What I should bring up when trying to get diagnosed again

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I've posted in here as Norah and dontwanttoknow about how I've been to a lot of doctors and have been unable to get diagnosed with AS. But I sitll think I have it and as more is known about it, even regular psychiatrists will be able to spot an Aspie.

I need to find a new psychiatrist to get some Paxil or something similar, because I had been with an HMO previously. Anyway, I want to tell them about myself and why I need the Paxil.

I'm thinking I don't want to bring in anything from the previous doctors where they say I don't have AS, unless they specifially ask for any data from other doctors. I feel like the problems I'm having at work (not being able to know what to do when filling in for a co-worker, not knowing how to answer people about certain situations when I'm working as receptionist, not being able to make friends at work/not being invited to lunch or whatever; needing to ask way more questions than anyone else whenI'm learning anything) that I'm sure that the doctor will say I probably have AS.

Also there is the time that my former boss at this company (she quit a few weeks ago) said that I take things literally. I never even realized I had this problem before, but at work I do like to make sure everything is spelled otu because I'm so afraid of making a mistake. Here was the situation where she said it (and I'm not positive she wasn't saying it to be funny, but I got so upset when she said it that she dropped the subject). She was talking about something that a client had sent us, and she wanted me to do a letter to them, and she used the word "crap", as in "Tell them to stop giving us so much crap". But then she said "But don't say crap in the letter!" and I said "oh of course not!" and she said "Well, you do take things literally sometimes". I'm assuming she meant I follow directions to the letter even if thney're not meant that way, and that's an Aspie trait.

I've worried about that ever since, to the point where I didn't want to say anything to her for fear she'd say I was taking things literally. She's quit but has come back as a consultant for a few weeks, and I may have to ask her questions about things to do on a co-worker's desk who is out sick. I'm just terrified of anything going wrong and being blamed, as that could happen here. I'm also terrified of someone else being blamed because someone misunderstood or thought I was doing something, and I'm also afraid of someone else being blamed by a supervisor and then thinking that I ratted on them or tried to somehow get them in trouble, when all I was trying to do was help. I was so afraid that I made several different files for different things so that everyone knows exactly what's going on. I'm sure this is an Aspie trait as well, but probably also an OCD trait.

Anyway, should I tell some of my fears to the doctor--wouldn't they seem like AS to anyone that knows about it? But if I show them anything I got from the other doctors, they're just going to say I have OCD and generalized anxiety, as well as social anxiety disorder and Avoidant Personality Disorder, because that's what all the other docs sya.

If they've said you don't have it.. you probably don't. You're just someone with a lack of social skills. That's nothing rare, and you don't need Aspergers to not know how to interract with people. Not all the symptoms from Aspergers are purely social, either. Do you have any of these?
- Began talking early (or very late)
- Sensory overload
- Urge to inspect objects or food for blemishes
- Nervous tics
- Trouble sleeping
- Prone to Rage
- Lack of empathy towards people
- Obsession over one or several subjects at a time, to the point you ignore everything else
- Preferance to soft clothing and plain colors

If you tell yourself you have these things, you will. If you've exhibited these behaviors from childhood however, then they're more valid. Now kindness aside, I'll speak my mind: I don't think you have aspergers. I think you're using it to cover up for your failure with other people and probable lack of life.

Although in fairness, Ramuss, a lot of those seem like symptoms you might experiencing personally. (Urge to inspect food, nervous tics, trouble sleeping, clothing preference)...these are not DSM requirements.

I think you're right not to mention anything a previous doctor said. It puts them in a position of contradicting another doctor, and mostly they won't.

Never said he needed all of them. Those are just a lot of the symptoms that don't focus on anything social. If you go to the wiki for Aspergers, or some other site, it lists those. I don't believe people should go off their lack of social skills to diagnose themselves with aspergers, but rather a lot of the other mental/physical traits that are a part of it. This is because the same lack of social skills can be achieved through experiences, rather than something neurological.

Hi Norah,

You should talk with a psychologist who specializes in AS/autism, so that you'll be sure s/he'll be able to evaluate you properly. A thorough evaluation should include the following elements:
- a session with the psychologist, whereby you talk and answer questions about your current and past experiences, from early childhood onwards
- two lists of questions about you, one for you to answer and one for someone who is close to you; you bring these back on your next session, filled in
- a thorough test, a bit like an IQ test, which includes elements that Aspies tend to be particularly good at as well as elements that Aspies tend to be particularly bad at

If, after doing this, it turns out again that you're not an Aspie, then you can be fairly certain that indeed you're not an Aspie.

