New & confused

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I just joined Wrong Planet. I'm a little long in the tooth (60) but better late than never. I saw a psychiatrist (!) today to talk about Asperger's for the first time. He just pooh-poohed the whole idea & upped my dosage of antidepressant. This was the first time we ever met but he was already convinced. When he described Asperger's, he seemed only to know one kind of expression of it. Is this a common experience? When I began to read about Asperger's lately, it described me, my childhood, my issues, my coping mechanisms, the whole nine yards. It described so much of my life, it was a shock. And yet it also gave me hope - maybe there really IS a reason why things happened the way they did! There's a name for it and a whole community of people. So I started to feel like if I'm an alien, at least I'm not the only one. Anyway, I'm glad I'm here whether my doctor gives me the official Asperger's stamp of approval or not. - Wendy (short for Bronwen)

Welcome to WP. I've never tried getting a diagnosis, so I can't comment on your psychiatrist's attitude.

Welcome to WP!

Nice to meet you, Bronwen.

Hello. Welcome.

I'm 30 and just went to see about a diagnosis too. It turns out the person I was referred to seemed more like a drug rehab doc.
It was apparent he crammed for the appointment - he only knew the basic picture, some even seems to conflict with things I learned here.

There are a few online tests...
tests.neurelitism
...others can probably give you better leads as I am new here too. Maybe talk to a different doc?
Good luck.

a lot of them are sort of forced by the insurance companies to get you on meds, and off the assembly line... I'm 10 years your junior, but I sorta know how you feel....
welcome to our world...

Hi!

Welcome to Wrongplanet!

I hope you enjoy posting here!

Bronwen is a beautiful name.
I am 55. You might enjoy the cafe here.

Welcome to WrongPlanet.

I wouldn't presume to diagnose or recommend any type of treatment for you, but for me, just the knowledge of Asperger's helped me alot. I stopped blaming myself for not fitting in, and concentrated on my strengths. My feeling is that the medical community tends to be ignorant about the details of autism, even my Mom, who is a professional councellor. They also tend to overuse medications.

I think my Grandfather also had the same condition, but he never knew. It does explain alot about his behavior.

Thank you all so much for your welcomes. When I look at the posts on a variety of subjects, my main thought is "I'm home!" (which is important because I never felt at home anywhere in my life). The medical folks I saw had their reference books sitting on their laps when they talked to me. What they are saying now is "oh don't think about Asperger's. Just concentrate on your depression." But the thing is, being able to understand why things have happened the way they did and people have behaved the way they have toward me has given me a glimmer of hope that could help my depression (I think). Maybe they have a vested interest in maintaining their diagnosis and, as someone pointed out, medications. In spite of their advice, I can't drop it - I must understand - I must know. Thanks all, Bronwen