Posted by nutjob on March 30, 2006, at 12:22:45
In reply to Re: Avoidant Personality and Amisulpride, posted by minimal on March 30, 2006, at 10:08:47
Yes, it is essentially "social anxiety disorder," which I had been previously diagnosed with several years ago. But just recently I underwent extensive neuropsychological testing, and they redefined the problem as an Axis II Personality Disorder. I don't know why they make this distinction, though from what I've read Avoidant Personality Disorder is thought to be more pervasive and harder to treat. In any case, for me, it is crippling.
I know what you mean about the psychostims being helpful. The instant release formulations make me even more anxious, but 15 mgs of Dexedrine ER helps a good deal. Unfortunately I cannot take psychostims because even at tiny doses they make my heart race and I develop an overwhelming urge to journal and document all of my thoughts--sometimes for 16+ hours straight. This reaction led my therapist to conclude that not only do I have an avoidant personality, a severe attention impairment (I scored in the 82nd percentile on the CCPT), and a memory problem (which she attributes to the ADHD), I also have what she calls "Bipolar NOS" (not otherwise specified). In other words, according to her, I don't meet the criteria for Bipolar disorder because I do not display symptoms when I am unmedicated, however I do have manic-like reactions to certain medications (namely the stims, Prozac, and Geodon).
poster:nutjob
thread:626462
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060329/msgs/626599.html