive relatives of modern birds so actually they are bird related.

Yeah, Flagg's right about that.

I do look people in the eye... but that's because a long time ago (early 20's?) I was told that people like it when other people look them in the eye. So I do... if anything, perhaps a little too much, as I have made people uncomfortable with too much eye contact. (Which, I understand, can also be an AS condition.)

Welcome, Cathy. I'm 44. Nothing against all you young people here (I love you all) but I like seeing people my own age here too.

Psychiatrists and psychologists will run around in circles trying to diagnose someone who, unknown to them, may be an Aspie. And if they can't pinpoint the exact problem, they are likely to give you a greater far-reaching diagnoses that may not actually be an appropriate or desribe what you are suffering from. They could misdiagnose you with a dozen other symptoms and put you on enough medications to supply a small pharmacy.

Misdiagnosing you could lead to you being prescribed far too much medicine than is appropriate. And having to o many medications in your system, in my opinion, is counter productive to someone who simply has Asperger's.

I would definitely recommend being very direct and asking your therapists if they can help determine if you have AS or not. This way, you can approach the situation far more informed than before. And if it turns out that you do have AS (along with some of the potential complications of the disorder like disgraphia, discalculia, OCD or ADD ), then your therapists can come up with a far more effective game plan about trating you than if your symptoms were left too far reaching and ambigous.

So as soon as you can I would ask for a revaluation with AS in mind.

As for the medical thing, look at the date on the diploma. According to when they got their ticket, is how they view the world. AS is barely a teenager.

What you do have is a way to pay for someones Mercedes. There is no self interest in the medical profession?

Anyone who survived motherhood is tough, if men had babies we would all be an only child.

Changing meds, or taking a vacation, have the same effect.

While you do babble on through several subjects at once, just like an aspie, I do not belive in disorders, I think highly functioning people, you passed the motherhood test, that is like the Marines for men, are normally in a world that does have a range, rather than a fixed personality.

The brain is like a child, you can take extreem measures, or you can wait six months till they grow past that phase.

I am sixty, I felt like a teenager till I was in my early fourties. I am not a medical problem, just what the old folks called a, "Late Bloomer."

I was luckey, growing up when less people went to school, and got Psych degrees. When I was at the University we all thought something was wrong, "Psych Major," meant weird. Then they got jobs, and built the industry. A bunch of psycobabbling pill pushers. Phyics is a Science, Psych an ever changing unresolved point of view.

Welcome

I know what you mean. I think maybe we are just "different," not "disordered." "Disordered" relative to what? or whom? I say.

A diagnosis is always "liberating" to me, rather than threatening. It is a relief to finally know what is up, and what the game plan should be, rather than being confused. I don't feel limited by anything.

Thanks for the welcome messages from everyone and the various advice. I will definitely also be direct in discussing this with the psychiatrist on my next visit, which is coming up in around a month or so.

Thanks for the welcome messages and also the advice.

I also don't believe in "disorders" per se -- there are lots of different ways to "be."

Ahhhh....both of my "replies" posted....I was getting "debug" messages and wrote it twice, in different ways.....ah well. Must roll with the flow.