[quote NeverDropYourMoonCup]**@NeverDropYourMoonCup well yes it’s definitely important to consider other causes. That doesn’t explain why you referred to ASD and ED in that way though does it?
I apologise for not being clearer. I have the joys of both sets of acronyms being attached to my medical file.
I also have Psoriatic Arthritis with a number of common comorbidities. It wasn't being told 'Oh well, you're anxious' or 'You haven't lost enough weight/have you considered taking these antidepressants to deal with those symptoms/she's just a fussy eater, she should have more vegetables' that dealt with the issues that arose as a direct result of having an autoimmune disease.
It was being seen by a specialist in Autoimmune and Rheumatological conditions that got those symptoms treated. Deal with the uncontrolled inflammation in my case, and around 93% of the issues completely disappeared within a few months, I'm currently left with just the permanent damage sustained during the time doctors were busy saying it couldn't possibly be anything physical because the two other diagnoses answered everything - without so much as a blood test that would have (and did in the end) shown a more likely physical cause that could be treated.
ASD isn't an illness, it's how you are. An ED is an illness that needs specialist input, support and treatment for the physical and emotional effects.
To me, an autoimmune/inflammatory disease being ignored by pretty much every poster when it is a very real possibility, because the perception or diagnoses of the moment are that everything must be Autism/ARFID or an ED (so, to use the most irritating phrase ever, is All In The Mind) and the OP actually details a diet consistent with an autoimmune elimination diet or protocol, symptoms consistent with an autoimmune disease, reasoning consistent with an autoimmune disease and common consequences of having an undiagnosed and untreated autoimmune disease, is incredibly frustrating, even when I am reading during a break at work and only have a short time to post before having to go back to work - and the post came over to posters in a way I didn't intend for it to be.
Anyhow, it appears to have been decided by the OP and most posters that he can't possibly have an autoimmune or inflammatory disease, so I hope they're right. As if he does have one and it remains undiagnosed and untreated, that doesn't just mean he continues smelling like a small hill farm in summer, it could result in a life expectancy of around 63 - if he doesn't succumb to cardiomyopathy as a direct result of his untreated disease at 54 like my father did, that is.[/quote]
Thank you for this reply. Sincerely. It makes a lot more sense now. And I fully admit that despite my own autoimmune and coeliac my first thought was ARFID, but you are correct that he needs proper diagnosis. It’s quite possible it’s both: either way, you are not wrong in your post.