who's playing this game?

[J. M. Pescado]

I'm actually a little surprised that in the time I've been sleeping, nobody has come out yelling that there is no such thing as chronic fatigue syndrome...  it appears to be one of the least understood conditions, simply because it's not a condition itself but a blanket diagnostic name given to a whole bunch of symptoms that arise from metabolic disorders...

Chronic fatigue syndrome is called LAZINESS. You are simply FAT and LAZY. And need MORE CAFFEINE.

Thank you all for talking about Asperger's Syndrome. My son, now 25, was given a diagnosis of ADHD at age 4, then "non-specific schizophreniform disorder" at age 13. This was all before AS had been recognized. He meets all the criteria for AS; his current obsession is with airplanes, and he spends his days playing with a flight simulator. Since you can't force a legal adult into evaluation and treatment without a court order, he will probably remain obsessed with one thing or another (and thus unemployable) forever. He goes to job interviews and talks about...airplanes. 

I *STILL* insist this is some imaginary disease they've invented, and that your son is simply an airplane nut. Maybe he should try working at an airport. That should give him plenty of planes.

[veilchen]

Well now JM, that's not fair. Just because you are unique, doesn't mean we all are. I mean, we know you can do a hundred and one things at once: fix games, build über-bathrooms, build 8G elevators, conquer the galaxy, shoot your food and beverage, while chewing your caffeine, but these are all things that are JM unique. The rest of us have to be useless logs for several hours at night, can't use caffeine in its pure state, and even go so far as actually cooking our food. And some of us do get sick, including chronically fatigued. I know, a concept completely alien to you El Presidente, but then again, there is no one like you

Cross my heart, we didn't invent autism, it's unfortunately very real. Would I lie to you?

Hairfish, I am so sorry to hear this. Unfortunately this still happens today, even though the Diagnostics Manual prohibits diagnosing ADHD when a PDD (Pervasive Development Disorder) is present. However, ADHD symptoms match many Asperger's symptoms and clinicians can overlook symptoms of PDD and simply diagnose ADHD. There is an organisation that helps families with adult familiy members diagnosed with Asperger's. I'm not very familiar with the organisation, but here's the address:

http://www.faaas.org/sitemap.html#services

If you already know about it, I apologize, but it can't hurt to check into it if you didn't.

[Brynne]

JM, I thought I got through to you the other day. Someone please send me some Rogaine. I'm going bald.

Hairfish, I guess you just gave me a little window into my son's future. He has his obsessions,  too, although I wish they were as exciting as airplanes. Jamie can tell you every make of garage-door opener there is, how many buttons it has, if it lights up, comes in a keychain version...I don't know how many times we've gone to Home Depot to get paint supplies or something, and had to make an hour-long stop at the garage door section. And at stop lights, if the car next to us had a garage door opener clipped to its visor, Jamie would roll down his window and yell at the guy so he could ask what kind it was. I would just be staring straight ahead at the stop light, begging for it to turn green!  For me, this was a step up from his earlier obsession with windshield wipers. He still will occasionally ask me what kind of windshield wipers someone's car had, and since they all look the same to me, I'd be at a loss for an answer, thus provoking a melt-down. I bought him a disposable camera, took him on a trip to a used car lot, and let him photograph all the windshields so he could put the pictures in a photo album. All the while, salesmen are following us around, puzzled. Jamie is extremely artistic. Whether it's windshield wipers, or garages, he would make such detailed paper models of them. I mean detailed. The garages would have paneled doors that were on paper (or cardboard, rather) "rails", so you could actually open and close them. There would be the garage door whatchamawhozit on the ceiling, with a tag hanging down. 3D masterpieces, and as soon as he finished one, he would abandon it to create an even better one. Currently, he's obsessed with super-heroes, and makes comic books. They all have to have their arm chopped off so it can be replaced by a mechanical one. He thinks that's so cool.
You do definitely learn to have a sense of humor about these things!       

[Ness]

right, I'm just not as awesome as JM...  however, I will not let anyone call me lazy, when for the last five years since I was diagnosed I've remained in full time employment!

the conditions I have may slow me down but I don't let them stop me in any way, except for perhaps the odd day here and there...

I've worked with kids who aspergers before - one of them (who we were told was inceredibly severe) actually progressed to the point where he could make jokes with us...  He would have finished school by now, sadly I moved on to another one and never did hear what became of him.

Ness

[knitro]

I'm a mech. engineer, but during college I worked in a frame shop, so theres  a little are, but mostly i'm an enginerd. and I LOVE the sims.

