Comment by thenerdhead | Hacker News Reader

Comment by thenerdhead | Hacker News Reader

I have spent majority of my adult life operating under the idea that I'm on the spectrum. I have no problem sharing that detail of my life as I sit in front of a computer for more than 8 hours most days and would identify as introverted and eccentric in my own ways.

What I found interesting is that as I experimented with lowering my screen time and doing more analog activities, my symptoms that had me believing I was on the spectrum started to disappear.

I became more extroverted. I regained my attention towards a single task. I no longer exploded with anger or frustration when I was overwhelmed. I even started to accomplish things I never thought I would and see side projects to completion.

At a certain point, I said enough is enough with regards to coping and dedicated each new day to working on these challenges. I don't think I'm the same person I previously identified as. I mean that in a good way.

The article mentions this a bit later:

> Most people who struggle to find stable employment also contend with things like intergenerational poverty and/or trauma, cycles of abuse, mental illness, systemic discrimination, disability or neurological disorders. Not only are these all chronically stressful and traumatic circumstances, they have all been linked to a high incidence of impaired executive function.

I would agree here. As I started to face my childhood/generational trauma, mental illnesses, and other regular things you question as you approach 30, I started to find much more peace with everything. On-top of that, I started to find what I'm passionate for and continue to work towards that each day.

I think everyone has their own journey to go through, but I do believe it's possible to change drastically as an individual.

Really interesting to hear about the link between the things you were spending time on and thr person you were. We forgot how much the things we do affect who we are.

It makes me think of the idea in that book the shallows: Where every tech advancement also removes a skill or connection.

Writing meant we lost our oral tradition and the social bonds that came with it; Maps made us better at navigating but we lost touch with the spaces we were in; The clock gave our days structure but we stop depending on our bodies to tell us when we were hungry or tired.

I do wonder how many subtle things we are giving up for the privilege of using computers and participating in a global digital culture.

Thanks so much for sharing it was insightful.

I played a lot of sports and I'm very much on the spectrum. I didn't have any coordination issues though. I do find physical activity makes me feel better in general but it certainly doesn't "reduce" my autism. I have gotten a lot better at dealing with it as I've gotten older though (I guess many would call this masking).

I agree that everyone has their own journey, I don’t agree that life is equally difficult. But I do think we should think very carefully before making any attempt to try to equalize life to avoid making it worse. For example, I think grievance culture is counter productive.

Personally, I have ADHD by way of a genetic mutation. As I get older (30s) I’m getting more and more chronically fatigued. Something I presume is plaguing Hannah as well - it tends to kick in ~20s. I also think my crazy math ability is liked to it as well. While I would swap CFS for a lot of other disabilities I’m not so sure about giving up my math ability.

Have you ever had a methylation profile done? Would highly recommend it. https://www.doctorsdata.com/methylation-profile-plasma/

What's a methylation profile? I tried reading the link but it seemed quite technical.

Methylation is a metabolic chemical reaction your body does, facilitated by enzymes, that sticks a methyl group onto stuff. There’s different genetic mutations for more or less copies or less efficient copies of the relevant enzymes.

The idea is some people are genetically very low/poor methylaters so they’re methylation impaired. Generally the solution if found to be a poor methylater is to take forms of vitamins that are already methylated, like methylfolate

> Generally the solution if found to be a poor methylater is to take forms of vitamins that are already methylated, like methylfolate

Other possible treatments are L-Methionine or S-Adenosyl-Methionine (SAMe), as was recommended in my personal case of a deficiency in "methionine adenosyltransferase" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-Adenosylmethionine_synthetas...). If you are on a concurrent SSRI (as many with this problem tend to need), the L-Methionine is temporarily used in lieu of the SAMe in order to help wean off the SSRI without the risk of Serotonin Syndrome that comes with SAMe + SSRI combination.

I'm not a doctor, just someone who has this as a patient.

Not yet, I’ve been going down other paths. I’ll look into it, thx

FYI: Most "methylation" tests, books, and treatments are very firmly in the alternative medicine category. Much of it is pseudoscience.

It is true that a small subset of people can have a certain set of mutations that has clinical significance, but the alternative medicine community has been hard at work trying to expand this condition to cover far more people than it actually does.

One common trick is to perform as many tests as possible, along with as many permutations of those tests (e.g. the various ratios between values). The more tests you conduct, the easier it is to find one that might be out of a specific range and therefore convince the purchaser that the test was worthwhile. If you really wanted to test something, you'd skip this test and get a cheap genetic test to see your MTHFR variant (note: heterozygous is fine, no matter what the naturopaths try to tell you).

It's also common to claim a test has significance in every medical condition that people might be Googling. The test you linked is guilty of this, claiming to be "Useful for" everything from autism to birth defects to cancer, down syndrome, immune dysfunction, nutritional deficiencies, psychiatric disorders and more.

