6 Real Diseases That Have Somehow Become Trendy

[Cid_B]

I've seen more than a few cracked articles around here so I'm adding this to the pile.

What reminded me of DU was the multitude of sociopathy diagnoses that are handed out daily.

#6. Asperger's

#5. Sociopathy

#4. Gluten Intolerance

---snip---

#1.Bipolar Disorder

I thought ADD, ADHD would have made the list but oh well...

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-real-diseases-that-have-somehow-become-trendy/

[musette_sf]

1. Aspergers and ADD are both on the autism spectrum

and to people who get diagnosed on the spectrum later in life, and then receive treatment and therapy, it's like being released from a life sentence of thinking that they had only themselves to blame for feeling like a misfit all their lives.

And you don't have to have full-blown celiac disorder to suffer from unpleasant symptoms of gluten intolerance. It's very liberating to discover that you don't have to live with constant stomach upsets and associated digestive & eliminatory issues any more.

Yeah, a lot of people do tend to jump on the bandwagon when a disease or disorder becomes trendy... but there are a lot of people out there blaming themselves and beating themselves up for conditions that are very real, that were not known about or fully understood in years past.

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. Since when is ADD on the autism spectrum?

[AverageJoe90]

52. It really isn't.

I should know...........

[demodonkey]

2. Excuse me. My late brother had Aspergers/Autism. It was neither funny nor trendy.

My brother Paul struggled all his life. Originally he was wrongly diagnosed (by a school nurse, masquerading as a psychologist) as being retarded. The next diagnosis was "Childhood Schizophrenia" even though he was never out of touch with reality or had any other schizoid symptoms. Not until Paul was an adult was he correctly diagnosed as being "high functioning" Autistic, or Aspergers.

In the meantime Paul developed Type I Diabetes diagnosed on his 13th birthday. He finally died at age 49 after being admitted to a nursing home for skilled therapy for a broken shoulder. The nursing home refused to consider that he was developing an infection even though his blood sugars were spiking to over 700. Eventually his sugar went to 1700 (NOT a typo, I mean seventeen hundred) and he had a massive brain hemorrhage. The cause of death was the hemorrhage AND two (yes 2) drug-resistant infections that had been overlooked, even though I personally visited almost daily and repeatedly asked that Paul be checked for an infection because of the high sugar levels.

No, no one was ever sued for overlooking the problem that killed Paul because the sad fact is that a disabled person's life isn't worth that much in this country in terms of legal liability... meaning apparently is hard to collect much if anything on the death of a single Autistic man with Diabetes as opposed to a "normal" family breadwinner.

Anyway, shame on this website for making what they call humor out of a condition like Asperger's Syndrome. It's NOT funny.

[Shandris]

3. The article seemed to handle -real- cases of the disease with a degree of...

...proper respect for the people who have it. What it's poking fun at is the people who all CLAIM to have a disease, and this is something anyone who talks with multiple people on non-specific forums (like Reddit versus CarandDriver.com) or games or whatnot can tell you -- there are a LOT of people claiming to have these diseases who you know really don't. They don't know the REAL symptoms, just the 'casual' symptoms -- the kind that apply to a lot of people. I don't think the article's author meant anything disparaging towards people who actually HAVE the diseases, like your brother.

FWIW, I was 'diagnosed' by several people with laymen's 'knowledge' of Asperger's. Unlike many, I DID go to see a psychiatrist about it, and when I told her what I had heard (this was after about 3 sessions or so, so I had a chance to feel 'comfortable' with her)...she laughed at me because I was SO FAR from the actual list of symptoms might as well have been asking her if I had Rubella. I would ~never~ want to make fun of someone who has a disease by cheapening the actual struggle involved.

[Blue_Tires]

4. +1

First diagnosed at the age of 31

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

21. You?

For real? Medically diagnosed and all?

[Blue_Tires]

29. Yeah...

It explained a lot of things...