Also, my dad's girlfriend's cousin's son, (seriously) has asperger's and does not socialize well at all, but reads alot and can regurgitate it years later, amazing.

[reggikko]

fish oil...  *shudder*

I take it for chronic fatigue syndrome (the discussion on what that is can wait for another time), it works well there, but does stuff all for the arthritis that it is supposed to be good for that I also have...

Ness

Interesting. I have Fibromyalgia and some chronic fatigue issues that don't fit the fibro profile. May need to buy some fish oil capsules.

[Ness]

not necessarily...  the fish oil came out of some hideously expensive tests which analysed in minute detail just which fats were in my blood and which amino acids were in my urine - that way they could figure out what was going wrong in the body...

my CFS mainly affected me in cognitive ways (ever forgotten what you were saying quite literally in the middle of saying it?  looked at a class of kids you've taught for 18 months and suddenly not known a single name?) and emotional ways - basically I was a depressed and miserable wet rag who couldn't remember a darn thing and could hardly move during the day, but would lie awake all night and be completely unable to sleep... scary days!

the omega 3 fish oils are one of the building blocks of serotonin, supplement that and the body can then make it properly, slowly correcting the problem - without those tests (and the company is no longer in existence), it would be difficult to know which particular oil you may need - could be fish oil, could be evening primrose oil, I even heard of a case where it turned out to be palmitic acid (found in coconut milk)

I do hope you manage to find something that works for the fibromyalgia...  I know just how sucky it can be to have a condition that the medical world knows basically nothing about - no sooner did we get the CFS under control than a weird arthritic condition affecting every single joint in my body popped up - sort of responded, sort of didn't, no sign of what it actually is, so no idea of how to actually treat the thing!

Ness

[reggikko]

my CFS mainly affected me in cognitive ways (ever forgotten what you were saying quite literally in the middle of saying it?  looked at a class of kids you've taught for 18 months and suddenly not known a single name?) and emotional ways - basically I was a depressed and miserable wet rag who couldn't remember a darn thing and could hardly move during the day, but would lie awake all night and be completely unable to sleep... scary days!

Yep. All of that is so familiar. And if I take meds that make me sleep at night, I'm pretty much worthless all the next day. I used to have a fantastic memory, but not anymore. This all started for me with a severe case of autoimmune thyroiditis. I have no thyroid function at all on my own. I was diagnosed 6 years ago and other than a few brief periods, I have been unwell and symptomatic all this time. Very frustrating. At first, my endo thought that the extreme pain was caused by the thyroid deficiency, but when my levels finally became 'normal', I was still in pain constantly. The thyroid problem also gave me a heart condition. The fun never ends!

the omega 3 fish oils are one of the building blocks of serotonin, supplement that and the body can then make it properly, slowly correcting the problem - without those tests (and the company is no longer in existence), it would be difficult to know which particular oil you may need - could be fish oil, could be evening primrose oil, I even heard of a case where it turned out to be palmitic acid (found in coconut milk)

Fibromyalgia is definitely related to a serotonin deficiency. You should see the slew of meds I've been on to try to increase serotonin. It boggles my mind sometimes. I've heard about increasing Omega 3's to help boost serotonin, but I've never tried it. It would be worth some trial and error if I could hit on something that might help. Pain is now at least tolerable most days, but I still have debilitating fatigue and some other things going on. I've been tested and retested for Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and numerous other autoimmune diseases.

I do hope you manage to find something that works for the fibromyalgia...  I know just how sucky it can be to have a condition that the medical world knows basically nothing about - no sooner did we get the CFS under control than a weird arthritic condition affecting every single joint in my body popped up - sort of responded, sort of didn't, no sign of what it actually is, so no idea of how to actually treat the thing!

I am fortunate in that I have a fantastic rheumatologist who is pretty aggressive in treatment. The problem is that I do a bit better for a time, and then I'm right back where I started. You're right though, it's not easy having an illness few people understand. And then there are those who don't believe these disorders even exist, which makes me so angry.  I'd like for those people to live this for a month or so, and then tell me it isn't real. Trust me, if I could just 'get over it', I would have a long time ago.

[J. M. Pescado]

Meh, why buy fish oil capsules when you can just buy raw fish oil and drink it straight from the bottle, like I do?

