Ignoring health issues

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I'm in the process of getting diagnosed with problems I've had for years and I'm noticing that when it comes to my health, I dismiss what I'm feeling until it gets quite bad. I currently have what is suspected to be an infected wisdom tooth. I have an issue where I often don't notice pain until it either gets really bad or I see it. I've cut myself, had shards of glass stick out of me etc and not felt anything till I saw the issue. I talked about only one side to the caller but after looking in my mouth I realised the problem was on both sides and SURPRISE! I suddenly felt the pain. Now when they call me back I will hav eto tell them the issue is on both sides and I've had it be an on and off problem for months and didn't say anything. I deal with dissociation so I tend to forget this stuff -_-.

Does anyone else relate? I also often feel pain less than I'm supposed to, having caused a lot of damage with minimal pain or am sometimes over sensitive. I kind of suspect I caused a tiny fracture to my foot as it still hurts in the same area months after i hurt it. Just wanted to know if any of you relate. It's a bit lonely being the person who can open their cuts with their hand and not feel it until they turned the light on. It was not something stuck to my hand....

I don't notice health issues that easily, and usually don't get help for them until they get worse and really cause issues for me. Sometimes I just don't notice symptoms and pain until they get to a certain point, or I am able to deal with it so I just forget about the problem. I also find going to the doctor and dentist to be anxiety inducing, so I honestly avoid it.

I do relate.

Partially and occassionally for the same reasons, partially because I hate worrying anyone, partially because it blends with the chronic issues I have, partially because it IS easily dismissed as something irrelevant, partially because communicating about it is a bigger bother so I might as well jury rig the whole thing myself, partially because I don't know how to communicate it the way I predict or want it, partially because it's expensive and too inconvenient to deal with at the given moment.

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I tend to ignore health issues too, as usually my immune system solves most things for me, such as ear infections and bladder infections. But unfortunately there are some things the immune system can't fight, such as cancer. I get constipated sometimes, even if I eat the right things, but I worry about having a colonoscopy. Yes I know bowel cancer is far worse than a colonoscopy (I know because my mum died from it) but I don't want a colonoscopy either. I have a bit of a fear of diarrhea (not as bad as vomit but still a bit of a fear) and I hate the thought of drinking that stuff that intensely washes you out. Most NT people say it is very unpleasant, so I don't think I'll get on well with it, as my anxiety levels make everything more catastrophic.

Although I'm hypersensitive to pain I can still plod on with something like a pounding headache. When I had my second covid jab I experienced aching in all of my joints which came when I was at work the next day, and although I was lethargic and in pain I still managed to carry on with hard, manual work.
But I am definitely hypersensitive to pain because I can't have a PAP (smear) test, it's too painful.

*raises hand*

I don't seem to process pain in the way others do and I hate doctors/doctor visits. It's a nasty combination that can be problematic. There was one time I ended up needing emergency surgery. I had what I considered mild symptoms, so it didn't occur to me to take it seriously. I ignored the signs/symptoms for months, going along like life as normal. A lot of things that people think should/would hurt, don't seem to bother me at all. I have a weirdly high pain tolerance like that.

Yes there are a few things wrong with me that in an ideal world I'd get checked out, but I've never been one for going to the doctor unless it's obviously quite serious or I'm fairly sure it'll be worth the torture of the visit. Plus a doctor I had for a few years never seemed to want to do a damned thing for me, and I'd just come away feeling like I was a hypochondriac. And to cap it all, I'm now stuck in the USA without health insurance, because of the pandemic and Green Card restrictions on my leaving the country to visit the UK for very long, and I really can't afford American ripoff healthcare prices. Nor do I want to be saddled with all those horrendous insurance forms they make you fill in.

Luckily my policy of soldiering on and applying my own interventions to my aches and pains still seems to be working pretty well. Some years ago I went through a phase of looking into every ailment I had with a view of getting medical help to fix it, but it wasn't at all successful and so I reverted to the view that I'm mostly sub-clinically ill rather than having anything very wrong that doctors can or will do much about. When my health has been at its worst I've felt pretty worried about it - dizzy spells, strange numbness in some fingers and toes, mild but persistent tooth- or gum-ache, poor stamina, sore throat, double vision, palpitations, and just generally feeling like crap - but those symptoms have been snapping at my heels for a long time, not getting significantly worse than ever, and very often my body seems to set itself straight all by itself or with a few common-sense interventions such as fresh air, exercise, sensible eating, sleeping and posture, and good dental and all-round hygiene. Considering my age, I suppose I'm in fairly good shape.

For me I often can not figure out the right time or social situation to mention when I am having a problem.

I ignore a lot of health issues too but its because i have a phobia of doctors and hospitals.

Doctors can take weeks to see, here. Only if I'm really sick, would I try to contact them.