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cracked68
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

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Joined: 2 May 2012
Gender: Female
Posts: 1
Location: MA

03 May 2012, 3:35 pm

I have questions regarding being diagnosed with some sort of ASD as late in life as 43 years old. First let me explain a bit. My father, I would say, definitely has an undiagnosed ASD. Two of my 3 children have diagnosed forms of ASD (Asperger's and PDDNOS), and I know I definitely have all the classic Asperger's symptoms, but have never been to the therapist or Psych for myself specifically. I had always been able to figure out ways to cope with my personal idiosyncrasies, but I am making an appointment this week due to worsening problems, especially with sensory overload.
About 2 years ago I started having sleeping seizures which prevented me from getting any restorative sleep. By the time I was properly diagnosed my body had completely fallen apart and most everything was shutting down (just plain walking and talking was extremely difficult). Put on seizure meds my life began to get back to normal. About a year after diagnosis, but still figuring out the correct med and dosage, I was still having strange symptoms that were later diagnosed as chronic migraines. I started off with mostly silent migraine symptoms, but ended up with constant headaches as well. After 5 months of constant pain and having been a guinea pig for various drug therapies that never helped, my system finally collapsed (brain shutdown). I was given a 6day Prednisolone treatment for the migraine, which finally came down to a manageable level, and have been off work for 2 weeks trying to get a handle on things. I was totally unaware of any stress or anxiety before, but am acutely aware of it now. What I thought of as light sensitivity and sound sensitivity due to the migraines, has become clearly sensory overload. I am not affected by bright lights, but feel like my head is about to explode if around excess visual stimuli. In a car I have to 3/4 shut my eyes to limit the amount of data input, especially at faster speeds, otherwise I can literally feel my brain not coping with all the data (driving has become impossible at this point). Loud noise is not a problem, but even low volume excessive background clutter noise/sound will cause severe problems. For a person who is used to their brain working in high gear, it is very upsetting when things are not functioning. I have no desire to become agoraphobic and I am afraid if I don't get a handle on all this, the excess stimuli of just being outside will become a problem. As I said I am getting a Psych appointment, and still see neuro. Also being sent to phys therapy for back and neck (stress I guess), and the epilepsy clinic. Right now I think I am my worst enemy. Any input appreciated.