Embark with me on a tragic journey, where we’ll meet the god of Hell and some of his minions, fight off demons (and Eskom) and search for an elusive magical potion (read: cure for autism). The main characters are my adoptive brother, and myself.
Disclaimer: there’s going to be a lot of mixed metaphors and sarcasm.
Diagnosed with Asperger’s in the 70’s, our hero – Odin* – was never told about the diagnosis, as his mother believed he would be stigmatized and stereotyped. She wasn’t wrong, if you look at even how autistic people are still treated today. She also feared that it may discourage him from pursuing his dreams. So she hid it from him, and made sure he received all the special attention and extra lessons he needed.
Highly intelligent but struggling with social situations, always feeling uncomfortable and like he doesn’t fit in, Odin left school at 15 to start work. He joined the military on the mandatory conscription and was then recruited by a global superpower to join their forces. He also became a qualified sommelier, one of only four in South Africa at the time, and spent his time in between military tours working in some of the finest Cape Town restaurants and hotels.
In 2018, his mother reveals to him the diagnosis, and his life changes. Suddenly everything makes sense! You know that feeling of “well that explains everything” – but in overdrive. Every doubt, every fear, every confusing aspect of himself is suddenly explained by this single revelation. Now he knows there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s operating on another frequency, running a different OS, vibing to a different tune. We identify the comorbidities together and we find ways of dealing with them.
For the sake of this specific situation, I will be using the term Aspergers and no, I don’t care that it’s not being used anymore. Asperger’s is “high-functioning autism” – but there are other distinctions between Aspergers and Autism, although both conditions are on the main ASD spectrum.
Odin always says he hates the term ‘high-functioning’, because it makes it sound like he’s doing all good when in fact, some days the sun is too loud and the clothes are too scratchy and no matter how he sits on his favourite chair he’s still uncomfortable and he can’t focus on a single thing because he’s uncomfortable.
The comorbidities of Autism are, amongst others: ADHD (or ADD), ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), PDA (pathological demand avoidance), OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), anxiety and alexithymia. Odin also has, apart from these, PTSD from his military service.
In 2015, Odin was treated for bruxism by a GP and prescribed amitryptiline. It’s a tricyclic antidepressant but it works wonders for bruxism. He was grinding his teeth out of his skull, and since 2015, hasn’t made a squeak. I want to make this abundantly, exaggeratedly clear: the amitryptiline (brand name Trepiline) was prescribed 3 whole-ass years before Odin found out about his ASD diagnosis, and ONLY for bruxism.
Autism was nowhere near the picture.
In 2018, only a month or two before he learned of the diagnosis, a GP diagnosed him with anxiety. A useful medication, ironically designed for war veterans, is the benzodiazepine clonazepam, also known as Rivotril. It can be used in conjunction with the amitryptiline without major side effects. Odin started using it and his life improved even more, the comorbidities are easier to deal with and he sleeps better at night. All in all, it’s good.
Until it wasn’t.
*Pseudonym. Obviously. But the story is factual and all the characters are real people.
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