How I found out I was AuDHD

I was having issue with Carpal Tunnel or something mimicking it or something way worse, I don’t know.

Basically my house got a new deck and windows and siding. Doesn’t sound like much but…

In 2023 my husband, while very drunk, got on the phone and setup a refinance of the house.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This flipped me out. Nerves not working for me.

I already called myself ADHD since the 90’s.

Introverted but hyperactive sort of.

So house is refinanced, without me on the note. Another ball of wax.

Plans on deck, gets someone to build it, stressed the F out of me. At least it was built. Just not A-OK enough.

Then Windows and siding replaced. Big holes in my house, strange men in house, a crazy hen transforming in to a rooster to chase away from everything (just in the neighborhood, me and she kind of adopted each other.)

It was chaos for days, with my husband not here at all.

See it was me, managing the chicken and the jobs.

I fell apart. By the time the house was painted, October of 2023 I had issues pinching things without reaction pin and needles and numbness. Over the next couple of weeks my hands felt crazier and crazier, I had a really bad time, and was having pulling feeling up arms down back crazy stuff, especially at night while TRYING to sleep.

So went through hell end of 2023 and into 2024 not getting much relief and getting very little actual sleep. Went to Emerg. sort of DR. March 2024 and they said tape up my arms all the time and take Aleve religiously. I had fluid, or edema all through my body by nearly a month of that, I quit when I realized it was a possible side effect. What?

I had Followup referral with an occupational dr. months and months later setup.

I never went. I got a therapy massage thing online. That seemed to really help.

Thing is, I had times when my hands stopped doing junk. At any rate, the day I went there, nothing going on in my hands. Xray proved not arthritis, there’s that.

So I went and watched a bunch of ADHD youtube videos and took a test to show my daughter how ADHD I really was. Full tilt ADHD, Yup. April.

One day I saw the words You might be Autistic… on a video on the side bar. I thought, “huh. Weird.”

I still didn’t know what Autism REALLY was.

Made the wheels start churning in my mind and eventually I started looking up articles (first search May 6, 2024) and tests and everything turned up yeah, Autistic, and ADHD. Oh gawwwwww! I knew I was AuDHD absolutely.

Joined the Autism Women reddit and enjoyed that for awhile, but in the Autumn…

Started watching Autism videos. Creators of these, I liked some, didn’t like others as much, but loved nearly every one that said they were Autistic but also ADHD. AuDHD

I knew after some days of my first autistic research I must be. I have to be. I really truly am. Yes. I am self-diagnosed AuDHD at the age of 57. I’m just about a year into knowing.

Also I now understand I am very likely POTS too. I have many things I usually call Storms or Episodes. I am very susceptible to failing in heat or heat with too much humidity way earlier than anyone else I know. More on that another Page or Post. I want to exercise but have issues wanting to. I need to lose weight I’ve gained in the last 5+years and nothing works. Nothing. Eating just a little of anything makes me feel so full. Eating a meal makes me feel ill. It sucks all my life.

Probably hypermobile as well. Put all this together. My nervous system malfunctioned and right now it’s not like it was. It’s just mild edema in my hands and wrists and joints after sleeping. It takes awhile to leave me. Migraines complicate it all. My joints hurt frequently and it’s really tough to get going after waking up. Flareup, chronic flareup on and off since January 2025 at least.

I don’t know if I ever had carpal tunnel. The things is that therapy thing doesn’t work for me the last few times I tried it. I stopped using it for many weeks then tried it again, and no thank you!

As long as my hands fully clear and my wrists, I feel normal enough then. I can type or play on PS5, even with stuff in my hands and fingers and wrists I can type some. The crazy ants move around but that’s it, they just vanish if I do nothing. Anyhow…

I have clear hands most days after 10am or 12pm or 1pm or 3pm on worse days.

I have stopped having 2 cups of coffee. I have one after drinking water, then a sencha green tea. Drinking water alternatively through the day. Sometimes I do have 2 cups of coffee. I’m getting a nice whole bean water decaffeinated coffee next week to try. (April 29, 2025)

Last edit: April 26, 2025 8:51 EDT am