[Ness]

reggikko!  that sounds so similar to my story...

about 6 years ago I got Barmah Forest Virus, which is a weird mosquito-borne virus we have here in Australia - it trashed my liver and I landed in hospital with severe pain one night and after heaps of tests they figured I had this virus - and that's what was causing the fatigue and pain - unfortunately, once the virus had gone dormant again (I was told I would have it for the rest of my life, and hopefully it would stay dormant) the fatigue and pain never stopped...  they labelled me with post-viral chronic fatigue syndrome and told me to rest (sole income earner working full time and rapidly running out of sick leave, not going to happen!)...  time went on, and the post-viral got dropped from the name, that's when we elected to do the tests

from there, fish oil capsules and an amino acid supplement had me improving, the sleep was another issue altogether and after becoming completely dependent on sleeping tablets for a while (not fun!), I started using SAMe (another serotonin building block) and the sleep issues were pretty much resolved.  At one point in time I was taking nearly 20 tablets a day with medications and supplements to try to manage my condition.

For a year or so, I did ok - the supplements were working and I had enough energy to function properly in my job (couldn't do much after a day at work, but I resembled a normal human being), vioxx (yes, I was on it for years!) managed the pain levels, and my GP happily kept prescribing it for me until he left the surgery - at which point so did I - all the other doctors would tell me there was nothing wrong with me, even when I had severe sinus infections...

new doctor, no longer happy to just prescribe vioxx, started running tests - I've been tested for them all, too - so many blood tests I've actually got scarring on the inside of my elbow!  all negative - and the virus I was told I would never be rid of has gone.  My rheumatologist is great - very blunt, and doesn't like me stuffing around with medications - took a year for him to convince me to take prednisone (which basically only happened when I could no longer walk) - now he's pushing the methotrexate line, which is pretty scary!  So now I've been labelled with serum-negative rheumatoid arthritis, which even the specialist admits is the label they apply when they haven't got the foggiest clue what the problem is!  He's not giving up, but seems to be thinking that we may never discover what it is, but we may be lucky enough to discover a treatment that works...

the SAMe stuff is great - pretty expensive, but it's worth it for the fact that I can now sleep, I'd certainly suggest looking into that one, and if you decide to go the fish oil, try to find a reflux-free one - otherwise, take it half way through a meal, and even though they don't say to do so, keep it in the fridge!

I hope you eventually find success in your treatment...  and getting back to the original topic of the thread, it's actually quite amazing how many chronically ill people you find playing the sims...

Ness

[windy_moon]

Original topic?  My first post here and I gotta say, there's nothing like a message board that allows threads to evolve or devolve (depending on your perspective ).  I hate linear conversations.

On autisim:  my 13 year old's official diagnosis is "Aspergers Only He's Not".   He's somewhere in the high functioning autism spectrum and displays many Aspergers characteristics, but branches off in other areas like socialization.

Life with Dan - "Dan, can you feed the dog, please?"   "Okay, Mom, I just have to wait another minute." "Why's that?"  "Because it's 6:21.  I don't like the numbers 19 or 21 so I try to wait until the next minute."  Pause. "Okay, it's 6:22 now." He jumps up brightly.  "Oh, and 41. I don't like the hour plus 41 because it's 19 minutes before the next hour."

No mention of 6:39, 21 minutes before the next hour, but the dog got fed so life is good.

If you haven't read "A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime"  you are missing a great novel that also lets you into the wonderful world of AS thinking.

On the original topic, you'd have to classify me as a Business Person, since I am one, but I'm also creative so :p  I'd think that because the Sims is so open ended it would attract all kinds.  You get to make up your own rules, how cool is that.  (You can make up your own rules in RL, too, it's just harder to make everybody else play along.)

Andrea

[witch]

If you haven't read "A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime"  you are missing a great novel that also lets you into the wonderful world of AS thinking.

That's the title I've been trying to remember, to recommend to Pescado. Excellent book! Welcome non-linear windy_moon!

[laeshanin]

"Curious Incident..." is absolutely brilliant and if you don't understand something about ASD after reading it then you're probably too obtuse. Also good is "Freaks, Geeks and Asperger's Syndrome."

JM, get a plane over to Blighty and I'll introduce you to some of my more challenging young people. I'd like you working the floor with them especially when one of the transitions people with ASD can't cope with happen. I seriously advise body armour!

[Zeljka]

and back to the Sims...

I think it's safe to say that while certain 'types' may find the game more appealing, you will find all types playing it

[laeshanin]

Meh, why buy fish oil capsules when you can just buy raw fish oil and drink it straight from the bottle, like I do?

I prefer raw vodka...

[Brynne]

Meh, why buy fish oil capsules when you can just buy raw fish oil and drink it straight from the bottle, like I do?

I figured you'd just wring the fish straight into your mouth.

[veilchen]

I just pictured that Val, and I'm still laughing.

Thanks, I needed that, it's been a very bad week already and it's only Wednesday.