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

45. I didn't notice anything odd in you.

(Of course, coming from me, that doesn't mean much. :crazy:)

[Lucian]

33. It really helps to read the article before lashing out an emotional response.

[demodonkey]

64. I read it. Twice. Actually three times.

Didn't like it at all. I thought it was trite and shallow. Ass Burgers indeed. Ha ha ha. You know that will stick with some people and they'll pin it on people who really DO have this condition. My brother faced enough discrimination in his lifetime; the rude remarks, the stares, etc. If he was still with us, he sure as hell wouldn't need someone calling him Ass Burgers.

Personally, I don't know of anyone claiming to have Asperger's who hasn't been medically diagnosed, and many with that diagnosis today have the same problems my brother faced getting there.

Maybe if you had a brother who was misdiagnosed most of his life, had it very rough because of this, and is now DEAD because of yet another misdiagnosis of yet another medical condition, maybe you might understand.

[KT2000]

5. Epidemiologists

would be wise to look at root causes of these so-called "trendy" illnesses. But no - better to laugh off the declining health of our citizens.
(Hint - since post-WWII, our air and water has been carriers of some 100,000 poorly tested commercial chemicals. Tons of neurotoxins are dumped into the environment every year. They are just now learning that not only does the developing fetus become affected, especially in brain development, but the damaged genes are passed on to subsequent generations.
This article reeks of ignorance.

[RandomKoolzip]

6. Oh for crissakes - My girlfriend has Celiac disease and gluten makes her seriously ill.

This is just more of the "Well, I've never had this disease, so it must be fictional!" bullshit that people spout because they think being "politically incorrect" is cool.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. That's not really what they were saying.

They did point out that celiac disease is real, and can be very serious for some people - but also that some other people self-diagnose and assume they have a condition they don't have, which, incidentally, has led to the marketing of all sorts of products as "gluten-free" when they never had gluten in the first place.

I think what they were trying to say was that there are a number of conditions that are very real and serious for those who suffer from them, but there are also a lot of people (and some practitioners) who are incorrectly diagnosing themselves or others for no good reason.

[didact]

24. It makes me light-headed and prone to fits of impatience!

...but seriously, my daughter has Celiac and since her diagnosis she's been a new little girl. Without the biopsy you can't truly confirm it.

[catrose]

69. Hey, I'm glad for all those gluten-free products

having tried to fight the issue and multiple allergies (also maligned) special products. How nice to be able to go to a restaurant and order something besides a lettuce leaf with no dressing!

Having a family full of those trendy diseases (and yes, all diagnosed), I didn't appreciate the tone of the article.

[hobbit709]

74. My neighbor says she has gluten allergies and other things because her chiropractor told her so.

This is the same quack that strapped a box with LED's on it to her arm and the light pattern told her what toxins she needed to cleanse from her system.
Also the same quack that told her that her bladder infection could be cured with an adjustment. Until it got so painful she had to see a real MD.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

32. Don't let the tone of the OP throw you off. The article is actually reasonable.

But yeah, it's very prone to use by the "haw-haw-I'm-so-politically-incorrect" jerks you speak of. Like Cid_B, which is a troll and a jerk and an extreme right-winger (pardon the three-way redundancy) in about 758,194,057,289,581,209,651 other ways, and posted this with the sole purpose of insulting people, which is the one and only reason he is in DU at all. But of that I presume you are already painfully aware.

[cbdo2007]

7. I think most people actually do have a gluten intolerance.

I have people in my family with Celiac Disease but the more I've learned about gluten and gluten intolerance, I think most people have reactions to it and don't realize it or just pass the symptoms off on other things. Sure, with some people it's more than others but I know people who had really bad gas and stopped eating gluten and it went away. Same thing with stomach pains after eating. It isn't normal to feel pain or bloating or gas after eating, and many times going off gluten will stop these things that many people think are normal.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. There are a lot of things that can cause digestive problems.

