forevrdreamingofbetterthings asked:

So I noticed that I was struggling a lot trying to figure out which of my symptoms were from autism & which were from fibromyalgia, when it hit me - there seems to be a LOT of overlap b/w them. And when I did some research I found that I'm not the only one thinking that /perhaps/ afabs like me w/ fibro (something pretty rarely diagnosed in amabs) are the """missing""" autistic afabs? epiphanyasd.blogspot( )ca/2014/01/fibromyalgia-and-perhaps-what-happened( )html - Thoughts?

adulting-with-autism answered:

I mean, I guess it’s possible some people are in that category, but looking at the symptoms of fibro it seems pretty unlikely. Fibro has no social difficulties - which are necessary to be autistic - category (beyond obviously what might be caused by being in pain) and ASD isn’t associated - at least in diagnostic literature - with pain, fatigue or IBS.

I personally think that the “missing” afabs are down to

1) Autism generally presenting differently and so being missed

2) Autism being seen as a little boy thing, including by a lot of medical professionals

Liz

[feministingforchange]

Hey thanks so much for responding Liz, I appreciate it! And yeah you may be right, but I had heard from multiple seemingly reliable sources that autism IS associated with pain, fatigue, & IBS? There’s also all the memory problems, concentration, word recall failures, meltdowns due to sensory overload, anxiety disorders like woah, lots of depression, and more (which all cause me many social problems). Honestly, I think this is still possible but it’s really hard to say at this point, and since I have both I can’t really tell when one stops and the other begins, you know? There really needs to be some solid research done on this, quite honestly. 

All that said, even if my suspicions are true, this still doesn’t explain everything. It just means that ASD may be getting diagnosed differently as fibromyalgia for some afabs, due in large part to social constructions around gender. :/

[sockknitteranon]

I have fibro, and can definitely say I’m allistic for sure. But that’s just my personal experience, I have no idea if I’m an outlier or what. But this is really interesting! I’ll have to ask H (my bff) about it.

[feministingforchange]

Thanks for spreading this post, I’d really like to hear what others have to say!

That said, I just wanna clarify that I definitely believe fibromyalgia exists on its own too, as a real neurological disorder separate from ASD. BUT, I believe that there is so much overlap between fibro and autism, and both are HIGHLY gendered - both in the ways in which health professionals talk about and diagnose them, and also in the ways they are discussed publicly (fibro = mostly women, autism = mostly little boys & men). 

So I’m quite curious about this, and it has become a bit of a special interest for me (since it’s so personal & both are already special interests of mine lol).

forevrdreamingofbetterthings asked:

So I noticed that I was struggling a lot trying to figure out which of my symptoms were from autism & which were from fibromyalgia, when it hit me - there seems to be a LOT of overlap b/w them. And when I did some research I found that I'm not the only one thinking that /perhaps/ afabs like me w/ fibro (something pretty rarely diagnosed in amabs) are the """missing""" autistic afabs? epiphanyasd.blogspot( )ca/2014/01/fibromyalgia-and-perhaps-what-happened( )html - Thoughts?

adulting-with-autism answered:

I mean, I guess it’s possible some people are in that category, but looking at the symptoms of fibro it seems pretty unlikely. Fibro has no social difficulties - which are necessary to be autistic - category (beyond obviously what might be caused by being in pain) and ASD isn’t associated - at least in diagnostic literature - with pain, fatigue or IBS.

I personally think that the “missing” afabs are down to

1) Autism generally presenting differently and so being missed

2) Autism being seen as a little boy thing, including by a lot of medical professionals

Liz

[feministingforchange]

Hey thanks so much for responding Liz, I appreciate it! And yeah you may be right, but I had heard from multiple seemingly reliable sources that autism IS associated with pain, fatigue, & IBS? There’s also all the memory problems, concentration, word recall failures, meltdowns due to sensory overload, anxiety disorders like woah, lots of depression, and more (which all cause me many social problems). Honestly, I think this is still possible but it’s really hard to say at this point, and since I have both I can’t really tell when one stops and the other begins, you know? There really needs to be some solid research done on this, quite honestly. 

All that said, even if my suspicions are true, this still doesn’t explain everything. It just means that ASD may be getting diagnosed differently as fibromyalgia for some afabs, due in large part to social constructions around gender. :/

[sockknitteranon]

I have fibro, and can definitely say I’m allistic for sure. But that’s just my personal experience, I have no idea if I’m an outlier or what. But this is really interesting! I’ll have to ask H (my bff) about it.

