How long until you had your diagnosis? (back from psych.)

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@DavidM: I realized, that you might not have meant it as harshly, as I understood it. If such be the case; I'm sorry.

@Milie: I continue to be amazed by the stories of this site. I'm glad to hear, you've finally been diagnosed and that you're doing a whole bunch better these days. (: Should be proud of yourself, for having overcome so many obstacles.

@Shebakoby: How did THAT come about?

:)

Yeah I am much better now. I was in a really nasty spiral of burnout at the time and things got out of hand.

Thanks so much for the very nice words.
I have had a kind of "worst case scenario" , for an undiagnosed woman with an ASD. There's no doubt about that. But there are many, many, many others like me who have had similar experiences and difficulties. I have met many such people in the Autism community online and in person.
But life is really rich these days. I meditate, i eat well, I pace, I stim, I ruminate on the same issues and info over and over again, I lead a COMPLETELY routined and planned life and I appear active, odd and eccentric. I work hard to be a good mother and struggle to do so, I create, I live reclusively except for special interest involvements, and I am also involved in ASD awareness and lecturing and information dissemination in both NSW and QLD in Australia.
I am privileged to be who I am and what I am. But it was exceedingly difficult getting to a point of true self-acceptance and it takes work on my part to maintain a good and positive outlook about life and my place in it.

I have also learned as an ASD person, it is very important for me to do what I love to do and need to do. I am fortunate I live in a place and a country where this is possible for me. That was not always the case.

I believe we can live fulfilling lives IF we are given the room to live as we need to live. I also believe it is vital that ASD people find their own individualised ways of living and being in the world, that may or may not accord with prevailing societal modes of living. And if it does not accord with prevailing notions of societal success, then it is important to develop the supports and the structures that enable one to do so with some degree of dignity and freedom and respect. ANd that can be hard, even depending on country of residence, services available etc etc.

There is real pain at times, with not fitting in. But there is greater pain to be had in a lack of self-acceptance and a lack of acceptance of what simply is. I'm glad I am getting there in the later part of my life.

Last edited by millie on 01 Apr 2010, 4:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I got mine at age seven or eight. I was too young to understand the signifiance of it.

That's a good question.
I first saw my psychiatrist in early 2006. It was only a few weeks ago that he decided to mention to me that he thought I had AS, but he said it as though he'd thought it for a long time. Also, I'm still paying off bills from 2007, and on one of them, the referral expiry date is changed to "indefinite", so it's possible that he began to agree with me way back then.

Saw GP to get a referral to psychiatrist
4 months later saw psychiatrist; within the hour was diagnosed.

That was my second more official dx of Asperger's though. It took 4 months from my psychologist to diagnose me. At first she wanted to focus on anxiety.

My mom knew when I was 11 but didn't want me "labeled". It took until I was approximately twenty or so to get diagnosed, and by then I'd been labeled with about seven different disorders, only two of which I actually had, and been hospitalized twice.

The psychiatrist didn't particularly "understand" me; she just knew Asperger's when she saw it. That's as much as you need from a psychiatrist, as far as diagnosis goes.

Well, for ages we knew SOMETHING was wrong with me. We just didn't know what. Then all of a sudden mom remembered that when I was 3 months old, I fell backwards off a table in a cuddle seat because my long legs reached over the edge of the seat and I basically pushed myself off the table. I apparently hit my head on some brick tiles near a fireplace. Back then the docs said I didn't have a concussion, but mom thought it could be something after hearing about brain injuries and thought maybe that was what was wrong with me.

So, we got my doc to refer me to the Neuropsychiatrist in a city an hour away, and I was tested extensively, for like 5 hours. Then later on, the results came in. I either have brain damage, or Asperger's Syndrome. The doctor couldn't be completely sure WHICH it was, but apparently that didn't matter as she offered NO treatment solutions or any other help of any kind.

In fact this doctor interfered with an attempt by myself to get some sort of help via one of the Universities who had psychology departments and were willing to try to help me...but then this doctor refused the referral to them. Maybe it was the right thing to do for that doctor...but I can't be sure.

No wait for me.

One day my psych said to me he wanted to change my diagnosis from GAD and OCD to aspergers syndrome. And that was it.

You know I was diagnosed bipolar several years ago and only had manic episodes after they medicated me. The meds were worse than being depressed. I believe the racing thoughts were the kicker for my bipolar dx too. Just keep going back and pressing for the right tests and even ask for a second opinion if this guy doesn't pan out. DId you take any lists or notes with you? It might help to do so.

ADHD drugs are "Uppers"! The imbalance that these folks have cause them to be calm on such meds. Racing heart would indicate that you are DEFINITELY not ADHD. I would be scared to take them too.

That's been a lot of my experience, too. My Mom so highly values analysis and "being smart," I would try and respond this way, and she would praise me exurberantly. So, yeah, of course I thought this was the coin of the realm. You make a friendship offer and say something very analytical and very far-seeing whatever . . . It's like your buying friendship with an investment of a lot of

And it's so much simpler than that! Just a little emotional energy staying open to appreciating the other person. And like anything with us complex human beings, sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn't.

You're welcome. I'm glad you liked it!

Now, it sounds like you've decided to stick with him for the time being even though he's not perfect. And that's fine. Maybe he'll be good, though not great. But here's the artful part: You've decided to take the next step. That does not commit you to every subsequent step.

See how the guy is on the next visit and then you'll have a couple of days to think and feel your way about it at your own leisure. And I think you would have the right to choose another clinician if that is your choice. Or maybe he'll be average, middle-of-the-road and the kind of mistake like you've described above will be occasional enough to be acceptable.

And I'm assuming you're seeking a diagnosis for personal knowledge, and perhaps also for students with disability services or similar? (American colleges tend to have this.)

I'm not dx'd. Still contemplating if I want to go through what this site describes as an agonizingly painful process. There are no AS specialists that I can find in my area.