Anyone who gets sick after eating needs to see a doctor, rather than experiment with their health. Most people are not gluten-intolerant, and most people recognize that it's not normal to feel bad after eating. It could be caused by a lot of things (acid reflux, for example). See a doctor before assuming it's something it might not be.

[City of Mills]

13. Agreed, but sometimes you just have to try things

I had moderate stomach/intestine discomfort for years, sent off for all sorts of tests, scans, xrays, endoscopies, and ended up with no diagnosis. Doctor was stumped for the most part, finally settled on IBS for some reason. Funny, he never asked me about my diet. Anyways, I started researching things and ended up learning about gluten and gluten intolerance. Figured I'd give a gluten free diet a try, for two weeks, and see if it made a difference. Maybe it's just coincidence, but by the end of the two weeks I didn't have any discomfort at all. Not only that, my lifelong lactose intolerance symptoms subsided quite a bit. I decided to stick with the gluten free diet, since it seemed to be doing more good than harm. I also ended up dropping some unhealthy weight.

[cbdo2007]

17. You think all the testing and x-rays are better for your health than going off gluten for 2 weeks?!?

Hahahahaha. That's hilarious. You say "rather than experiment with their health" as if gluten is a crucial ingredient to your diet. All people need to do is go off it for 2 weeks to see if their symptoms change, which is a lot more reasonable than all the money, time, and invasive procedures that you recommend to try find out what's wrong. At the very least you'll eat healthier for 2 weeks....which I guess IS a pretty tough assignment for most people.

[surrealAmerican]

19. There is a pretty accurate blood test for celiac disease.

No x-rays or invasive procedures are necessary to rule it out.

[cbdo2007]

43. That's the problem....

we aren't talking about Celiac Disease, we're talking about gluten intolerance. You proved my point.

There is NO TEST for gluten intolerance besides going off gluten. I know about 10 people who have gluten intolerance, none of whom were diagnosed by a doctor. My wife has 2 women that she works with that were experiencing symptoms, the docs can't find anything wrong after very invasive tests (xrays, bood tests, stomach scopes, etc.), she recommended to them to go off of gluten and both were "cured" and haven't felt stomach pains since then. One would break out on their skin, on their hands, and that has stopped since going off gluten.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. There are non-invasive tests for celiac disease.

However, the tests are inconclusive if you are already on a gluten-free diet.

You also want to be sure you don't have acid reflux, which can be a precursor to esophageal cancer.

Gluten is not bad for people who don't have a sensitivity to it. Most people can manage a very healthy diet that includes gluten.

[October]

35. I did this with my children and husband.

Celiac Disease runs in my husband's family.

Rather than put them through an invasive biopsy of the small intestine (having ingested gluten beforehand), I opted to remove it from our diet for 2-3 weeks. Upon re-introducing it, my children had nasty tummy pain.

My husband -- omg -- after less than a week, he looked at me at the dinner table and said, "I've never felt this good in my life." He was 38 and had no clue he was gluten-intolerant.

1 in 133 people have CD, and of that group, 95% don't know it!

p.s. The blood test can give false results. You have to have ingested gluten before the test.

[a la izquierda]

47. I just saw my doctor.

I have 5 blood relatives with Celiac disease. My blood test was negative. Know what I get to do now? Either 1) have an intestinal biopsy that my insurance won't pay for or 2) abstain from gluten for one month. I'd like to be able to have a normal digestive tract at some point in my life...

[RebelOne]

10. In my local Kroger supermarket,

there is a whole section in the frozen foods department with nothing but gluten-free dishes.

[KT2000]

11. Yes - the incidence

of Celiac is increasing.
For a long time doctors would not even test for it though because it was considered rare. They missed many people because of this.
My doctor was told in medical school that it would be rare for them to see cases of diabetes! Look how that worked out.
Auto-immune illnesses are on the rise.

