Quote:
Originally Posted by bluebicycle
Autism is one of those tricky things to diagnose when you're older. If it's not diagnosed when you're a kid, then it pretty much goes unnoticed because you've learned to compensate for your deficits. (You may not be able to fully compensate, but you can compensate enough to function on a daily basis.) So, it's entirely possible that you have it.
It can't hurt to bring up your concerns with your pdoc, but you should ask yourself 2 things:
(1) Do my symptoms affect my quality of life?
(2) What do I hope to achieve with the diagnosis?
I don't know what can be done for autism, to be honest. A lot of medications used for autism are off-label. For example, autistic kids tend to have mood swings, so sometimes they're prescribed an antipsychotic.
If you have a specific set of symptoms that are affecting your quality of life *and* you think medication can help, then definitely bring it up with your pdoc. Otherwise, it may be best to just work with your therapist (if you have one) to help you cope with your symptoms.
Maybe that's not the answer you're hoping for, but I know that it sometimes helps to know exactly what is wrong with you... So if you think the autism label/diagnosis is important to you, then definitely bring it up. Some people don't care; other people do. It's your choice.  |
It definitely affects my quality of life. I've screwed up so many friendships over the years because of things like this, and it's gotten worse as I've gotten older. I have a very low tolerance for people and often end up saying things that hurt people even though I don't intend to. I also get really really frustrated...sometimes to the point of anger when I feel like I'm not being understood and I will harp on things for extended periods of time until I feel like I'm being understood. It causes a lot of problems in my relationships. My social skills have always sucked (except when I'm manic....then I'm friends with everyone...but it's also a time when I'm incredibly blunt and can end up hurting people.)
I actually like having labels for things. I hate the unknown. It drives me crazy. I need for everything to fit in neat little box with a label on it or I feel incredibly uncomfortable. So it might be worth bringing up with my Pdoc.
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Bipolar I
Borderline Personality Disorder
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"You," he said, "are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world, and that, I believe, is why you are in so much pain.”
― Emilie Autumn, The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls
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