Autism

8152 readers

673 users here now

A community for respectful discussion and memes related to autism acceptance. All neurotypes are welcome.

Community:

Values

Acceptance
Openness
Understanding
Equality
Reciprocity
Mutuality
Love

Rules

No abusive, derogatory, or offensive post/comments e.g: racism, sexism, religious hatred, homophobia, gatekeeping, trolling.
Posts must be related to autism, off-topic discussions happen in the "Hey What's Going On!" daily post.
Your posts must include a text body. It doesn't have to be long, it just needs to be descriptive.
Do not request donations.
Be respectful in discussions.
Do not post misinformation.
Mark NSFW content accordingly.
Do not promote Autism Speaks.
General Lemmy World rules.
No bots. Humans only.

Encouraged

Open acceptance of all autism levels as a respectable neurotype.
Funny memes.
Respectful venting.
Describe posts of pictures/memes using text in the body for our visually impaired users.
Welcoming and accepting attitudes.
Questions regarding autism.
Questions on confusing situations.
Seeking and sharing support.
Engagement in our community's values.
Expressing a difference of opinion without directly insulting another user.
Please report questionable posts and let the mods deal with it.

Helpful Resources

Are you seeking education, support groups, and more? Take a look at our list of helpful resources.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

Lexam@lemmy.world

Do all of us neurodiverse folks have sleep issues? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 3 weeks ago by Seigest@lemmy.ca to c/autism@lemmy.world

57 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm not great with details, but I remember reading that many of us in the neurodiverse community struggle with sleep or energy levels.

Back in my early 20s, I went through the whole sleep clinic process. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and mild narcolepsy. They prescribed me a full-face CPAP mask because my mouth doesn't stay closed at night. That didn’t last long I dumped it after 2 months. I’m not a still sleeper — more like a rotisserie chicken — and the full mask just made me choke on my own drool. The doctors were frustrated and not very helpful. It felt like they expected me to control my body even while unconscious.

Now, over 10 years later, I’m going through the process again. Apparently, my body still isn’t getting enough oxygen during sleep, and it’s causing problems.

Still, I can’t help but wonder if the doctors are missing something — like autism as a potential root cause of sleep issues. In my neurodiverse friend group (both autistic and ADHD), I’m the only one not sleeping 12 or more hours a day. So now I’m left wondering what’s really going on — with me, and with them.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] lath@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah, know that feeling. Think you found the cause, but it turns out to have been masking something else.

I won't say it's the case for you, it's an addition to my first post. Someone I know had calcium deposits in their arteries due to poor hydration or consumed water quality over the years, or so they understood from their doctor and shared forward with the rest of us. Increasingly poor sleep quality was one of the symptoms.

I'm mentioning this due to the high cholesterol and not enough oxygen bits. Adding more worries to the ones you already have is a side effect of me looking to share that either fat or calcium deposits obstructing the blood flow through your arteries might have been decreasing the overall sleep quality over the years. This as something contributing to it rather than the initial cause.

[–] Seigest@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 weeks ago

Thanks for this. Calcium was actually a big concern. In the place I grew up the water is notoriously high in it causing all sorts of health issues. I moved away shortly after my first (thankfully only) kidney stone. My blood calcium levels were very high. then I've been having my doctor test my blood calcium regularly and its been normal.