[bklyncowgirl]

18. I was diagnosed with celiac as a kid. Didn't know until a week ago that I still have it.

I was very sick as a baby in the late '50s--couldn't keep solid food down. My mother's doctor tested me for everything under the sun including meningitis and came up with nothing. In desperation he went to an old med school prof of his who told him to send me to him. He diagnosed me with Celiac, put me on a gluten free diet (not an easy thing to do in those days) and I began to improve immediately. It was tough growing up not able to eat the things other kids ate but my symptoms (vomiting, diarehea) were so violent that I complied.

Back in those days the goal was to transition the patient to a normal diet, not understanding that this could cause a great deal of harm in the long run. I eventually got to the point where I could eat regular bread, dine on real pizza and drink real beer. I assumed I was cured even though from time to time I'd look it up and read that Celiac was for life. Since I no longer had symptoms I assumed that I was an exception.

I'm not a rush to the doctor type but I always put Celiac down on my medical history. I don't remember any doctors ever questioned me about it--they seemed to take for granted that I was cured.

A couple of weeks ago I went for a colonoscopy (one of the less wonderful things about turning 50). The gastroenterologist looked at my medical history and said he wanted to do an endoscopy to see if I still had celiac. He also ordered a blood test. Bottom line, although I was asymptomatic, or at least my symptoms were minimal, I still had the disease and still needed to be on a gluten free diet or run the risk of major health complications including an incurable form of cancer.

Since then I've been transitioning back to the diet that I had so gratefully given up when I was a teenager. The hardest part for me is going to be giving up beer. There are gluten free beers I've already tried one--and while Anheieser Busch's Redbridge product is pretty drinkable it's also quite expensive. I am already developing cravings for my old favorite Yuengling's Lord Chesterfield Ale or even a good old fashioned cold can of Bud.

Forget about trendy diseases--I'd be happy to give this one up.

[KT2000]

36. here is one for you:

My friend long had severe digestive problems. She read everything, called specialists requested Celiac test and was turned down. She finally connected with a dr who would test her and it was positive. Her father had life-long problems too but he had died by the time she found out it was celiac. Then her 10 year old nephew was about to have surgery to have some of his intestines removed. She begged her sister to have him tested but the sister thought she was nuts. Finally she relented and had the test. He was positive so they canceled the surgery and put him on gluten-free diet. He is doing better now.

Since so many are being diagnosed now I bet they will come up with a better beer for you!

[Atman]

73. I just read an article about this -- very few people have a gluten intolerance.

The article stated that it is estimated that 90% of glute-free products are sold to people with no gluten intolerance, simply because people see it on the label and think it must be healthier. It's not. Yes, some people have Celiac disease, but it isn't a very large number, certainly not enough to justify the current marketing trend. Don't flame, no opinion here, just repeating the report I read in health food magazine.

[hifiguy]

12. Snark not appreciated

I have been brilliant but _very_ different all my life. High school dropout to Harvard Law, but I've never been able to hold a job. Very limited social skills/life; never had a date much less a relationship and I am now in my mid 50s.

For years I beat myself up for "missing" something - I couldn't understand why I was a complete failure in life (still am and always will be at this point) until I was dX'd Asperger's in my late 40s. I fit EVERY ONE of the diagnostic criteria. It felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. I wasn't the only one.

There's no pill I can take for it. I am this way forever.

Take your "trendy" snark and shove it up your ass.

[alcibiades_mystery]

15. I believe you

It's not customary for people to go around telling others that they are "brilliant," especially in their opening sentence. Twenty years ago, I guess, most people would have simply thought the person who started a communication with "I have been brilliant all my life," as just being socially awkward to the point of cringing. Now we have a name for that awkwardness, which I'm sure does everybody some good.

[Shandris]

16. I take it you didn't read the article?

Because if you had, you would see that the author went to rather great pains to establish that he was referring to people who would NOT GO TO SOMEONE TO HAVE A PROFESSIONAL DIAGNOSIS. You did, which IMMEDIATELY removes you from the group the author was referring to. There was no snark that I could see intended towards -actual sufferers-.

Seriously, give the article a look.

