Mental Health Concerns about the Autism diagnosis process with benzo use.

[Bleaney]

I have finally figured out what has been causing the debilitating social anxiety that has blighted my entire adult life - I am Autistic.

I've only self diagnosed so far, I've done heaps of research on You Tube channels and forums, done online tests and joined Neuro Divergent type Meetup groups. Scored well over the threshold on mosts screening tests, including a score of 7/10 on the medical screening test they use in the UK.

Although I feel quite sure within myself that this is the case, finally and suddenly all my difficulties finally make sense and can be explained to myself, I suppose that the absolute certainty of a professional diagnosis would make it absolutely real, and not just something that could be all in my head.

Such is life though that there are always complicating factors. My concern and dilemma at the moment with all of this is the following: Do I disclose my benzo use?

I read somewhere on Bluelight that you have to be off all medications and drugs, prescribed or otherwise, for a period of 6 months prior to a diagnosis. Benzo use and or withdrawl could interfere with a diagnosis, so someone on Bluelight said.

Is this true, does anyone know? Does anyone have relevant experience or knowledge? I would love to hear from you.

I have tried life without benzos several times, and for stretches of years at at time. I am currently not willing to do it again, not right now. It makes everyday social interactions so much more difficult for me without benzos. I genuinely fear that I would lose my job and become unemployable without benzos. The positive reinforcement is abundantly clear to me every time I experiment with facing social siuations with benzos and without benzos. The elimination of the anxiety is a huge part of it sure, but benzos just seem to make relating to other people so much easier. They fix my social issues to a very large extent. (I have tried CBT - recently completed 16 weeks of one to one session sessions with a therapist, although it helped a bit with some parts of my issues it never really got close to addressing the route cause of the anxiety)

I don't use benzos every day. I try to have days off every week. I'm technically not addicted, although getting close. (Let's not get too much into that aspect at the moment please, this is not what I want to focus on right now)

So I could just keep quiet about my benzo use during my assesment, and not disclose the fact that I am using them to help me deal with the anxiety I face, and turn up to the assesment in my natural / non benzoed state. That would be the real, unmedicated me. It would be a white lie, and in my mind not of any huge relevance or significance to the diagnostic process. I know life is not fair, but to me it is grossly unfair that benzo use would invalidate an assesment, IF this is the case, and if the psychologist / diagnostician would consider that to be the case.

But if i did keep quiet my concern is that the assessor could then say something along the lines of 'because you can hold down a full time job and look after yourself without support, therefor you dont have any clinically significant impairment, so you can't possibly be autistic'. I have heard that they do say things like this, from the hundreds of hours of Autism experience You Tube videos I have watched. I could try to get the point across about how difficult all this is for me. But then the "clinically significant impairment" aspect comes into it, and it's the assesors judgement call.

So in summary, my dilemma is this, risk the assessor refusing to make a diagnosis due to me having disclosed my benzo use, and consequently the assessor then refusing to see the test as valid due to the fact of my benzo use. Or, if I was to keep quiet about my benzo use they might turn around and say 'you're doing fine, you can hold down a job and look after yourself therefor you dont have any clinically significant impairment', therefor you dont meet the diagnostic threshold.

Do you see what I mean? Does this make sense? Does anyone have relevant experience, or just any advice?

If you got this far, thank you for reading.

 

[Bare_head]

Dont tell them

 

[n3ophy7e]

I have finally figured out what has been causing the debilitating social anxiety that has blighted my entire adult life - I am Autistic.

I've only self diagnosed so far, I've done heaps of research on You Tube channels and forums, done online tests and joined Neuro Divergent type Meetup groups. Scored well over the threshold on mosts screening tests, including a score of 7/10 on the medical screening test they use in the UK.

Although I feel quite sure within myself that this is the case, finally and suddenly all my difficulties finally make sense and can be explained to myself, I suppose that the absolute certainty of a professional diagnosis would make it absolutely real, and not just something that could be all in my head.

Such is life though that there are always complicating factors. My concern and dilemma at the moment with all of this is the following: Do I disclose my benzo use?

I read somewhere on Bluelight that you have to be off all medications and drugs, prescribed or otherwise, for a period of 6 months prior to a diagnosis. Benzo use and or withdrawl could interfere with a diagnosis, so someone on Bluelight said.

Is this true, does anyone know? Does anyone have relevant experience or knowledge? I would love to hear from you.

I have tried life without benzos several times, and for stretches of years at at time. I am currently not willing to do it again, not right now. It makes everyday social interactions so much more difficult for me without benzos. I genuinely fear that I would lose my job and become unemployable without benzos. The positive reinforcement is abundantly clear to me every time I experiment with facing social siuations with benzos and without benzos. The elimination of the anxiety is a huge part of it sure, but benzos just seem to make relating to other people so much easier. They fix my social issues to a very large extent. (I have tried CBT - recently completed 16 weeks of one to one session sessions with a therapist, although it helped a bit with some parts of my issues it never really got close to addressing the route cause of the anxiety)

I don't use benzos every day. I try to have days off every week. I'm technically not addicted, although getting close. (Let's not get too much into that aspect at the moment please, this is not what I want to focus on right now)

So I could just keep quiet about my benzo use during my assesment, and not disclose the fact that I am using them to help me deal with the anxiety I face, and turn up to the assesment in my natural / non benzoed state. That would be the real, unmedicated me. It would be a white lie, and in my mind not of any huge relevance or significance to the diagnostic process. I know life is not fair, but to me it is grossly unfair that benzo use would invalidate an assesment, IF this is the case, and if the psychologist / diagnostician would consider that to be the case.

