Feeling much better with Asperger's
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 8:39 am
Hi Everyone,
I don't find too many testinomials with ASD, so I thought I write my own in case it helps anyone.
I'm a 37yo female with Asperger's. I have no weight problem, but have MANY other ones that make me difficult to be social. I've tried to find professional help hundred times so far but as I refused taking drugs I could not find anyone who took me seriously, including my own parents. So I tried to behave as people around me to make everyone happy and I thought if I could learn everything that I miss because of the "bad wiring'' of my brain, my life would work perfectly. Sounds logical, doesn't it?
So I used every source I could to learn from and I really enjoyed using what I learnt, although it was terribly exhausting. A whole day among people made me so tired that I needed at least the next day being on my own to get ready for the next "battle" (sometimes needed 2 or 3 days). So I started to use anything that seemed to help keeping me going, as nothing stops because I'm tired. Coffee, tea, sugar, energy drinks/bars, chocolate, didn't matter what it was (except pharmaceuticals of course), I used them because I wanted to prove I'm at least as useful as anyone else around me.
Long story short, in ten years I reached a point when I lost the control over my life. I had meltdowns and panic attacks all the time, could not sleep, had suicidal thoughts so I accepted a sedative drug from a doctor. That made me dull for a whole day then aggressive for another 2 days, so I stopped taking it but needed something not to be destructive. So I started drinking alcohol when I felt lost. That was the point when I realized I must change my strategy otherwise I would get in a huge trouble.
When I felt a bit better I was keen on finding something, anything that helps. Since I was in a bad shape and had no doc around, I used the internet (google scholar is a great source). The first thing I found was that nutrients can help, so I started to take huge amount of supplements. Result: I slept for almost a whole week, then I felt still weak but I was calm and peaceful. It was great. I think this was the first time I realized that nutrients matter, thus everything I eat matters.
So I started refreshing my cooking skills and finding my vegetarian recipes I'd brought from India years before. I loved them but as I didn't think food matters I rarely used them (it was much more convenient to buy something on the way). I still used milk and milk products, but I felt much, MUCH better with time. I became more and more active, had less and less meltdowns, so I thought I was in the good path.
After about 6 months eating home-made vegetarian food (including a lot of milk and dairy) I found that something is still missing. I was still oversensitive to a lot of things, still had meltdowns once a week and had days when I could not read and had problem talking (I had difficulty thinking through whole sentences, find the proper words, etc)... These and other things didn't seem to get better. I thought, that was the end of my possibilities and I would never get better because of the abusement of my brain (alcohol, energy drinks, sugar, etc.)
But there was one thing that bothered me: sometimes I became very sleepy and weak after meal. I needed more than a month to recognize this effect, but after another month I found that if I avoid milk, dairy and grains I'm fine. So from this time on I was on a 99% vegan, grain free diet (in every 2-3 months I ate 1-2 eggs or a tiny piece of meat with huge amount of salad).
In the last two and a half years I followed this diet and it worked much better than anything else before. I rarely had meltdowns, I could handle most of the problematic points in my (social) life, BUT I did not have energy. The same song: when I spent a whole day among people, I needed 2 or 3 days at rest...
So I started looking for information about how to fine-tune or change my diet. Last May I found a lot of information from dr Fuhrman and dr McDougall and I realized that I missed something very basic in my diet: legumes. I did not have almost any of them on my plate except some green peas in season. So I added them and I felt even better, had more energy, but still needed a whole day rest after a busy day.
To cut it short, about three months now that I brought rice and potatoes in my diet according to the McDougall diet. I still don't eat much of them, but I always have them in hand if I feel like eating something starchy different from legumes. I've never felt better! I don't need extra weekend after a busy day, what's more, I can recognize my needs much easier, which is an issue in my life. I can express myself much more confidently and easier, can communicate much more effectively and sleep much better. I still have a feeling of walking on eggshells while talking to someone but it's not so scary that I want to avoid it at whatever cost (as it was in the past).
The only thing I don't know is if I can ever get off my daily msm supplement. It's the only supplement I take regularly at the moment but I'd love to leave it, too. In the past I took 3x1000mg a day, now I have 1x1000mg (sometimes 2x1000mg when my day is a mess) but I can't leave it out completely because about 3 days later I'm getting nervous and can't concentrate. I would appreciate if someone could answer this question.
Strange enough that no one has ever told me that my "substandard" brain can work quite smoothly. I know that I still seem awkward and have issues, but they are no longer so terrible so they could destroy my life. I know that everyone (even on the spectrum) has different needs, but I'm also sure that this type of diet gives a huge advance as a base for whatever therapy one needs.