Ok, Ramsus' rascally rude (but funny) rant aside, I don't think you have AS, either. Nothing you described sounds really neurological in nature. It sounds more like OCD-type anxiety, worrying a lot about making mistakes, what others think of you, etc. I agree that an antidepressant would help you a lot! Bottom line: unless you can provide a lot of objective documentation (from parents, relatives, etc. who knew you from before age 5) that indicates neurological/autistic-like impairments, special interests/fixations, etc. then you probably won't get a diagnosis of AS. And even if you did, it wouldn't automatically solve your problems. We're most of us on some type of prescription, etc. to manage our various symptoms, a lot of us go to counseling, etc. So we're all in the same boat, working on ourselves and our particular problems. If I were you, I'd concentrate on getting on an antidepressant and maybe getting some counseling to help with your anxiety and self-esteem issues. Concentrate on learning to like yourself and enjoy life, and everything else will work out. Good luck!

I'm confused...you say you're "unable to get diagnosed." If you thought you had scarlet fever, and 7 doctors told you that you had a cold would you complain that you were "unable to get diagnosed" or would you accept their DX?

Presumably doctors are doctors because they have, you know, been to medical school and know a bit more about medicine than you do.

If you somehow know more than they do and have already decided on a self-DX, why do you need them to validate said DX? You, after all, are the expert.

Besides, what is this obsession with being DXed? Are you trying to get some kind of special accomodation or government disability? To affirm yourself as a member of the "club?" If you are looking for meaningful identity, join a political party, not a disability

Norah,

I'm confused also. You said you did't want to be here, or be ABLE to be here EVER again! You made a BIG stink about it. THEN you have users like dontwanttoknow. Why are you trying to get a diagnosis like this. AS is probably considered one of the most innocuous "disorders" around. You are probably likely to see little benefit from a diagnosis. Some DO get ADA accomodations, and similar help, but such things should be easily facilitated by a doctor if needed.

As for the comfort level, acceptance, or curiousity, it seems you aren't looking for that.

Steve

Granted, the first time I looked for a Psychiatrist, I looked for one who specialized in pervasive developmental disorders. That being said, the very first visit to his office, he talked about Asperger's (and I had not mentioned the A-word once).

I wanted to add also that a lot of those other things are probably neurological too in some way. I totally disagree with the "using AS as an excuse" sentiment, because even if you don't have AS, that doesn't mean you don't have something else that also makes it much harder for you to do certain things.

The anxiety things like OCD, social phobia, etc. are quite common with AS, so even if you don't have AS, you're still dealing with issues a lot of people with AS deal with. Check the wiki entry for Avoident Personality Disorder. I just read about that today, and for me, I match most of the "Characteristics of the Avoidant Personality Style", but not enough of the "Avoidant Personality Disorder" characteristics. I though I matched a lot of AS characteristics, but not a lot of others, until I started getting what they meant defined for me, and then realized I do have them. (Though I'm still not comfortable saying 100% I have it.)

I guess I'd just study both of them, and see which fits you better. Or maybe something else does. It's not like there's anything wrong with you if it turns out you have APD rather than AS. So just try to look at it objectively, and know you're an okay person either way!

Why on earth have you had two different user names here Norah?

Because I thought I was getting too obsessed with this and changed my password to something I couldn't remember.

Well, yeah, I do lack a life and have never had friends, really. I'm not prone to rage, exactly, but get frustrated easily and feel like things are too hard, or that someone else would get treated differently. When I was younger I'd be upset with other people, but now I realize it's because I'm not assertive enough. I don't really know about the other things---I've had periods where I had trouble sleeping. When I was a kid I didn't sleep as much as some other kids did, I don't think, because my parents would send me to bed and I wouldn't fall asleep for at least an hour. I don't know if I began talking early, but I do have a couple memories from before I was a year old, and that's certainly different and probably an AS trait. I remember someone on another forum thinking it meant AS.

Yes, this may be why I've never got diagnosed after the first time. I think I was so scared of being diagnosed the first time, that I presented myself as less Aspie than I probably seem to others. Plus I don't know if that doctor had a lot of experience with female Aspies. But he has been working with autistic people for years, and probably the other doctors were influenced at least a little by what he said.

I don't want to lie about what the others have said, and will bring it up if asked. But I'd really like to see if someone would at least suspect AS now that more is known about it.

One of the problems is that there's no one that knows me very well, due to my social impairments. There's no one alive anymore that knew me very well as a child--I might possibly get this one woman to answer some questios though, as we went to school together and were friends off and on. She did say that I reacted badly to change in the fifth grade, something I never remembered (or thought was due to anxiety, like being moved to a desk by someone that would tease me, or being afraid I missed an assignment if a class was rescheduled or something.)