what was your pre-ASD diagnosis?

[Flinty]

Mid-90s - anxiety disorder/social phobia

Late-90s - schizophrenia

2012 - ASD, unofficially

 

[inabox]

I've had many incorrect diagnoses. I did have depression for a while and I think it was caused by not understanding the world and the world not understanding me because even the possibility of me having Aspergers was totally ignored.
So it's been:
Depression
Major depressive disorder with obsessive symptoms
Borderline personality disorder
Social anxiety.. [something]

I was also treated as if I was bulimic because nobody belived me I didn't make myself sick
The latest diagnosis was Aspergers.

 

[Harrison]

I was labelled as a sociopath, possible psychopath, for thirty years. That was fun.

 

[ancusmitis]

ADHD, which is accurate but incomplete

 

[dlb]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find this thread here. It seems like most things I've gone through are pretty typical to AS/ASD folks.

For me it was:
Bipolar
Bipolar with psychotic features
Schizophrenia
Depression (of many varieties)
Anxiety
OCD
ADD
Borderline personality disorder (informally)
... and others.

When I was a teenager, over the course of less than two years, I was on more than 20 types of medication (including quite a few anti-psychotics, which can seriously mess you up, especially if you don't need them). Eventually, they called it Facetious Disorder. As in, I was making it all up. As in, they gave up.

Finally, many years later, ASD at the beginning of 2015.

 

[unsurewhattoname]

First diagnosis:

Second diagnosis:

 

[246819733791]

I managed to stay out of the mental health system until I was 16, when the anxiety that I had been living with all my life spilt over into an uncontrollable pool of depression and anxiety. Soon thereafter I was referred to an autism specialist, who officially diagnosed me as having ASD, anxiety, and depression.

 

[Crossbreed]

Every Aspie in my family and one severe autie has had an initial diagnosis of ADHD (that was later ruled out).

As I sought out counselors (for myself), most refused to acknowledge that adults could have Aspergers. Those wanted to impose a diagnosis of Schizotypal Personality Disorder on me. (My 2E consultant said that this was a common misdiagnosis.)

 

[Merahj]

First diagnosis was Bipolar Disorder and OCD. This was from my meltdowns. My parents considered them mood swings. I would be fine one minute and not fine the next. They didn't take it under consideration that mood swings build up and are not instant.

Second diagnosis. Major Depression with some episodes of mania. PTSD. Social Anxiety Disorder.

Third Diagnosis. Bipolar Disorder NOS. PTSD. General Anxiety Disorder. Agoraphobia. With the agoraphobia they did not take into consideration that I can get out and do things but that i choose to late at night when it is less crowded. My Doctor also did not take into consideration that i am not afraid to go somewhere i feel unsafe. They wanted it to be agoraphobia.

Fourth Diagnosis Borderline Personality Disorder, PTSD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Agoraphobia.

Everytime I was rediagnosed, it never fit. They were trying to put a square peg into a round hole. When it did not fit, it was greased with plenty of psychotropic medication.

 

[SingaSong]

"Teenager happy with being alone, really parent who is very out going and so thinks there is a problem" - the gist of what a child psychiatrist said when I was 14. I went in saying I was very lonely (desperate at times) and wanted friends, but I also said that because I couldn't manage that I had to entertain myself so he decided I was just fine. Things could have been so much easier in my life if I'd been diagnosed then and not 26 years later.

- Depression and epilepsy - still treated
- Borderline personality disorder was mentioned at one point
- Social anxiety
-Autism Spectrum Disorder formally diagnosed last week.

I also have various other existing medical conditions but they cause physical illness.

 

[ancusmitis]

I remember hearing somewhere that women in general were more likely to get diagnosed with borderline, as well as women with autism. Has anyone got research on that?

 

[Merahj]

Women get misdiagnosed more often than men. They commonly give a diagnosis of chemical imbalance or schizo effective disorders to women because of hormone issues during child bearing years. Also, autism is considered a male disorder. This is why women are typically diagnosed as such.

 

[Crossbreed]

Even the word "hysteria" has its origins in female anatomy.

 

[ancusmitis]

Women get misdiagnosed more often than men. They commonly give a diagnosis of chemical imbalance or schizo effective disorders to women because of hormone issues during child bearing years. Also, autism is considered a male disorder. This is why women are typically diagnosed as such.

That's very true, but I was wondering if perhaps women in general tended to get misdiagnosed as BPD. Maybe the headshrinkers are stereotyping women as Borderline, just like they are stereotyping autistics as being male. Or maybe it's just random noise. I dunno.

 

[Merahj]

Yes they do. Bipolar disorder is a chemical imbalance. Borderline person amity disorder is considered schizo effective. So anything that is related to mood women will get stereotyped as. And technically there is a reason behind it. We are only sane one week a month. We have the week before menses, the week of menses, and the week after. The week between all that our hormones are balanced. Psychologists and psychiatrists know that the hormone fluctuations can lead to temporary Insanity or mood issues. This is why when a female starts showing signs of asperger's syndrome, they pull a chemical imbalance and mood disorder out of their bag of diagnoses.

I am not saying that this is fair. After all the stuff I went through and the diagnosis carousel I was on, I do believe professionals should be more careful. I came away with a heart problem. However I am lucky because I still have my freedom and my life. I have heard of meds really messing up an Aspie's life.

 

[unsurewhattoname]

We are only sane one week a month

If you're only sane one week a month, do you not think you have something wrong? Because I can tell you I am not insane 3/4 of my life. Asperger's doesn't cause insanity. Someone with just Asperger's would be sane the whole time. It has to be something else, I don't know what, I'm not a doctor. I never go insane and Asperger's is all I have so it must be something else causing your insanity for 3/4 of your life.

 

[Butterfly88]

I didn't have one. I was lucky to get the correct diagnosis at age 7.

 

[Merahj]

If you're only sane one week a month, do you not think you have something wrong?

All women have this because of the cycle their body goes throguh. There is only one week a month where everything is in balance. And now I don't have this any more because due to physical issues, I had a full hysterectomy. Technically, I do have ptsd and that is something wrong but I do not consider asperger's to be something wrong with me.

 

[Merahj]

Let me be clear, I was generalizing. I do not think all women are crazy. I think that we all have the hormone imbalance. However, that being said, there are ready women whose hormones turn them into angry people. I will say that the week before and the week after my periods, I was more likely to have meltdowns. However personally, I was not crazy 3/4of my life.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I've never been diagnosed with anything but recently I've been treated for psychosis, and schizophrenia was considered at one point. It's been now accepted by my psychiatrist and care coordinator that I have asperger's syndrome, we're still not sure of psychosis, it could apparently been sensory based problems. All I can say is that I think I've experience thought blocking and I've heard voices in my head. It could be psychosis brought on by severe depression. I've been treated for depression and anxiety, both I definitely have.