Any body else excited/relieved by their Dx?

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I'm 34 and was just diagnosed on Wed. I have never felt this whole, relieved, liberated or excited before.

I haven't been able to sleep since.

Any one else?

I never felt this way so I will never understand why the excitement. I didn't get excited when I got diagnosed with anorexia. I just thought it was a mistake so why get excited over any diagnoses? Maybe it has to do with I was 12 when I diagnosed and I wanted to be normal so having a label meant I had something wrong with me and I can't be normal.

My search for answers about myself has led to autism, and if I am not diagnosed (assessment is coming up next month!) I am afraid that I will feel lost and confused. A confirmation of what I've discovered will definitely be a relief.

I haven't been diagnosed, but I am excited that there are other people who have the same concerns that I have. It's a big world, so it's nice to know that I'm not alone. Insecurity is a b*tch.

I was diagnosed fairly late in life (37).

On the one hand, I had made it that far, and clearly my coping strategies were, at least to some degree, working for me. I believed that I had a full life, with an active social life.

What triggered the need for investigation was the ongoing failure of my law practice. I was clearly encountering issues that I was either refusing or incapable of dealing with. Eventually, my business failed financially, and I was forced to sell our house.

These are circumstances that put the lie to my belief in my self-sufficiency. As we investigated my "quirks" the picture began to come together, and began to link up with circumstances of my childhood to build the full picture.

On the one hand, I was distressed--I was confronted by a disability that I had not previously been aware of. On the other hand, having a diagnostic label to apply to it meant that I was in a position to address my behaviours from a perspective of greater knowledge.

In hindsight, I greatly wish that I had known my diagnosis 4 or 5 years earlier, so that I would not have made the disastrous decision of leaving employment that I enjoyed to take up self-employment that I thought I wanted.

I felt relief/slight excitement with the diagnosis of Tourette's more than Asperger's. I knew about Asperger's and I asked the doctor about it. The Tourette's diagnosis was a big relief because I was labelling my vocal tics as anxiety before that and was driving me to attempt suicide.

Yep. I think this is common for people who are diagnosed later. I was just diagnosed this year(i'm 21), and things just make more sense now. I'd always had so many issues that couldn't be explained by "depression and anxiety" and always felt that there was a huge disconnect between myself and everyone else. AS explains what that has always been, so i don't feel as lost now that i at least have an explanation for it all. Now be prepared to get all obsessive over ASDs

I have not yet been formally diagnosed and I do share your concern with 'what if I am not diagnosed AS' although I seem to meet all of the published current clinical criteria.

I think my main concern is what ELSE are they going to find when they 'look in there'

I have been reading (voraciously) about AS and am aware of the wonderful cocktail of other 'conditions' that often accompany AS, as a consequence OF it.

I have had to come face to face with the fact that I seem to have been living with anxiety for my whole life. I always considered this aspect of me to be the fact that I was hyperactive!

I can't say that I was. Apathetic for the most part, with some whimsical, this is how it's always going to be huh?

I am not diagnosed, but seriously happy to come here and find that i am similar to you all. I know deep down that i have AS, even w/o a dx as it explains how i am.

I was very relieved when I got diagnosed. I had always wondered "What's wrong with me?" but now I've got the diagnosis I've stopped thinking of it as something 'wrong' at all. I just wish it hadn't been such a struggle to get it.

yes! Exactly.

That's how I got my Dx - we were aware of AS b/c our3-yo might very well be. I kept reading about it, took the wired quiz along with an 100-question one.

Our councilor broke out the DSM-IV book to prove me wrong, and instead validated it.

First time in my life I successfully won an argument, too.

I was very excited and happy when I was diagnosed with AS this past November (2008). Why? Because I finally knew why I had always been eccentric in life. And I was not alone. You see, one year ago, I had just heard of AS. To me, I have always been different, and AS to me is this difference. AS explained the way I have gotten musical talent, and it explained my passion for things like roller coasters. Even though my social life is basically "0," I have had tremendous fun with these interests and talents.

I had a need to belong to some group. I think that is basically human nature. I didn't want to be alone in the world---and I had come to the conclusion that I was alone. And how "cool" it was to be an Aspie. We are a group of individuals that are mysterious to the world---no two of us are alike. We are a group of individuals passionate about out interests---we can become experts. And we are a group of individuals that can have fun if we focus more on our positives and not so much on the negatives. Well, that is my opinion, and I respect yours too if you don't agree. But respect my opinion too. Since autism doesn't present itself the same way in each one of us, we each have our own take on it. And this is mine, and I have found many of you that share my philosophies on positiveness in autism (and autism being a difference, not a disorder).

I am on a journey now. I am finding peace in my life. For nearly one year I have researched and researched and am discovering who I am. I am not done yet. I am still learning everyday---and through the eccentricities of my autistic son (we are learning together about life, and we share a special bond with each other). I do not know what tomorrow brings. I have challenges like everyone else. My autistic son has challenges. My other son has his challenges. And my NT wife has her challenges. We all must learn---and learn to try to find peace within ourselves so that we may lead productive lives.

I suspected it (some form of autism) in my early 20s during a serious and lengthy bout with depression which ended in a nervous breakdown (just as things were starting to go well again, in fact really well...) Anyways diagnosed back then with bipolar, case closed. And a few years later sleep apnea. However, I never felt I really fit that profile, suspected other conditions such as ADHD. Had a hard time holding onto jobs and tended to offend coworkers, or had poor time management, etc., although I never got any explanations from bosses, the "you're a professional, you should know better" kind of treatment. However these other causes were dismissed out of hand by various psychiatrists, told I only had BP and take meds.

The latest med lamictal has resulted in a very long period of stability, you could almost say cured. However, what remains seems to be some type of HFA or Aspergers, based on everything I've read, and through self-observation and introspection. For example little desire for social contact, a tendency to either one word answers, or belligerence, and near hypnosis by bright lights and electronic music, etc.

I'm looking towards getting an official diagnosis as I have an opportunity to reenter the professional workforce after a 5 year absence, and only want to go back if special provisions can be made for my conditions.

i hope i can get a dx. i would feel relieved. i mean, knowing i have it wouldnt change anything, i'd still be me, i'd just know more about myself, and how i can overcome some obstacles. plus people would be able to understand me better.