[feministingforchange]

Thanks for spreading this post, I’d really like to hear what others have to say!

That said, I just wanna clarify that I definitely believe fibromyalgia exists on its own too, as a real neurological disorder separate from ASD. BUT, I believe that there is so much overlap between fibro and autism, and both are HIGHLY gendered - both in the ways in which health professionals talk about and diagnose them, and also in the ways they are discussed publicly (fibro = mostly women, autism = mostly little boys & men). 

So I’m quite curious about this, and it has become a bit of a special interest for me (since it’s so personal & both are already special interests of mine lol).

sockknitterporg asked:

I have fibro, and my best friend has autism. We often talk about how the two are similar RE sensory stuff and overload. As an autistic fibro spoonie, would you write more about the two overlapping? Do you ever use spoons to describe the autistic experience?

forevrdreamingofbetterthings answered:

Hey there, that’s a very good question and actually I have already written a bit about it before, but you’re right, i should try to make the effort to say more. 

If you’re interested though, here are some messy links to other posts where I’ve already talked about it:

• https://feministingforchange.tumblr.com/post/166653371245/kindkinofpolyhell-feministingforchange
  
• https://feministingforchange.tumblr.com/post/166395537400/so-i-noticed-that-i-was-struggling-a-lot-trying-to
  
• https://feministingforchange.tumblr.com/post/164632050520/autism-spectrum-disorder-fibromyalgia-and
  

And in future, I’ll try to make even more of an effort to discuss the overlap in my experience and feel free to ask me about it if there are any particular questions you have. 

I’m no expert on either autism or fibro, but i do live with both and can give an insider’s perspective, if nothing else lol. 

Also, if any of my followers/mutuals/& any others out there also experience both, it would be great to hear your perspectives as well! 

thank god for the chill in the air

it’s a godsend for my hot flashes!!!

forevrdreamingofbetterthings asked:

So I noticed that I was struggling a lot trying to figure out which of my symptoms were from autism & which were from fibromyalgia, when it hit me - there seems to be a LOT of overlap b/w them. And when I did some research I found that I'm not the only one thinking that /perhaps/ afabs like me w/ fibro (something pretty rarely diagnosed in amabs) are the """missing""" autistic afabs? epiphanyasd.blogspot( )ca/2014/01/fibromyalgia-and-perhaps-what-happened( )html - Thoughts?

adulting-with-autism answered:

I mean, I guess it’s possible some people are in that category, but looking at the symptoms of fibro it seems pretty unlikely. Fibro has no social difficulties - which are necessary to be autistic - category (beyond obviously what might be caused by being in pain) and ASD isn’t associated - at least in diagnostic literature - with pain, fatigue or IBS.

I personally think that the “missing” afabs are down to

1) Autism generally presenting differently and so being missed

2) Autism being seen as a little boy thing, including by a lot of medical professionals

Liz

[feministingforchange]

Hey thanks so much for responding Liz, I appreciate it! And yeah you may be right, but I had heard from multiple seemingly reliable sources that autism IS associated with pain, fatigue, & IBS? There’s also all the memory problems, concentration, word recall failures, meltdowns due to sensory overload, anxiety disorders like woah, lots of depression, and more (which all cause me many social problems). Honestly, I think this is still possible but it’s really hard to say at this point, and since I have both I can’t really tell when one stops and the other begins, you know? There really needs to be some solid research done on this, quite honestly. 

All that said, even if my suspicions are true, this still doesn’t explain everything. It just means that ASD may be getting diagnosed differently as fibromyalgia for some afabs, due in large part to social constructions around gender. :/

[sockknitteranon]

I have fibro, and can definitely say I’m allistic for sure. But that’s just my personal experience, I have no idea if I’m an outlier or what. But this is really interesting! I’ll have to ask H (my bff) about it.

[feministingforchange]

Thanks for spreading this post, I’d really like to hear what others have to say!

That said, I just wanna clarify that I definitely believe fibromyalgia exists on its own too, as a real neurological disorder separate from ASD. BUT, I believe that there is so much overlap between fibro and autism, and both are HIGHLY gendered - both in the ways in which health professionals talk about and diagnose them, and also in the ways they are discussed publicly (fibro = mostly women, autism = mostly little boys & men). 