[alcibiades_mystery]

14. I think in a hundred years

People will laugh at the idea of "sociopathy." At the very least, they'll laugh at the way it was used in our time. It's largely Lombrosoism and phrenology accomplished with fancy - if largely meaningless - brain scan machines.

[H2O Man]

20. Sociopathy

is not a "disease."

[Poll_Blind]

23. LOL! Ass Burgers, indeed! People who self-diagnose themselves with..

...serious disorders simply because some of the symptoms conveniently "fit" are notoriously frangible when called on it. I'm specifically speaking about the Asperger's "self-diagnosis" crowd.

It happened so much where I live I actually started asking people "When were you diagnosed?" and other questions related to their treatment of the disorder. I actually stumbled on this way of making their heads explode by accident- I had met so many people who claimed to have it that I started to become curious as to why the fuck there were so many people with it and how long they'd known they'd had it. I've yet to have a single person (since I started asking that) reply that they had been. It's all "Oh, I know I have it" or something equally lame.

Claiming you have a serious disorder/disease to explain away your otherwise-normal imperfections is weak.

A friend of mine has a little girl who is diagnosed autistic and she is a beautiful, intelligent little elfin thing. But there's nothing trendy or cool about the real difficulties and challenges she's faced with. It's an exceedingly difficult challenge for her as she hits puberty and I find it distasteful when people who have not been properly diagnosed just "decide" they've got something.

For a certain type of personality, self-diagnosis as an "Aspie" is as trendy as getting tribal artwork tattoos in the 90's was.

PB

[Roy Ellefson]

25. AR

I'm pissed that acid reflux is not on the list.

[Odin2005]

26. Asperger's is almost certainly UNDER-diagnosed.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

27. That's very possible. Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger%27s_syndrome#Diagnosis

"Underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis are problems in marginal cases. The cost and difficulty of screening and assessment can delay diagnosis. Conversely, the increasing popularity of drug treatment options and the expansion of benefits has motivated providers to overdiagnose ASD."

Good Cracked article, and it could have been posted without personal attacks or thinly veiled call-outs. But expecting that would be like expecting the proverbial scorpion not to sting the frog mid-river.

[petronius]

39. It wouldn't surprise me if it's simultaneously under-diagnosed clinically

and overly self-diagnosed. I have a few acquaintances who have practically run right through that list in the OP, sequentially contracting and then recovering from whatever condition has most recently burst into the public consciousness. It doesn't particularly bother me and I don't really care what their motivations are, but I can see how it might produce a burden of suspicion for people who genuinely have a condition. On the other hand, I think Sid makes a good point below, at least in the gluten case...

[AverageJoe90]

53. My opinion is quite to the contrary, Odin.

If anything, it's way OVER-diagnosed.......and vice versa for ADD.

[Odin2005]

59. Naw, I think ADHD is what is overdiagnosed.

NadinB, who is diagnosed with ADHD, told me a good way to test if you really have ADHD or not: if you have a normal reaction to caffeine you don't have ADHD, if caffeine calm you down rather than hypes you up then you do have ADHD. I think a lot of people who were diagnosed with ADHD were victims of a tendency to medicate little kids for acting like little kids.

[laruemtt]

28. sero positive Lymie here and

i wouldn't wish this on anybody - well, maybe the pukes right about now (just kidding, i think....)

[SidDithers]

30. I'm happy that so many people claim to be gluten intolerant...

and couldn't care less whether it's real or imagined.

That group has helped create a growing market for Gluten-Free products, which makes food selection for those with Celiac Disease, like my daughter, much easier.

Sid

[Doctor_J]

31. Why isn't teabaggerism on the list?

Surely that will be part of the next DSM

[sofa king]

49. No, the Teabaggers are the ones writng the new DSM.

The writers of the formerly peer-reviewed Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders have all had to sign nondisclosure agreements.

