Hi I’m new. My psychiatrist said I may have aspergers

[Qwertz]

Hi.

I am not sure where to start but I will try.

I am a diagnosed schizophrenic and on medication and being seen by the mental health team. My fiancé has aspergers. I met him at the mental health team walking group.

I saw my psychiatrist yesterday. I was telling her about my relationship and how we met there and she said oh so he also has mental health? I said yes he has aspergers.

She then said do I think it’s possible I also have it. To which I replied I am not sure.

I don’t know a whole lot about it. But she said it’s very possible I have it.

I don’t know if she has diagnosed me with it.....and I’m not sure where to go from here. I don’t really see how a diagnosis would change my life. It might help me to understand myself better I suppose.

 

[GadAbout]

I don’t know if she has diagnosed me with it.....and I’m not sure where to go from here. I don’t really see how a diagnosis would change my life. It might help me to understand myself better I suppose.

How a diagnosis would change your life is, among other things, you might be able to skip antipsychotic medication with all its negative side effects. You would also understand yourself better and could be able to modify your environment and develop some coping abilities you do not now have.

Ask your psychiatrist to help you get the assessment. If she is not able to diagnose it, she needs to refer you to someone who is. (It's a specialized area of psychiatry or psychology.)

It is possible to have both schizophrenia and autism, but frankly, there is a substantial history of autism being misdiagnosed as schizophrenia, mainly because diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia have been around a lot longer than criteria for autism have.

 

[shysnail]

Hi and welcome @Qwertz. Perhaps digging into some research about autism, as well as spending time on this forum, you can begin to get a feel for whether autism "fits" for you. And if so, as @GadAbout says, a diagnosis (either official or self-diagnosis) could help in terms of understanding yourself better.

 

[Isadoorian]

Welcome to the Forums! I hope you make new friends and enjoy your stay in the process!

 

[oregano]

@GadAbout, it's certainly possible to have schizophrenia and autism together, since I do, but it may be somewhat rare, and a lot of misdiagnosis going on. Psychotropic meds need to be VERY carefully monitored, especially if one is going off them. I was taken off psychotropics in 2008 (IIRC) and immediately had a psychotic break and eventually developed schizo. I likely was developing schizo before I first went on them right after 9/11 though.

 

[Qwertz]

Thanks all for the replies. I have no idea when I’m next seeing my psychiatrist because I’m in the UK and appointments are sparse unless you are very unstable.

I do however see my nurse once a month and she meets with my psychiatrist regular.

I don’t think I would be able to come off medication because I’ve tried that and I get very delusional and hear voices. So even if I was also diagnosed with aspergers I would still have to stay on my anti psychotic medication.

I will enquire more when I see my nurse on the 18th. In the meantime I think I will check out this forum and learn a bit more about it.

Thanks.

 

[GadAbout]

Since your psychiatrist brought it up, ask her to start the process for getting an autism assessment. From what I hear, it can take up to two years start to finish in the UK (waiting, etc.). You can always drop out of the process later if you want but if you put it off, it will be even longer.

Yes it's possible to have both schizophrenia and autism together.

 

[Nitro]

Hi Qwertz

 

[tree]

 

[Rectify]

Firstly, welcome @Qwertz

It came up more than once, that misdiagnosis or dual diagnosis is possible. I can support this having been, firstly, misdiagnosed, and secondly, having a dual diagnosis. No one is saying that you don't have schizophrenia. You may. But if you can - check it out.

Find out if you do have autism (ASD) and if so then look into any other diagnosis you may have had previously. Some diagnosis (argh - how to make that plural???) come with 'medications' which if the diagnosis is incorrect you do not want to be on.

Flipside - if the diagnosis is correct you may well want to continue with your medications.

Finding out about autism can be quite useful. Understanding yourself, being able to target counselling and other therapies - very useful.

 

[Bolletje]

Welcome!

 

[Kyou Nukui]

I am of the opinion that the social effects of being autistic in this society actually have caused many people to develop mental health problems that otherwise would not have occurred. The knowledge that you are and always were autistic (if that turns out to be the case) could help you to understand the origins of the mental health challenges you face and perhaps make better plans for mitigating them. Just my opinion.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[Qwertz]

Thanks for all your replies. I’ve always been very socially awkward and don’t warm up to people easily. I am really struggling with physical intimacy....I can’t stand change. I generally think people are complete ass holes.

I have very specific obsessive interests/hobbies. Like warhammer for example

I also struggle with sensory stuff like certain types of clothing and loud noises

Does anyone relate to this ?

 

[Isadoorian]

Like warhammer for example

I like Warhammer 40k Haven't played it in forever though (though in reality, about.... 2 1/2 years?); also I don't have the motivation to paint them anymore, though with the new Contrast lineup of paint I just might give it a go again Soon™

I also struggle with sensory stuff like certain types of clothing and loud noises

Many people here will relate to one of these, or even both; I personally don't, except for the loud noises part but that's rather rare for me (I'll tend to zone out a bit and that'll cause me to lose my ability to think about whatever's on my mind/trying to think of when it happens)