Sorry for being so looooooooooong....
Take care
grid
I don't find too many testinomials with ASD, so I thought I write my own in case it helps anyone.
I'm a 37yo female with Asperger's. I have no weight problem, but have MANY other ones that make me difficult to be social. I've tried to find professional help hundred times so far but as I refused taking drugs I could not find anyone who took me seriously, including my own parents. So I tried to behave as people around me to make everyone happy and I thought if I could learn everything that I miss because of the "bad wiring'' of my brain, my life would work perfectly. Sounds logical, doesn't it?
So I used every source I could to learn from and I really enjoyed using what I learnt, although it was terribly exhausting. A whole day among people made me so tired that I needed at least the next day being on my own to get ready for the next "battle" (sometimes needed 2 or 3 days). So I started to use anything that seemed to help keeping me going, as nothing stops because I'm tired. Coffee, tea, sugar, energy drinks/bars, chocolate, didn't matter what it was (except pharmaceuticals of course), I used them because I wanted to prove I'm at least as useful as anyone else around me.
Long story short, in ten years I reached a point when I lost the control over my life. I had meltdowns and panic attacks all the time, could not sleep, had suicidal thoughts so I accepted a sedative drug from a doctor. That made me dull for a whole day then aggressive for another 2 days, so I stopped taking it but needed something not to be destructive. So I started drinking alcohol when I felt lost. That was the point when I realized I must change my strategy otherwise I would get in a huge trouble.
When I felt a bit better I was keen on finding something, anything that helps. Since I was in a bad shape and had no doc around, I used the internet (google scholar is a great source). The first thing I found was that nutrients can help, so I started to take huge amount of supplements. Result: I slept for almost a whole week, then I felt still weak but I was calm and peaceful. It was great. I think this was the first time I realized that nutrients matter, thus everything I eat matters.
So I started refreshing my cooking skills and finding my vegetarian recipes I'd brought from India years before. I loved them but as I didn't think food matters I rarely used them (it was much more convenient to buy something on the way). I still used milk and milk products, but I felt much, MUCH better with time. I became more and more active, had less and less meltdowns, so I thought I was in the good path.
After about 6 months eating home-made vegetarian food (including a lot of milk and dairy) I found that something is still missing. I was still oversensitive to a lot of things, still had meltdowns once a week and had days when I could not read and had problem talking (I had difficulty thinking through whole sentences, find the proper words, etc)... These and other things didn't seem to get better. I thought, that was the end of my possibilities and I would never get better because of the abusement of my brain (alcohol, energy drinks, sugar, etc.)
But there was one thing that bothered me: sometimes I became very sleepy and weak after meal. I needed more than a month to recognize this effect, but after another month I found that if I avoid milk, dairy and grains I'm fine. So from this time on I was on a 99% vegan, grain free diet (in every 2-3 months I ate 1-2 eggs or a tiny piece of meat with huge amount of salad).
In the last two and a half years I followed this diet and it worked much better than anything else before. I rarely had meltdowns, I could handle most of the problematic points in my (social) life, BUT I did not have energy. The same song: when I spent a whole day among people, I needed 2 or 3 days at rest...
So I started looking for information about how to fine-tune or change my diet. Last May I found a lot of information from dr Fuhrman and dr McDougall and I realized that I missed something very basic in my diet: legumes. I did not have almost any of them on my plate except some green peas in season. So I added them and I felt even better, had more energy, but still needed a whole day rest after a busy day.
To cut it short, about three months now that I brought rice and potatoes in my diet according to the McDougall diet. I still don't eat much of them, but I always have them in hand if I feel like eating something starchy different from legumes. I've never felt better! I don't need extra weekend after a busy day, what's more, I can recognize my needs much easier, which is an issue in my life. I can express myself much more confidently and easier, can communicate much more effectively and sleep much better. I still have a feeling of walking on eggshells while talking to someone but it's not so scary that I want to avoid it at whatever cost (as it was in the past).
The only thing I don't know is if I can ever get off my daily msm supplement. It's the only supplement I take regularly at the moment but I'd love to leave it, too. In the past I took 3x1000mg a day, now I have 1x1000mg (sometimes 2x1000mg when my day is a mess) but I can't leave it out completely because about 3 days later I'm getting nervous and can't concentrate. I would appreciate if someone could answer this question.
Strange enough that no one has ever told me that my "substandard" brain can work quite smoothly. I know that I still seem awkward and have issues, but they are no longer so terrible so they could destroy my life. I know that everyone (even on the spectrum) has different needs, but I'm also sure that this type of diet gives a huge advance as a base for whatever therapy one needs.
Sorry for being so looooooooooong....
Take care
grid