Leaks suggest to me that they're trying to re-write the Cluster B disorders so that they do not so clearly resemble George Bush and Mitt Romney (narcissistic), Dick Cheney and Newt Gingrich (they already re-wrote "sociopath" so that it's now "anti-social"), and Sarah Palin (histrionic).


http://journals.democraticunderground.com/sofa%20king/102

[Lucian]

34. Read the article, people.

They're smacking down the people who are faking having a particular disease.

Sheesh.

:eyes:

[KT2000]

37. No they are not

In the case of chemical sensitivity this person is relying upon industry generated opinion pieces, as does the AMA. Studies in the 1960s confirmed CS as being a brain injury. More studies have followed. Some have been published but most have been rejected for threatening the powerful corporations with liability claims. This person did not do their research and it is an ignorant article.
Published research - Kailin, Meggs, Haley, Rea, Kilburn and more

[Lucian]

46. Bahahaha.

Ok.

[KT2000]

48. I suggest you check

the book "They are Poisoning Us: From the Gulf War to the GUlf of Mexico" by Arnold Mann. Impeccable research done by the author/investigative reporter. It is the best book written on this subject.
And really, no need to be so rude.

[proud2BlibKansan]

40. Diseases aren't trendy

[uppityperson]

54. falsely diagnosing yourself with a disease, however, can be. That is what this is saying.

They are real diseases, but it has become trendy to falsely diagnose yourself with them. To the detriment of those who actually have the disease.

[ZombieHorde]

41. I think the following paragraph should have been included in the OP...

Things are different now. Not only do people make up fake diseases, but even worse, people are diagnosing themselves left and right with real medical and psychiatric disorders, which basically makes a joke out of the people who actually do suffer from those disorders.

[hifiguy]

42. That would have changed everything. nt

[cbc5g]

44. It's easy to say these are mostly made up when you don't experience them

What if they aren't becoming "trendy and cool" but ACTUALLY more prevalent?

We live in an extremely toxic world right now. A lot of foods we eat are toxic, no one knows if GMO is even safe. Pesticides on our food, chemicals in meat..dead pasteurized bottle formula for babies with corn syrup and soy claiming its like breast milk. The list goes on and on.. Antibiotics are given out like candy that destroy gut flora which, for example, makes gluten A LOT harder to digest. Theres a reason probiotics are popular and a reason why gluten free is popular and it isn't because it's cool or neat. Increasingly people are seeing problems when they eat it whereas before they just blamed it on their genetics (mostly because doctors ignorantly told them thats what it was because they had no clue). People with arthritic symptoms and other issues are finding relief without gluten. Wheat is a neolithic food and a lot of people have not evolved to handle it (especially after courses of antibiotics that leave your gut weak). It's also mostly GMO.

The increasingly toxic environment and society can easily be responsible for any or all of those. It is extremely ignorant and insensitive to claim people are making them up. Not only that, but people might not get help or change their diet because they might just reaffirm to themselves that its probably made up and not real since only a small amount of people are supposed to "really" have them.

Oh, by the way...cancer rates and diabetes have DOUBLED in the last 10 years.

Are they making it up too..are cancer and diabetes real diseases that are becoming trendy and cool? Hmm...

[Shandris]

50. ...no one said they were making them up.

Jesus Christ, read the article...

[Spider Jerusalem]

51. I question calling Asperger Syndrome a disease, honestly.

Calling something a "disease" implies that there's a cure, when there isn't, and that it's something acquired, which it also isn't. (And honestly the example given? Sounds like autistic behaviour. "Talking for two hours about your Transformers collection" is classic autistic perseveration and focus on a narrow interest. So even if someone who displayed that behaviour were self-diagnosed...that doesn't mean they're wrong either.)

[GreenPartyVoter]

56. I think "condition" is a better word for a lot of these things which have no cure.

[H2O Man]

57. Respectfully disagree.

Diabetes, for example, is a disease. There are many diseases which people treat, but never cure.