Any test that claims to be relevant to so many different medical conditions is a huge red flag.

Save your money. If you're curious, you can read more about how the whole "methylation" and MTHFR alternative medicine got so out of control because one naturopathic author pushed it so hard as an explanation for everything: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/pseudoscience-reviews/gene...

There's another good article here about why this test isn't really warranted for most people: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/a-genetic-test-you-dont-n...

As someone who personally experienced a rapid and significant resolution of ADHD, fatigue, and other symptoms as a result of a methylation test + methionine supplementation (supervised and recommended by a mainstream medical doctor at my primary care clinic), this is amusing to read.

Cue the "but anecdotal experiences aren't valid" hyperbole.

> Any test that claims to be relevant to so many different medical conditions is a huge red flag.

How much do you understand about DNA methylation?

> If you really wanted to test something, you'd skip this test and get a cheap genetic test to see your MTHFR variant (note: heterozygous is fine, no matter what the naturopaths try to tell you).

Homozygous C677T still affects ~10% of caucasians but isn't sufficient in and of itself to show poor methylation. C677T only shows a predisposition to the problem. So you have it backwards on recommended tests.

Since not everyone knows where to find cheap genetic tests, I'll be a good neighbor and recommend Nebula Genomics + Promethease (with the exported raw data). Stay away from 23andme.

I’m glad you found resolution for your personal symptoms with the help of a doctor.

The mistake is promoting methylation quackery as the underlying cause of everything, as your link above did. It’s obvious quackery and the medical community unanimously agrees (see my references above).

I’m glad you found a specific help for your specific situation. Extending that to be a wide-scale affliction of the population is the mistake.

I hope everyone reading this thread takes time to review mainstream medical sources (not naturopathic authors, test peddling websites, or anecdotes)

My guy, the parent commenter has been suffering for decades. It’s not unreasonable to try new ideas at this point, nor is it unreasonable to assume that mainstream medicine has done what it can. The cost of the test is relatively low, and the risks of taking SAMe or L-methionine are low as well. The only risk here is that to the bottom line of the AMA cartel.

The test I linked is the same one that I had taken, don’t judge a book by its cover.

It’s not a catch all for everything, that’s why I suggested a $200 test, not a $20 supplement.

> Extending that to be a wide-scale affliction of the population is the mistake.

The very real pandemic of not-my-problem-itis is what led to this, with Obamacare making it into a gasoline fire. Good for profits, bad for life expectancy.

> the medical community unanimously agrees (see my references above).

The whole premise of that Cleveland Clinic article is based on the idea that genetic testing costs thousands of dollars as it does under the AMA cartel prices. Mayo Clinic for example charges $7000 for a few dozen generic markers. The genetic test I suggested is $99, and you get the entire part of the genome that has variations among humans. I would agree with the article that you shouldn’t pay an arm and a leg for a single genetic marker, but that’s not what we are talking about here.

I was always "geeky" and a little behind in terms of socio-emotional development. In recent years I started wondering if I was on the spectrum.

But the more I've delved into it, I've come to the conclusion that no, it's just that I was geeky + raised in a home with abuse, and that when you don't get your emotional needs met in childhood, you skip a lot of developmental milestones and have to make up for them later.

There's more than one reason to feel like you don't "get" certain things about social interaction.

38 here, and really started to make headway with my spectrum issues in my early 30s.

And I think you are absolutely onto something about having “analog” activities. I started playing sports in my 30s (oh god my joints), and learning to move through real 3D space and real the subtleties of other people’s body language and movement was a real breakthrough for me.

Now…that does present a bit of a chicken/egg problem. Because I had just terrible proprioception growing up. Awful. Clumsy as all get-out. Which tends to go along with spectrum disorders.

> Now…that does present a bit of a chicken/egg problem. Because I had just terrible proprioception growing up. Awful. Clumsy as all get-out. Which tends to go along with spectrum disorders.

I was much the same way--absolutely abysmal at any sort of sport requiring the barest ounce of physical coordination. I semi-randomly ended up in ballet class in my early teens though, and started social dance in college because my friends did. I can't say I was amazing at those either, but not so awful as I was at youth sports, and it's developed into a great way to de-stress.

My proprioception for dance is quite good now (even if I'm still shit at remembering specific steps), and while I can't compare it to others', I'd guess that sticking with it forced my brain to compensate for whatever normal proprioception pathways it lacks by building an alternate one. Neuroplasticity is great!

It's hard to practice social basics when you're older because most of the adult population have mastered them and expect the same of others, but there are _plenty_ of people of any age who aren't any good at dancing and are trying to learn despite.

> I have spent majority of my adult life operating under the idea that I'm on the spectrum

Has this changed over time? Your opening sentence kind of suggests that it has, but you do not return to this idea. I'm curious what your current opinion is.

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