[Prplflyingmonkyz]

Hello, I'm new and I have DPDR, PTSD, Asperger's Syndrome, Sensory Processing Disorder, OCD, agoraphobia, dermatillomania, severe depression with manic tendencies and anhedonia, debilitating generalized & social anxiety, MTHFR (a genetic mutation commonly linked with Autism Spectrum involves inability to break down folic acid and causes lactic acid buildup in the brain causing serious issues with cognitive function among other things), PMDD, Dyscalcula, ADD/ADHD, Alexithemia, Somatic disorder, the other dissacociati disorder I cant think of the name of now...the one that causes partial amnesia. I also have several physical issues as well, some of which are quite serious.

So the think about having multiple disorders is that it's not like having them individually and they just stack on top of each other...the symptoms are actually constantly interacting. So it's not like having each disorder together, it's like a whole new disorder that's even worse than all of them combined, this is where the term 'co-morbid' comes from.

It's a topic that we dont really hear much about and I would like to change that. But first I would like to see who else here has co-morbid disorders, and I would really love to discuss how they interact in you guys, as well as in myself, an DS how we can attempt to address the interactions, particularly for those of us in a pinch who dont have access to any efficient prescription treatment and those of us with therapists that only understand one of many disorders,but not how they interact, and thus cannot provide effective therapies either. That is the boat I am in, and I think discussing it from every possible angle is really important, bc I know I'm not the only one, and bc even with propertherapy and meds, it's always helpful to have new things to try that can help.
I usually depend a lot on mindfulness to help keep symptoms of most of my disorders in check,but it really doesnt seem to help at all with this. I have found a few herbal supplements that help quite a bit, but I cant always afford them and they still only do so much.
I dont have custody of my daughter bc of my autism (yup that is the actual reason, super messed up I kno), and when I do get to see her I feel like I'm watching her through a dirty window, even if shes sitting right in my lap. Its horrid! And when my head is clear i never get to see her. So it's incredibly important to me to find some ways to try to snap myself out of this bc I've been like this since I was 14 (I'm 29 now and shes 7) so it's been her whole life, I've maybe been around her and felt connected like 10 diff times in her whole life. Its awful and I need to fix this. She has aspergers and a few co-morbids, my mom doesnt understand her special needs well enough not to make her disorders worse and add more like she did to me. So for me,this is a matter of saving my daughters life. I greatly appreciate any input and feedback yall have. What helps you?

 

[bigpwn]

I have GAD and mild undiagnosed depression

 

[forestx5]

I lived a life of comorbid symptoms. I believe that diagnosis is most useful for insurance billing.. Other than crossing into psychosis, or experiencing mania, I believe I have experienced the majority of psychiatric symptoms expressed on this forum. Racing thoughts, Exploding head syndrome, Severe depression, severe anxiety, agoraphobia, depersonalization, derealization, Intrusive thoughts, severe insomnia, cognitive impairment, panic attacks/focal temporal lobe seizures, ocular migraines, head tremor, vestibular issues (ear clicking/popping) and heavy floaters in my vision to mention a few. Some of the symptoms were permanent, while others were more of a recurrent nature. I underwent ECT several years ago and the vast majority of my symptoms are gone. I still have ocular migraines and floaters. I can live with that.

 

[Prplflyingmonkyz]

Time2wakeup: I use a folate vitamin, basically just means it's already broken down to folate so it doesnt turn to lactic acid in our brains and make us stupid lol. Also had to start watching what I eat, seems like they put folic acid in everything nowadays. I can only eat a few things with my sensory processing disorder &gastroparesis and other stomach/gi issues so when I stopped eating strawberry special k cereal..well my brain works a bit better but I eat less so it's kind of a win-lose situation lol

 

[Prplflyingmonkyz]

Foresttx: I think knowing your true disorders and understanding them completely is key to coping with any disorder. I think that's really where diagnoses become important for those who arent sure (except for access to proper treatments and therapies w regards to schools, doctors and insurance companies as you said). I know finally getting diagnosed with asperger's made a huge difference in my life bc it became a special interest and I started researching the crap out of it. Only recently have I begun to fully understand it enough to realize it didnt explain any of my dpdr symptoms, which is when I started to realize that what I was experiencing had to be some form of dissassociative disorder and started researching that and realized I have dpdr and the amnesia dissacociati disorder I'm totally still brain farting on...lol

But like, how do/did you generally go about dealing with the disorder interactions themselves, like if certain symptoms cant be controlled,sometimes there are ways of managing the way that they interact so that it isn't quite as negative, if that makes sense?

 

[forestx5]

I was raised catholic. When I was in the midst of a focal seizure and felt impending doom, I uttered the words to the Lord's prayer in preparation for death. (I wasn't even very religious, but I was very fearful of death. lol) I died a thousand deaths in my lifetime before discovering I was epileptic with an affective disorder of major depression. I guess the brain does have plasticity, as most of my symptoms abated following the

electroconvulsive therapy. But the plastic is slow to remold, as it took 38 years. I had a couple of psychiatric diagnosis prior to my self diagnosis of epilepsy, which I proved to the medical experts with my EEG results. But, if you have a diagnosis that you fully concur with, then you have a starting point by which to understand your past, present, and future.

 

[allison84]

Been diagnosed with
Ocd
Panic disorder
Gad
Illness anxiety
Tricatillamaina
Hypermobility syndrome
Gerd
Migraine
Pmdd
Hemaconatossiess

 

[allison84]

The physical problems fuel the anxiety so catch 22 for me

 

[eddy1886]

Depression, SAD, GAD, Social anxiety, Paranoia, Intrusive thinking, Confusion, Poor concentration and DP all go hand in hand for me!

Theres always a mixture going on.....Sometimes theres more of some and less of others and vice versa....But its always there in the background just waiting to kick me in the nuts and push me over that functioning / non functioning line....Very much a balancing act of knowing where my limits are and when its time to step back from stress...