So I’m quite curious about this, and it has become a bit of a special interest for me (since it’s so personal & both are already special interests of mine lol).

sockknitterporg asked:

I have fibro, and my best friend has autism. We often talk about how the two are similar RE sensory stuff and overload. As an autistic fibro spoonie, would you write more about the two overlapping? Do you ever use spoons to describe the autistic experience?

forevrdreamingofbetterthings answered:

Hey there, that’s a very good question and actually I have already written a bit about it before, but you’re right, i should try to make the effort to say more. 

If you’re interested though, here are some messy links to other posts where I’ve already talked about it:

• https://feministingforchange.tumblr.com/post/166653371245/kindkinofpolyhell-feministingforchange
  
• https://feministingforchange.tumblr.com/post/166395537400/so-i-noticed-that-i-was-struggling-a-lot-trying-to
  
• https://feministingforchange.tumblr.com/post/164632050520/autism-spectrum-disorder-fibromyalgia-and
  

And in future, I’ll try to make even more of an effort to discuss the overlap in my experience and feel free to ask me about it if there are any particular questions you have. 

I’m no expert on either autism or fibro, but i do live with both and can give an insider’s perspective, if nothing else lol. 

Also, if any of my followers/mutuals/& any others out there also experience both, it would be great to hear your perspectives as well! 

[strangerdarkerbetter]

Shoutout to the autistics with chronic pain

To autistics who stim to try to ignore their pain

To autistics who are in too much pain to stim but need to anyway

To autistics who can’t tell anymore if their in pain or having sensory issues or something else

To autistics whose sensory issues are made worse by their pain and vice versa in a horrible cycle

To autistics who have meltdowns because of their pain

To autistics who feel weak or broken or anything else negative because of how they deal with their pain

You are so strong. You deal with so much pain with a brain that experiences the world intensely. You are so brave facing each day knowing the pain that is to come. You are incredible. I see you and I see your struggles. I see how hard it is to get out of bed each day. I know what it feels like to want to just give up. But you are so beautiful and you have so much to offer the world. Your existence matters. 

I hope you find relief. I hope you find a something that eases your pain. I hope things get better for you. 

[feministingforchange]

✨☀️🌈🌷🎉 signal boost to save a life 🎉🌷🌈☀️✨

forevrdreamingofbetterthings asked:

So I noticed that I was struggling a lot trying to figure out which of my symptoms were from autism & which were from fibromyalgia, when it hit me - there seems to be a LOT of overlap b/w them. And when I did some research I found that I'm not the only one thinking that /perhaps/ afabs like me w/ fibro (something pretty rarely diagnosed in amabs) are the """missing""" autistic afabs? epiphanyasd.blogspot( )ca/2014/01/fibromyalgia-and-perhaps-what-happened( )html - Thoughts?

adulting-with-autism answered:

I mean, I guess it’s possible some people are in that category, but looking at the symptoms of fibro it seems pretty unlikely. Fibro has no social difficulties - which are necessary to be autistic - category (beyond obviously what might be caused by being in pain) and ASD isn’t associated - at least in diagnostic literature - with pain, fatigue or IBS.

I personally think that the “missing” afabs are down to

1) Autism generally presenting differently and so being missed

2) Autism being seen as a little boy thing, including by a lot of medical professionals

Liz

[feministingforchange]

Hey thanks so much for responding Liz, I appreciate it! And yeah you may be right, but I had heard from multiple seemingly reliable sources that autism IS associated with pain, fatigue, & IBS? There’s also all the memory problems, concentration, word recall failures, meltdowns due to sensory overload, anxiety disorders like woah, lots of depression, and more (which all cause me many social problems). Honestly, I think this is still possible but it’s really hard to say at this point, and since I have both I can’t really tell when one stops and the other begins, you know? There really needs to be some solid research done on this, quite honestly. 

All that said, even if my suspicions are true, this still doesn’t explain everything. It just means that ASD may be getting diagnosed differently as fibromyalgia for some afabs, due in large part to social constructions around gender. :/

[sockknitteranon]

I have fibro, and can definitely say I’m allistic for sure. But that’s just my personal experience, I have no idea if I’m an outlier or what. But this is really interesting! I’ll have to ask H (my bff) about it.

