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Hi there!

I'm 46 years old guy, self-diagnosed Aspie (RAADS-R: 170) and I'm fighting Multiple Sclerosis for last 9 years.
I'm into IT, dogs, SF (and literature in general), philosophy, ancient history, firearms (only as distant observer since MS) and plants; and I'm fascinated by astronomy (but I don't really know much about it).

I didn’t know about Asperger syndrome until couple years ago, when I stumbled upon it reading everything I can find about MS and Neurology. I was so surprised, like: "that's totally me!"
I was reading some posts here I made decision to join; seems like club for smart, honest, knowledgeable, no-bullshit people.

And that is called "disorder".
I think they have no clue what word "order" actually stands for

I'm looking forward to some funny and productive discussions.

I wish all best to everyone here

P.S. Just as I was about to post this, site went down. This tells me I'm on right path - if there is obstacle after obstacle for me, I know I'm going in right direction. If way is open and clear, usually I'm heading straight over the cliff

welcome, simargi. thanks for the nice intro.

Hi and Welcome, sorry to hear about your struggle with MS. I like dogs and astronomy also. I feel the same way, that if there is an obstacle thrown in my path, it's a sign that I shouldn't give up.

Thanks cathylynn and aspieinaz.

I'm actually managing MS quite well (3xknock). For first 4 years it was pure hell, I was getting worse and worse, my disability progressed a lot, but then I turned page, told doctors to go hell and went with lifestyle and diet change and all natural remedies. I'm far from symptom free, but I didn't have major relapse in long time.

But now - looking back, I can say that MS brought me some sense of liberation. I lost sexual desire and for years now I'm living in very happy celibacy

Also, to avoid stress (major MS relapse triger) I almost completely isolated myself, which wasn’t hard - when person is really sick, almost everybody will try to avoid that person anyway (at least in my experience).

I bought a dog and now for some years I have best friend I ever had and I can easily read his body language, and Bill is very good in understanding what I'm saying to him - all emotional needs I had are completely fulfilled

So I'm free to pursue my interest, and to do what I want to do (which is not actually much, but still )

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aspieinaz I like your avatar very much, is that your doggie? Boy or girl?

Glad to hear you are doing so well with your MS, I'll knock for you too soon as I near wood Yes, the avatar is one of our three dogs, Honey, a female, about five years old. She loves road trips in our RV. She loves to be on the kayak with us too. We have a doggie life vest for her and if she falls in the water, we just have to grab hold of the handle on top and lift her back onto the kayak. All three of our dogs we found as strays. This one was just skin and bones when we found her. She unfortunately had the bad hip problem where the hip joints are badly malformed. We could tell she was in constant pain when she walked, and she refused to do stairs. So we had the surgery done on her where they cut off the top of the femur bones. It sounds like a horribly cruel surgery and I did a lot of research before we took her to have that done. But the surgery was successful. She will now do stairs and even jump up on things. Before the surgery, she would never attempt to jump up. But now she will stand on her hind legs to get a treat. We have her on a glucosamine supplement to try to prevent any joint pain.

The second stray came to us at about eight months of age shortly after Honey's surgery. He was in good shape. So he became her "therapy dog" to get her up and moving after her surgery. They have been fast friends ever since. And the third stray was a chowmix that I rescued when it was being attacked by a large dog. There is no animal control where I live. There are stray dogs all over.

So what's your dog's story?

Kudos to you and your family for saving them and caring for them.
I believe you that was hard to you to make that decision about surgery, but when someone is in need we have to swallow our own anxieties and be brave and do what is right to do regardless of how hard can be for us to make decision and act.
You have my respect for that.

My dog is a Standard Schnauzer (Salt and Pepper) 6 years old boy named Bill. I'm so into schnauzers because of their character, their stubbornness and need for independence and respect and unconditional love of course - that suits me very well, so I can say that not only I have dog I always wanted, I have a dog I actually needed.

I'm only sorry that in my current situation I can't get another dog. Two (or more ) dogs are much better to have, they behave much better and they are never bored with another dog around.

I really hope that I will make (somehow) my dream come true - to move somewhere in rural countryside far for other people where I can have big yard and couple of dogs.

And a donkey. Donkeys are amazing. But I will be happy just with house, yard and couple of dogs

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Honey is a real honey! She looks on that photo like very beautiful dog, and I think that she is very intelligent. To me, she looks very happy too (I like to think about myself as of proficient dog-face reader. OK, OK, I know, I know... )

Welcome to WP! Schnauzers are great--my aunt and uncle have two mini-schnauzers and they are so cute. I'm glad you've got a good impression of this community.

Hey Simargl welcome.