[Brynne]

Hey, VC! Apparently fish oil does work wonders.
Haven't talked to you much lately. Rough week here, as well. Putting it mildly.

[Zythe]

My mom has fibromylagia. And I know someone with Aspergers' who's obsessed with wolves.

[veilchen]

Yeah Val, I'm planning on coming on over the weekend. I need someone to kick the funk right out of me :D

I had to deal with a 15 year old pregnant girl who got the shit beat out of her by her 'boyfriend' for getting pregnant. Her parents thought the best way to deal with that was to kick her out of the house. *Sigh* people sometimes make me ill. My fingers were itching to post in the other thread, but I don't have the strength to get involved in an argument about that particular issue right now.  Ah well, I'm working on it, and I can get it done. I can be a very persistent person, or, in the words of one of my counselees, a "pushy broad" (he didn't mean that in "a bad way"). :D

I sometimes get the urge to get my own bunker in the mountains somewhere mountainous and just ignore the human race at will.

[Hairfish]

I sometimes get the urge to get my own bunker in the mountains somewhere mountainous and just ignore the human race at will.

That's a fantasy of mine, too...but it would have to have Internet access.

Re: Asperger's obsessions, airplanes are not my son's only interest. He's also into athro-art, and draws HUGE fat, furry naked women. He's very good ~ he does commisions and earns enough to pay his share of our DSL, with enough left over to keep his aged computer in top condition (computers: another obsession of his, which works out well for me! I have my own personal techie  ). Too bad there are no patrons of anthro-art around here, someone who could take him under their wing so to speak and promote his talents and make us all filthy rich. *sigh*

[laeshanin]

Weyhey...! Fifty six posts to get my lips ripped off... I'm so happy, I'm so happy. Lord knows how the hell I'll manage my cake now. 

I would so love a retreat somewhere. By the sea, with a few beautiful mountains thrown in to look at. Maybe I could even crack on with some real art and finish that painting I've got stacked in my room.

[Oddysey]

Egads. I'm never going on a vacation ever again. Ever. Too many unread posts . . .

My personal adventures in psychology have been fairly tame: moderate depression edging into severe, due to a combination of chemical issues and school not working, treatment, school change, and now getting back to "normal." Oh, and "mild ADHD," for which I take Concerta. Not sure whether it actually fixes a "disorder" in me, but it does improve my ability to focus on my own projects and other enjoyable things. I don't know nearly as much about autism, AS, or the related behaviors and patterns as I'd like, especially since I've come across them in my sporadic researches into GT education, and recognize mild versions of a few of the symptoms in myself. I have a spotty short term memory (names and where I put things can be gone in a few minutes) but I can remember all sorts of random details from a book I read or a vacation I went on six years ago. And that business about garage door openers sounds quite interesting, although I can see how it would be aggravating if that was the only thing a person talked about.

On a related note, one of my psychologists (goverment, through my dad being Coast Guard, and didn't have nearly enough time to do anything other than prescribe medication, so we went elsewhere for counseling) tried to diagnose me with "Oppositional Defiant Disorder" because I wasn't too keen on taking medication for the "mild ADHD-like symptoms," as this didn't sound like it was much of a problem and I wanted to do my own research. And possibly because I'd told her that I planned on starting a revolution.

I have some very severe doubts about "Oppositional Defiant Disorder," or whatever it is, as the diagnostic criteria seems to be mainly "is between the ages of 12 and 18," but I know from experience that anyone who says "its all in your head" about depression, autism, or any other mental eccentricity that causes persistent problems should be dumped off the nearest bridge. Or lit on fire, if there isn't a handy bridge.

[Ness]

the first school I worked in there was a kid we were told had oppositional defiance disorder...  we never could exactly figure out what it was - his parents were not exactly forth-coming with information!

I hear you on the bridge-dumping - there's quite a few doctors that I'd love to do that to!  these days, I ask my friends who they see, and who's good before I even contemplate seeing any new GPs...  and once I find one, I stick with them - people think I'm strange for seeing a male doctor for pap smears, but it's important to me to have everything treated by the same person!

I hope you enjoyed your break, oddysey...  I'm taking a few days off sick at the moment, and even though I feel like crap, a couple of days away from work is doing wonders for my mental state!

Ness

[laeshanin]

Semantic Pragmatic Disorder is something I've seen diagnosed recently in kids. I'm uncertain as to what it is but believe that it may boil down to "...your teenager is an awkward little get with a smart mouth that needs his/her arse kicking..." Maybe...  Give the kid some decent boundaries and work at respect, for god's sake!