But if i did keep quiet my concern is that the assessor could then say something along the lines of 'because you can hold down a full time job and look after yourself without support, therefor you dont have any clinically significant impairment, so you can't possibly be autistic'. I have heard that they do say things like this, from the hundreds of hours of Autism experience You Tube videos I have watched. I could try to get the point across about how difficult all this is for me. But then the "clinically significant impairment" aspect comes into it, and it's the assesors judgement call.

So in summary, my dilemma is this, risk the assessor refusing to make a diagnosis due to me having disclosed my benzo use, and consequently the assessor then refusing to see the test as valid due to the fact of my benzo use. Or, if I was to keep quiet about my benzo use they might turn around and say 'you're doing fine, you can hold down a job and look after yourself therefor you dont have any clinically significant impairment', therefor you dont meet the diagnostic threshold.

Do you see what I mean? Does this make sense? Does anyone have relevant experience, or just any advice?

If you got this far, thank you for reading.

It definitely makes sense, I see your quandary. I am inclined to say, be honest with them about your benzo use and emphasise WHY you need benzos in order to function. However yes I do understand your hesitation to do so.....

One thing is for sure, I agree that you should be assessed without having taken any benzos.

Honestly I would be VERY surprised if the assessor either refuses to do the test, or views the results as invalid, just because you take benzos. If anything, a good therapist/assessor will understand that it only adds to the diagnosis, not makes it invalid.

But I will say, don't let something that you once read on Bluelight dictate your decision. Ultimately it's up to you and your judgement.

 

[Bleaney]

^^ yeah thanks for that, it seems I may be mistaken in my fears about making the test invalid.

Another fear has become clearer though, the fear that some kind of "intervention" may be put into place if I was to disclose my benzo use, these things can be draconian, especially if they involve informing the police as well as social workers etc. It could all mean in effect that my freedom to choose would be taken away from me, if I ended up having to be watched or supervised in any way. That would definitely not be an outcome I would want to risk occurring.

I may mention that I have used benzos occasionally and have found them to be helpful.

 

[Jerry Atrick]

I was going to echo @n3ophy7e's sentiments on this matter until your latest post.

After watching all the youtube and internet research, have you gotten any indication that you will be drug tested? If not then you will be interviewed, where they will eventually quiz you on drug use, previous and present. You just have to make the conscious decision whether you think being honest will help you or hurt you.

I have always struggled with these things because of chronic marijuana use. I could quit today and still pee dirty in 2 months. When I was broke, between jobs, and needing psychiatric care, I went to the local clinic for poor people and they quizzed me. Living housed but on the brink of homelessness, I lied to them so I would be accepted into their program but not sent to the chemical dependency folks to make me quit. A few years later I had a good job with benefits, my private psychiatrist had me tested for mild ASD. That time I told mostly truth to the clinical psychologist interviewing me. I told him I smoked weed once every week or two (more like every day). Turns out I didn't have mild ASD.

I totally empathize your situation. Like n3ophy7e said, honesty is usually the best policy. However, I also feel you for fearing they may just say "illegal drug use is causing your symptoms" not knowing how foolish that sounds and totally dismissing the root of why you are there. Depending on the questions they ask, sometimes half truths can get you the help you need. I would probably act like I've been off them a few months, just give them something to nibble on but nothing to cause alarm.

Not sure what country you are in but I don't think admitting benzo use will get you face time with the police. In my experience, unless someone is behaving violently, the medical people typically try to shield their patients from the law enforcement people. I'm not trying to minimize your dilemma. I'm mostly worried about them not giving you the diagnosis just because of current substance use.

 

[Eligiu]

To get diagnosed accurately with basically anything you really do have to be drug free for them to make any kind of accurate assessment. It's why I had to get rediagnosed with bipolar incase the initial diagnosis was drug induced.

I recently got diagnosed as autistic. One of the diagnostic criteria is that it does have to be impairing you in some way for you to get a diagnosis, but that's because it's a deficit based diagnosis. We all know we are just different, but the diagnostic criteria is based on impairment and deficits. If you have any questions feel free to hit me up, I'm happy to talk about it.

 

[December Flower]

Still super hard to differentiate between ASD and ADD in terms of diagnosis.
Many diagnoses are made prematurely, sometimes docs will just diagnose both to save themselves the trouble.

The reaction to stimulants is usually a give-away though, post diagnosis, kek

 

[Eligiu]

Still super hard to differentiate between ASD and ADD in terms of diagnosis.
Many diagnoses are made prematurely, sometimes docs will just diagnose both to save themselves the trouble.

The reaction to stimulants is usually a give-away though, post diagnosis, kek

Don't get me wrong, I think ADHD is real, but I think it's massively over diagnosed, especially in kids who experience early childhood trauma and abuse and have neglect going on at home. Kids facing difficult home lives have more shit to worry about than a maths test and might get up and wonder. I used to volunteer on camps with kids in foster care and one camp we had 20 kids, all with an 'ADHD diagnosis' and ALL on high doses of Ritalin. They were all removed for extreme domestic violence or sexual abuse. Those kids don't have fucking ADHD their brains are cooked because they're processing the shit they've witness and been part of. Stop flinging Ritalin at them. I literally wanted to stop dosing half of the kids since they got demonstrably worse after being medicated. Shits me to fucking tears.