[forevrdreamingofbetterthings]

Thanks for spreading this post, I’d really like to hear what others have to say!

That said, I just wanna clarify that I definitely believe fibromyalgia exists on its own too, as a real neurological disorder separate from ASD. BUT, I believe that there is so much overlap between fibro and autism, and both are HIGHLY gendered - both in the ways in which health professionals talk about and diagnose them, and also in the ways they are discussed publicly (fibro = mostly women, autism = mostly little boys & men). 

So I’m quite curious about this, and it has become a bit of a special interest for me (since it’s so personal & both are already special interests of mine lol).

sockknitterporg asked:

I have fibro, and my best friend has autism. We often talk about how the two are similar RE sensory stuff and overload. As an autistic fibro spoonie, would you write more about the two overlapping? Do you ever use spoons to describe the autistic experience?

Hey there, that’s a very good question and actually I have already written a bit about it before, but you’re right, i should try to make the effort to say more. 

If you’re interested though, here are some messy links to other posts where I’ve already talked about it:

• https://feministingforchange.tumblr.com/post/166653371245/kindkinofpolyhell-feministingforchange
  
• https://feministingforchange.tumblr.com/post/166395537400/so-i-noticed-that-i-was-struggling-a-lot-trying-to
  
• https://feministingforchange.tumblr.com/post/164632050520/autism-spectrum-disorder-fibromyalgia-and
  

And in future, I’ll try to make even more of an effort to discuss the overlap in my experience and feel free to ask me about it if there are any particular questions you have. 

I’m no expert on either autism or fibro, but i do live with both and can give an insider’s perspective, if nothing else lol. 

Also, if any of my followers/mutuals/& any others out there also experience both, it would be great to hear your perspectives as well! 

[strangerdarkerbetter]

Shoutout to the autistics with chronic pain

To autistics who stim to try to ignore their pain

To autistics who are in too much pain to stim but need to anyway

To autistics who can’t tell anymore if their in pain or having sensory issues or something else

To autistics whose sensory issues are made worse by their pain and vice versa in a horrible cycle

To autistics who have meltdowns because of their pain

To autistics who feel weak or broken or anything else negative because of how they deal with their pain

You are so strong. You deal with so much pain with a brain that experiences the world intensely. You are so brave facing each day knowing the pain that is to come. You are incredible. I see you and I see your struggles. I see how hard it is to get out of bed each day. I know what it feels like to want to just give up. But you are so beautiful and you have so much to offer the world. Your existence matters. 

I hope you find relief. I hope you find a something that eases your pain. I hope things get better for you. 

[forevrdreamingofbetterthings]

✨☀️🌈🌷🎉 signal boost to save a life 🎉🌷🌈☀️✨

loxol asked:

So Diana (the dog I recently adopted) is, of course, very energetic as many puppies are. She can run for miles, take a nap, and be ready to run some more. She has a hard time relaxing when she's not absolutely exhausted so I've been experimenting with things and I actually find that massages really help her relax and sleep at night. Just putting pressure on her joints and muscles (especially the neck and shoulders) make her m e l t.

2/ It’s really interesting considering deep pressure is also what calms autistic people (and a lot of people with anxiety disorders too).

OMG SO CUTE!! Give that sweet little baby all the love she deserves, that’s wonderful. My cats are also super big on massages, although Gracie is even more into the light but spanks lol.

So sorry btw that it’s taken so long to respond to this message, i completely forgot about it, many apologies my friend!!

Personally, my fibro complicates the concept of a massage for me so I don’t tend to get them (wayyyy too painful), but it’s great to know that other autistic folks benefit from deep pressure massages!! It sounds like it would be super nice if it weren’t for all the fibro pain points :/

i’m still in so much goddamn pain, when will it end?!?!?!

@whatdoestheribbonstandfor replied to your post “so far i’ve been in way too much pain today, this has gotta stop :’(”

I’m sorry to hear that. More spoons, low pain levels, and enough sleep and rest are my wishes for you.

ty i appreciate it! unfortunately i didn’t sleep long enough last night, so that kinda sucks, and i have a meeting and an appointment today and i just…. ughhhhhhhh the pain is still high, as is the depression :’(

so far i’ve been in way too much pain today, this has gotta stop :’(

i really wish that eating didn’t cause me so much hell