Is it possible for AS to get "worse" later on?

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I was diagnosed with AS unofficially at 12 years old and officially at 16. However at that time my AS was a bit more manageable

Now I have to wear earplugs when I go out. I need sunglasses on all day because of the lights (I have the lowest lighting possible at home), I go non-verbal on a daily basis, my social phobia is worse than ever, I need special computer software which I didn't need before, and I am much more hypersensitive, especially to noise/light/smells

I've been getting more anxiety/panic symptoms too

On the good side though, my photographic memory for numbers is stronger than ever before

This has all been happening ever since my psychotic symptoms (I have paranoid schizophrenia as well as AS) started getting better due to finding the right combination of meds

I feel as if now that I don't have so many psychotic symptoms, my brain wants to find something else, so the above replaced it

I'm not complaining as such, I am proud to be Aspie, I just wanted your comments

Last edited by SteelMaiden on 13 Oct 2010, 10:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

Perhaps some of these things are side effects of the medications?

I've been on antipsychotics for the last 6 years so I've built up a tolerance

I know that I have gotten worse as I have aged... perhaps worse is not right... it is more like my ability to tolerate things I used to be able to tolerate are damn near gone more days... I know a lot of my problem though is that I had some kind of breakdown several years ago from too much on top of too much and have yet to fully recover. It seems that since then my threshold for most things is low and that I need more reserve to do much less. I also have worse sensory issues, my memory is shot, my executive functioning ability seriously leaves things to be desired, my physical signs of anxiety are problematic... the list goes on. I have good days, I just seem to have bad ones with more frequency now and as I said, I have a lower threshold... all things in small doses is best for me. I really was not always like this. It weirds me out sometimes.

Well ... it is my understanding that long term use anti-psychotics causes changes in the brain. So it may still be a medications issue.

It is also possible that you are simply more aware of your autistic traits now that your medication is working well.

Dossa, I understand. I think we're in simiar situations, except that my memory has actually improved, but only for things I am very interested in

Wavefreak, you're right there actually. I went on Haloperidol and ever since I've been on that I've had problems. Now I'm on Olanzapine and I only take Haloperidol when I feel the need (i.e. at university when I feel a panic coming on or if the voices/paranoia are giving me problems)

It's my understanding that a person's biochem is very complicated and largely individual. And thus, a medication that might work for one person might not work at all for another. And so, you need a doctor you can halfway talk with in order to tinker with and adjust the medication. Now, a person might ask, why not a doctor I can really talk with? The Answer: because that's too high a standard! (yes, ironically enough) Because doctors typically are trying to go so fast, and presumably for a wide variety of other reasons, doctors just tend to be lousy communicators. So, halfway talk with, that's probably a goal you can realistically achieve.

On the positive side, even if the doctor were a great communicator and spent a long time talking with you, maybe even too long, it still can't be a one-shot deal. Again, because the biochem is complicated, a person just needs to see how it works and adjust and tinker.

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And just in case anyone is reading this real quick: Asperger's is part of who I am and not something I would choose to 'get rid of' even if I could (other than momentarily, in the same way I might wonder that it would be fun to live as, say, a dolphin or a seagull for a couple of weeks). Now, as far as medications for other issues, sure, a person with Asperger's certainly can have schizophrenia, depression, anxiety issues, or anything else at the same time.

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And I’d be pretty careful about being a participant in any clinical research studies. As I wrote about in a recent post, the sad case of Dan Markingson (Dan Weiss before he adopted his new name as an aspiring screenwriter and actor) and referencing an excellent article in Mother Jones---that at least in some cases, the big boy pharmaceutical companies stack the deck so that their preferred medications ‘win.’

Clinical drug trials as ‘clunky’?
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp3108100 ... t=#3108100

Link--> "Help! I Seem to be Getting More Autistic!"

Hope that helps.

Oh, thank you for this link.

According to what is said on this page, do you think that a big change (like moving to a new house, new shcool) could make a "weird child" be suddenly more autistic ?

That's somehow what happened to me, I was a strange child but had some friends, then I moved and was totally rejected (making me less spontaneous and even more shy) though I had not changed my behaviour (which was apparently odd according to the teachers but did not prevent me yet from having some friends).


