I just found out about SPD (as a diagnosis) today. I am in my sixties now and until my mid-thirties, I thought I was crazy. Not dangerous, but doomed to be unhappy because of my neuroses. At thirty years of age, I was confined to bed for several months due to illness. My doctor told me to get up only to go to the bathroom. Fortunately, I was living with my girlfriend, so she brought food and reading material. I requested books about health and staying well.

I began experimenting with my diet to find out if certain foods were affecting me negatively. I had "official" allergy tests, but the only positives to show up were molds and fungus and a few trees. Of course, molds and fungus do show up in foods, so that was some help.

Long story short, I would limit the foods I ate for several days at a time, and eventually I recognized that certain foods usually caused mood swings and/or depression, or extreme anxiety. Exercise has always helped with the anxiety and depression — when I can force myself to exercise. There are many books on the subject, but I cannot remember which ones I used. I quickly realized that corn and wheat were not good for me — or anyone close to me. However, it did not feel quick at the time. I also found a nutritionist who helped me a lot with finding the culprits I needed to avoid. Eventually, I found that I needed to read the label for each and every product I would ingest (including vitamins and other supplements), and most of my diet (in the broad sense of the word) consists of food I prepare from scratch, or fresh fruit and veggies I prepare and carry with me. I do eat some packaged food, but nothing with maltodextrin, MSG, corn starch, any vague ingredients (like when the label lists "spices"), or anything like pregelatinized starch (or any kind of vaguely named starch), or anything I cannot pronounce.

I still get affected "accidentally," but now I know that the problem will probably be gone by the next day, and that keeps me from becoming hopeless.

Feel free to ask me about this subject, but I am not a medical professional. Actually, I am an artist and graphic designer.

What I am hoping to find help with is — When seated, if my back is touching the chair (or sofa, whatever), I fall asleep almost immediately. It is a problem in business meetings, not to mention movies. Strangely enough, It is sometimes difficult to sleep with my wife because the slightest touch to my back wakes me up like an electric shock. Chiropractic treatments seem to help, when I can go regularly.

Any other suggestions?