Officially diagnosed yesterday, help?(EDIT DSM-V) & cid-

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Well,

I suppose the title says it all.
It was a difficult journey, from theraphist to a psychiatrist, all specialized in autism.
The last session (after a lot of sessions and even an audiometric test) was over 90m, but she was very sure of my diagnosis, as was I, to be honest.

EDIT: The doctor just came back from a congress discussing the dsm-v and cid-11 ... and she even said I'd not lose my diagnosis comprared to future changes (although it's cid-10 here, and a formal update will be required).

It's the weirdest thing... I mean, so what now?
Got some prescriptions for those days when sleeping is difficult and some other constant medication dealing with serotonin or something...

Not sure I'll take the meds. It was a self discovery journey... now that I got the papers on my hand... do I tell my family? Do I keep it to myself?

Sorry for the nonsense, I'm just brainstorming and feeling out of this world right now, is it common? How did you feel when diagnosed?

I'll go out and have a drink tonight, probably. Obviously, alone and in a quiet place

Last edited by mike_br on 24 May 2012, 1:28 am, edited 2 times in total.

Hi

i'm not diagnosed as of yet so i cannot answer all of your questions. Just by reading your message i sense that you like so many suffer with anxiety and are probably on a high or having that rush feeling.

Just remember that personal choices have lead you to want a diagnosis and take some time out to think about what the diagnosis means to you. The time to tell family or whoever is when you are ready.

Well done for going through the process, i'm on my way but still am unsure to persist with full diagnosis. A quiet drink somewhere sounds the perfect idea just give yourself some time to digest the last few days and take each step as and when it feels comfortable.

Good luck with everything

I'm so confused... LOL

What did you expect from the diagnosis.

I agree that 'knowing" is somewhat comforting. When I first found out about Aperger, I was like, Aha!! that what I've got.

Then I continued to research and talk to people on here and took a test that said I was NT.

I still have many similarities to Aspies but none of the stims or other uncontrollable traits.

So I'm still searching for some answers but at this point don't feel that an "official" diagnosis matters much.

I've studied behavioral psychology and learned to deal with my depression and thoughts of suicide, I've come to terms with being alone, I'm ok with dummying down when I'm around other people and not requiring they understand like I do.

And so I've accepted that I am "near Aspie" even if I'm not officially Aspie.

I have noticed that much of the sentiment on this web site is gloomy and I've tried contributing on some of those subjects that I feel I've been able to get ahold of like the depression but it is difficult to see so much gloom amongst Aspies because I don't want to get pulled down and hope I can inspire others to find the good in being "different" and help them to see their potential.

I hope I'm not harming by not understanding everything.

SO I keep asking people who have been diagnosed, what difference do you expect from being diagnosed?

I think it's normal to go through a period of stunnedness after diagnosis, even if the diagnosis is expected. Give yourself time to let it sink in. You don't have to do anything now if you don't want to.

How do you feel about it?

I wonder if I will feel exactly the same, as soon as I get an evaluation by an expert. That is my one condition, who ever does my evaluation must have in-depth knowledge of this Spectrum..
I am thinking, yes, probably feel like you do right now.
But on the other hand, I am also covertly looking over all my old records as I believe I was dxd with Childhood Schizophrenia, smething my family would definitely hid or deny..
btw, CS is basically the same as Autism in case you were wondering. A blast from the "Not Good Old Days".

Sincerely,
Matthew

Though I prefer not to be medicated, I found it useful, not to obsess, but to be aware of common side effects. This helped me not to panic.

When I could keep reasonable track of these and other symptoms, it helped me immensely to remind myself, just a few times, that this is nothing unusual for me.

I'm going in for my evaluation soon, and I have thought these same thoughts. I, too, wonder whether I should tell my family if I do get a diagnosis. Should I tell my work? Should I tell my friends? I'm not sure what I would do. I'm getting an evaluation just to know, like it sounds you did. And yeah, I'm not sure what I will do with the info after that. I wish you luck. I can definitely understand how the certainty of a diagnosis can cause a bit of chaos initially. Even though a diagnosis would not be a surprise for me, it would still be a shock if that makes sense. Even if it is expected, it is still changes the way you view yourself. At least it would for me.

Juliana,
You're right, I did it because I want to know. I require no aid from the government, as I have a career and all that. I paid from my own pocket, I didn't even go through health insurance.

I have no plans of informing anyone at my workplace. My doubts are towards my family onlly, since they get frequently upset when I don't participate in big (more than 3 people) social gatherings, for example.

Something has changed, for sure. The way I understand myself, all that is going to get a revision

We'll se when the dust settles.

Bob,
Let me try to answer some of your questions:

First, you're doing me no harm, don't worry.

Second, the reason I believe (big "I" here, I'm not saying it should be like that for everyone) an official diagnosis is important is the result of me NOT having a med school background. Although I can certainly read all about Asperger's, I can't fool myself into thinking that would be a substitute for a good, well informed specialist. I believe (again, I) a doctor will evaluate me in so many aspects that I would not be aware of. Perhaps I'm showing symptoms of another problem, perhaps he'll see I'm just shy, or whatever (that was not the case, sadly).

Another reason I value a formal diagnosis is that, IF I decide to show my parents or anyone, a medical evaluation holds more weight than some internet tests.

As for behaviorism, I've read Skinner a lot, due to intelectual curiosity (I read verbal behavior, Walden 2, while studying Law, as a personal project, alongside Cesare Lombroso, for example). I don't feel like that that qualifies me to diagnose Asperger... I do believe, however, that if it helped you, that's just awesome.

And thanks for the optmism and "gloom fighting" crusade =D It's nice to see a positive attitude!

Last edited by mike_br on 24 May 2012, 12:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

I suppose time will do me good indeed. Thanks for the support.
As for your question... I have no clear answer, sadly. maybe... overwhelmed?

ps. I really need a multiquote function

So I went out, thought about it...
... I might just tell my family after all.

Not now, no rush. I'll wait for the dust to setle, for my life to go back to "normal". Maybe a month or two.
Right now I'm a bit obsessed with the freaky piece of paper. To be expected, but I'd rather go through this moment before communicating.

Thanks all for the support.