I also think that the characteristics can seem more obvious as we grow up. I realize more and more in which areas I have difficulties now that I am an adult (and started to see some difficulties when I was a teenager), so it can make us think "I am becoming more and more something".

Just like "I am losing my intelligence" (that's how I felt when I realized that I was still a bad reader at 18).

Yes.

I have definitely been happier since I moved to go to grad school, mainly because I feel more productive most of the time. However, I am also more stressed out, so my AS traits seem more pronounced.

This has been especially apparent for the last few weeks--I have gotten some job/career opportunities that I've been preparing for/working towards, which is great, but I've been stressing out over doing things exactly "right" and worrying that I'm not. Then, everything kind of "stopped" when I caught an illness that laid me up for over a week. Since then, I've been having a LOT of trouble focusing and have been feeling very depressed. I was only able to pull myself out of it a couple of days ago.

So yes, any kind of stressful event, good or bad, can exacerbate autistic traits.

Thanks for your input everyone. I am quite tired but I will look through this information at a later date. My increase in AS symptoms co-incided with starting uni......

wHAT symptoms of scizophrenia are you having?

Before turning 9 (and moving to another town) I was mostly considered ADHD and dyspraxic (no name were given but the characteristics were written down) with a lack of autonomy, a tendency to be immature and some teachers considered me as a ret*d child sometimes.
I have always been considered to have scattered skills, a great intellectual curiosity (but most of the positive comment were made by male teachers), somewhat violent, rude or unstable apparently though I do not remember being violent (a girl remember that I had punched her when we were 9 and I assure you that I cannot remember that event) for no reason. This is why female teachers usually punished me for things I did not do, because it was "usual for me to behave badly" but I do not remember doing what they said I was doing at the time, like screaming very loudly (and when they punished me, it was not me, my mouth was closed and I was even speaking to them while the screaming keep going on, I swear it was unfair).

However, "lack of social skills" only appeared when I was 9.


When I am stressed, I tend to move a lot or speak a lot (I always did that, I could have a big monologue in front of my parents when I was stressed, it's even better than stimming ) I would also sing a song about being in a car to lock myself into an imaginary world and I would rock back and forth and make driving gesture, it's also true that I cannot stand things easily compared to when I am not stressed.
From what I've seen, people with no disorder have a different behaviour too when they are stressed, they tend to be rude and avoid social contact as well.

But from what I've read, there are always early signs of autism (such as : not paying attention to your parents or family, and I was highly social with my brother who did not have any friends at the time by the way, not having friends, not pointing at things with your finger, echolalia.) and you cannot suddenly become autistic, therefore I wonder why such a big change (in behaviour) could occur because of a change of location.

I mean, I sure was not considered normal, but I was not considered autistic but now that I am older, I do relate with the two Aspies I've met (one even asked me if I had a diagnosis because I was almost like her) and I really wonder if dyspraxia can become so "severe" that it gives one these characteristics.

SteelMaiden, I would defintely consider university as a stressful event. My first year was awful (not intellectually), I had terrible insomnia, felt that my intelligence was leaving my brain, that every symptoms I had in the past of some unknown condition were becoming worse and worse (coincidentally, this is when I learned about dyspraxia and asperger), I thought I could have a social life because no one would know me but I totally failed (and it was even worse at first than in the past though no one was bullying me), even my physical conditions worsened (IBS which was embarrassing).

Really, I think it is linked (but I think you had already draw this conclusion), but it may get better as time passes.

How confident are you in this diagnosis?



Do you live by yourself, or with family?



Is life more difficult than it was when you were less anxious?



I think that's probably an age/experience thing.



How does your schizophrenia impact your AS when you aren't on medication?



You certainly don't seem to be complaining, but I'm just wondering if your AS symptoms are more prominent because your life just isn't as easy as it was when you were first diagnosed. We all go through difficult times where we almost become a bundle of symptoms rather than a vaguely functioning person. My guess is that you're just handling things badly at the moment and so it isn't as easy to moderate or control your aspie tendencies.

I think it's gotten worse for me as a result of no longer being in college and stuck at home with parents. If I was still in college or living on my own I dont think my AS would be half as bad as it is now.

I suppose it is possible, but an intelligent Aspie will learn how to adapt to NT modes. I am in my mid seventies and I have learned to pass for human pretty well. A lot of NTs in my milue have no idea I am an Aspie.

ruveyn