Diet

My diet has always been a point of interest for family and friends. I'm beyond an acceptable level of picky.

There are very few foods I will actually eat. Of those, the texture has to be a certain way and the flavor has to be exactly what I expect. I've been known to pick through an order of french fries and throw away close to half of them because they're just not right.

My family always made fun of me for this, but I now know it was just another symptom of my Asperger's Syndrome.

This has come to be a problem since we moved to Oklahoma. The grocery stores out here just plain suck. I've always shopped at Publix (exclusive to the south eastern US) since I was a child. I can remember getting free cookies in the bakery with my mom when I was two years old. I even worked for Publix for a short while. They're a *GREAT* company and I can't recommend them enough.

I'm ranting now.

My point is, a lot of the products I bought at Publix don't exist out here. It took me about two months to learn what I can eat out here. I still don't have a comfortable diet yet. I honestly need to go shopping when the store is empty so I can figure something out.

Another problem is that I've been very sick for about six weeks. It has something to do with how I'm digesting things. I'm going to see a gastroenterologist (stomach doctor) tomorrow. I know they're going to try and get me to change my diet. I'd love to, but I can't. It's not something that I'm mentally capable of, to be honest. I've spent three years teaching myself to eat salad, and I can still only do that with baby spinich, greek dressing, and cheddar cheese cubes and nothing else. Any change in that make it inedible. I've only recently gotten to where I can enjoy that, and I can still only eat it once a month.

I hope the doctor understands that I'm not really just picky. It's part of a mental disorder. I'll post what happened later tomorrow.

UPDATE: No diet change needed. We actually found something in one of my tests that answered all the problems, and a week on an antibiotic will clear it right up. Yay!

Symptoms

I think it would be a good idea to list some of my symptoms on here. Maybe you can see a few of these in yourself and they'll help you in some way. I'll probably forget several, but this is a good start, I think.

Social

• speaking literally
• taking other's statements literally
• unable to deal with unfamiliar situations
• uncomfortable with physical contact
• unable to follow rules that don't make sense
• vague instructions cause freezing up

Stimming Rituals

• leg fidgitting
• touching my lips
• stroking my beard
• cracking fingers/wrists/elbows/shoulders/ankles

Obsessive Niche Interests

• professional wrestling
• body modification (piercing, tattooing, etc)
• portable video games
• math based puzzle games
• tarantulas
• insects

Sensory

• disgusted by dry textures
• unable to stomach unfamiliar tastes
• ability to "feel" sounds