[Spider Jerusalem]

58. There's no treatment, either.

And the "treatment" for autistic disorders seems to consist very largely of trying to make autistic people act like they aren't autistic, which is something I have a problem with (as an autistic myself; clinically diagnosed as an adult). It is not a disease, nor is it a mental illness, and it's not classified as one (it is a developmental disorder; the autistic brain differs in significant ways from that of a "neurologically typical" person). The neurological differences don't impair normal organic function (unlike say diabetes); they cause impairment in social function, which is something else (but not "diseased", either).

You may respectfully disagree all you want, you're still wrong.

[Odin2005]

60. yeah, there is a treatment method promoted by disgusting groups like Autism Speaks...

...That is essentially Skinnerian conditioning to a trauma-inducing extreme.

[H2O Man]

61. I disagreed

with your incorrect claim that calling something a disease implies that there is a cure. And I provided but one of many examples of a disease that prove -- beyond any and all doubt -- that I am absolutely correct.

I was not debating the merits of calling autistic disorders a disease. In this assumption on your part, you are again wrong. No biggie.

[Spider Jerusalem]

62. Your disagreement seemed directed specifically at what I was saying; you were not clear.

Given that you "respectfully disagree" when I say "I wouldn't call autism a disease" what inference was I meant to draw from that? It's not my fault that you're not capable of expressing yourself in a clear manner, is it?

[H2O Man]

63. I was clear.

I spoke exclusively about the fact that there are many diseases that have no cure. You misunderstood. It's not a huge deal.

[Spider Jerusalem]

65. No, you weren't.

Because if you had been you wouldn't have been misunderstood.

[H2O Man]

66. I was.

You were wrong. No big deal.

I also pointed out above -- again, 100% accurately -- that sociopathy is not a disease. I was clear. You are free to mistake what I said there, or to disagree. But I was absolutely correct.

[Spider Jerusalem]

67. That's something totally unrelated that I've not said anything about.

But no, you weren't clear. If you had been clear, I wouldn't have misunderstood what you said. (Your inability to admit your lack of clarity coupled with your apparent need to be 100% right makes you sound like a flaming arsehole, by the way.)

[H2O Man]

68. Ha!

You are funny. But hey, if it makes you feel better about yourself -- you were right!

[Spider Jerusalem]

70. I am not arguing that I was right.

Just that you weren't clear (which you weren't; also, I was speaking of autistic disorders specifically, your "respectfully disagreee" appeared aimed directly at that, if you're too dense to see how it could be taken that way and are going to continue to insist that no no, you're entirely in the right, I'm wrong, nothing to do with your wording at all because it makes YOU feel better about yourself..then honestly, fuck you. Patronising cunt.)

[H2O Man]

72. Hey, now!

Come on. I was joking around. As I had noted, it's not a big deal. I still think I'm correct, but realize that I could well be wrong. I might not have been clear. I was making light of that, with the "I'm 100% correct" business. And even if I am right, and my intent was pretty clear to the general reader, it obviously wasn't clear to you. But all I was saying was that "disease" in no way implies "cure." There are many diseases that can be treated, but not cured.

I am not really offended by your last comment for two reasons: first, I've always enjoyed the insight that you bring here -- your response on "why is it called the West Bank," for but one recent example. Always liked you enough that I felt comfortable joking with you. I apologize for offending you. Second, I believe that there is ultimate truth behind the saying "you are what you eat."

Peace

[GreenPartyVoter]

55. Huh. I have Bipolar. My elder son is Asperger-ish, and the younger is ADHD. At no time

during our struggles with these conditions have any of us felt trendy. I've felt suicidal, but not trendy.

I've met other people who say they're bipolar. I always give them the benefit of the doubt rather than assume they are being trendy, because who am I to judge?

[FLAprogressive]

71. Very true article and I'm not surprised to see people get bent out of shape. PS I suffer from

chronic illness (fibromyalgia to be exact - diagnosed by a doctor). I just don't like to see people self-diagnose stuff, particularly gluten intolerance which can easily be diagnosed with a test (My mom has it, and I think that it is in the heads of those that self-diagnose)