wow, I'm so surprised!

thanks snoopy! I really appreciate your time! no worries, I know your opinions can't take the place of an in-person diagnosis, no legal action will be sought, blah blah blah.

here goes my answers, this will get lengthy:

-- eating habits are a little weird, I consider myself a binge eater, but I'm only like 10 lbs overweight. I'm a carnivore. I binge on a little of everything, and when I say binge, it may not be as extreme as you think. I do eat approx 4 full meals a day though w/ some snacks included, which is more than a normal person I think. sometimes I eat until I feel sick but I think its a stress reliever. its not something I've sought help for but I know it could be an issue one day. I try not to drink alcohol but I'll have a beer every once in awhile and I drink lots of water a day. I smoke a couple of cigarettes a day, but I handroll them from loose tobacco, they aren't processed.

-- my fears of speaking in large groups and in front of people I think stem from horrible high school experiences of public speaking and feeling generally hated by peers in general for about 5 years. I'm also pretty narcisistic I think, in a detrimental way, and usually perceive people to be mad at me or have negative reactions to me when they don't at all. its something I'm working on. no grief issues though.

-- I'm better when its cold, or when I'm cold, thats when my hands stop sweating (its a warm sweat by the way usually although sometimes my fingers feel cold), I always attributed that to my skin drying out during the wintertime though. it gets better at night too, sweating is worse during the day. strangely, I feel more comfortable in huge crowds of people and at parties I'm usually the person that goes up to random people and embarrasses their friends. I love parties. I love music. I love dancing and love getting compliments from other people about how happy I look when I'm dancing. (its also more socially acceptable to be sweaty in those situations which makes me more comfortable about that problem) I smile at people on the street all the time. I'm not shy unless there is a chance I could be criticized or proven wrong about something I'm saying (like classroom or work situations) then I choose to talk as little as possible. I talk incessantly about my problems to others but then again, I'm a social worker and believe that thats good for you. I like people to listen and provide sympathy and problem solving. when people come to me, I usually try to problem solve right away and I'm not a very good listener, I need to learn that too. also I just started living with my boyfriend in september and frankly, its thrown me off a little bit.. I love my alone time and cherish having time to myself without interuptions and its been hard having someone around 24/7. we've talked about that though and its getting a lot better. I think I covered all those questions.

worst time of day for sweating is usually afternoon, after lunch I guess. actually its an all day thing, I usually get better after about 6 and I don't know why. anxiety is an all the time thing, although it seems to be worse in the morning when I'm just starting my day. its the absolute worst in situations when I'm about to meet someone and I know I have to shake someone's hand (related to the sweating thing) or I have to speak in front of anyone where I'm teaching something or presenting something and could be criticized. obviously, anxiety gets better when I take medicine like paxil or xanax but nothing else has seemed to help. counseling is ineffective.

-- stimuli, okay. sunlight hurts my eyes (I wear contacts though, could be a factor) and I have terrible nightvision. oncoming headlights seem way too bright and I have problems focusing on the road. noise is getting better for me, I used to have a problem sleeping with any noise but now I don't mind so much. I can't sleep in a room that's bright, so I rarely sleep in past 9 or 10. and obviously, I have a hard time touching people sometimes because of my hands. I don't mind touch, I love getting and giving hugs.

-- I have blonde hair and hazel eyes, a fair complexion but not the most pale person ever. my fingernails are fairly strong but they peel, my hair grows fast but damages easily. (I'm dreading it currently so I can't tell you any more about that!) I've broken my arm twice and had hernia surgery at age 18 because I coughed so hard during a bout of bronchitis that winter that I popped the muscle in my groin on the right side. (I hear thats rare) I used to cough constantly and SO hard but thats gotten better since I moved from my hometown. (I had allergies to my cat and the pollen in the area) this winter has been my best one yet I think. I've been diagnosed with asthma but it also seems worse with allergies. I take inhalors though and have since 4th grade. (I abused albuterol for about 8 years until I moved, I went through one every two weeks) doctors think my asthma was caused by my premature birth, I was born 2 lbs 9 oz about 3 months early, but didn't have any other birth defects that I know of.

-- I don't remember a time when I didn't feel anxious around people or that my hands weren't sweaty.. I remember being embarrassed about it in grade school when my papers would be wet as I practiced penmanship. :razz:

-- the only limitation I have right now physically is asthma, and I feel like its getting better as I get older. I hope that my lungs didn't suffer from the medicine and how much of it I've taken. I'm also on prescription allergy meds right now as needed (not every day) but in grade school I used to take chlor-trimeton every single day for that, which couldn't have been great for me either. my mom always gave me meds for one thing or another and I don't really think that was cool now that I'm older.

-- I'm a WARM person all the time. I sometimes take my dog out without a jacket in 30 degree weather and I'm okay for a bit.

-- my family is generally disease free except for alcoholism. my dad's parents died from old age and my mom's are still alive and well, although my grandma has pleuresy from smoking. I think I had an aunt on my dad's side die of breast cancer, which would be my dad's sister.

--my only other fear is of heights, because I broke my arm the last time falling from a 10 foot wall. don't ask.

-- I had a vaginal infection that was bacterial last year and received medication, its gone. everything is normal in that area I think. I do get bloated around my period and get gassy after meals.

-- as for the night sweats, I think they're because I DON'T throw the covers off and I get super hot. I don't know why I've been shivering though, although my boyfriend says that when I get super hot he takes the covers off of me and I probably get cold. that makes sense. but I'm still a really hot person and its annoying. the sweat itself is cold though and all over the body, unlike the during the day sweating, when its just hands and feet.

-- my tongue is clean, maybe thinly coated white sometimes, but I brush it every day. I got it pierced four years ago so I keep it as healthy as possible.

geez, I wrote a novel. thanks snoopy, for your effort. don't worry, I understand how intake forms can be, they're long and intricate in any sort of setting. if you need any more info just ask, again, I appreciate this a whole bunch.


katie