u/Mammoth-Car-9850

Hello, today my doctor diagnosed me with severe insulin resistance (HOMA IR 14,6). My fasting insulin was 54 mIU/l; my fasting glucose "only" 6,07 mmol/l. BMI is roughly 32.

Please, if you have any effective strategies on how to get rid of that awful number, I am here to hear them all. For context: 29F, suffers from multiple illnesses (autism, depression, anxiety, CPTSD, asthma, etc.) that I take medications for. My doctor said there is sadly no pill to make this better (he mentioned metformine, which in my country is only available for diabetics and then Ozempic/Mounjaro/the others, which are extremely expensive here). He told me the only solution is to lose weight.

The problem is I am currently simply unable to make such changes. For the past 2 years, I have been hospitalised in psych wards quite often, given lots of different medications. Turns out my depression is treatment-resistant. I struggle everyday to even function, haven´t had a job in 2 years. the autism makes IR symptoms unbearable. I can´t count calories either because I suffered from mental an&rexia when I was younger. I am forbidden from lifting heavy weights as well, plus I had a severe knee injury this January and am still unable to walk properly, let alone exercise.

I´d say my mental health is the major problem here, however. I am NOT in a state where I can make lifestyle changes that would lead to weightloss. I´ve had very intensive treatment for the past 2 years and am still fairly unwell. I´ve tried extreme diets in the past, lots of them, and they were pretty much the only thing that worked for me (for a while). I can´t do that rn. I also suffer from binging disorder and a very bad sugar addiction.

I need advice. I am not satisfied with the doctor´s solution, which is simply "lose weight". Do I go to another doctor? What do I do next?

Thank for the advice!

Hi, I’m 29, and two days ago I was diagnosed with Asperger’s. I went through a very exhausting diagnostic process, during which I realized a lot about myself. My psychiatrist told me that people with Asperger’s often have above-average intelligence and are “special” in some way.

However, I feel like I don’t have anything I truly excel at. It seems as though I only experience the “negative” aspects of the condition, without any of the “positive” ones, like exceptional talent in a particular field or the ability to come up with unique solutions.

My childhood plays a big role in this. My parents didn’t take proper care of me, and the environment I grew up in made it impossible for me to be myself. I spent my whole life suppressing who I was. Several therapists have expressed surprise that, given my symptoms, I was never evaluated as a child. On top of that, I wasn’t allowed to stand out in any way, because it would upset my parents. According to my mother, I was simply “annoying.”

Because of this, I never had the opportunity to discover what I might be good at. I studied to become a teacher, but I’m unable to work in that field because I’m in a constant state of severe burnout.

I’ve been at home for about two years now because I’m not functioning well enough to work. I struggle to focus, and even basic tasks like maintaining hygiene or cooking a meal feel overwhelming. In addition, I’m dealing with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, complex PTSD, and borderline traits.

I’m wondering: is it still possible, at 29, to find something I genuinely excel at, something that brings me joy without leading to burnout? I often have ideas that excite me, and I sometimes even begin working on them. But then my symptoms flare up for weeks at a time, and I lose the energy and capacity to continue.

For example, I recently started a blog and put a lot of effort into writing my first article. That was over a month ago. Since then, I’ve had migraines, severe anxiety, depressive episodes, illness, and constant fatigue. I’ve tried to continue writing, but I just haven’t been able to.

I think part of why I’m searching for something “special” is because I want some good to come out of all this suffering. Being neurodivergent, growing up with neglect and abuse, and carrying a lot of trauma has taken a serious toll on me. It feels like it has gradually worn down my sense of self, my personality. I’m afraid of losing myself completely. I feel like a husk of who I could be and also of who I was.