Autism and Pain

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http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/news/2015/unseen-agony-dismantling-autisms-house-of-pain

Article discusses among other things sensory sensitivities and atypical reactions to pain

Thanks for posting this APOM.

It ties in well with a thread of mine which is running concurrently on the Women's forum, about barriers to good health care for women on the spectrum (it applies to men too of course).

If you don't mind I will post a link to your thread here over there.

Increasingly I think this is a very big issue for people on the spectrum, atypical experiences of pain, reactions to medications, and negative/differential treatment in healthcare settings because we don't communicate in NT ways and are discounted by some practitioners on account of that.

I am a bit sad that your thread has not attracted much response, given that sooner or later it is probably going to be an issue for almost everyone on WP who is on the spectrum...

They don't need to spend too much on research if they listened to us.

I have jumbled hypo/hypersensitive pain signals, and don't show Much pain usually (I often have gastrointestinal pain). When it gets really bad, however, and I go for help, it appears to them like I am "faking". Or, at least, that's the impression I get when I go to hospitals etc.

I once kept myself v calm in A&E when I'd accidentally inhaled some chemicals, so I didn't panic or seem like I was making a fuss . It meant I didn't get seen for an hour and by the time they discovered my heart rate was "all over the place" and blood oxygen was low I had almost lost control, but still appeared v calm and happy. I told them I was really struggling though. The doctor said I needed oxygen and an asthma-drug through a mask, went off shift and the nurses forgot about me for half an hr. They walked past a few times, thought "ah she looks fine" and continued chatting. Eventually I went to the nurses office, interrupted their gossip and said I needed oxygen. I really thought I might go unconscious if I didn't get it and it was a struggle to get to the nurses station. It still took them another 10-15 mins to get it. I didnt get the asthma drug I was prescribed either, but by then I thought I'd be better off just going home :/

Thank you for the pointer towards this article, I recognise myself in there so much. It is so hard to describe how difficult it can be to live all the time in pain, yet outwardly there be no 'real cause'.

It is probably the only part of my being on the spectrum that I would happily give up in a shot if I could. I do realise this isn't possible though.

It does cause me to be short-tempered though which can be problematic and has posed problems for me in the past. I find it hard to 'play the part' of the NT in a work situation when my headaches have cost me another nights sleep and then have to negotiate the maze of social obligations. I have been known to say, "Why would I care about such crap?" when asked who I think has the X-Factor or who is the best dancer on ice. Apparently that isn't consistent with being a team-player! Ironically, that adds to the stress and thereby the pain!

The link between Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and pain isn't exactly news, but sadly it isn't as widely appreciated as it should be.

I'm very sensitive to certain types of pain.
The direct discomfort is one thing, but it has a multiplying effect on depression and anxiety.
My brain is already overloaded with enough stuff.
This is yet one more significant reason to develop dissociation from the subconscious.

I have a hernia that I didn't think was at all painful until being told I probably have a hernia, at which point I began noticing pains regularly around the area that probably relate to it. And now I'm waiting 4 weeks from having it possibly being looked after because when I went to the doctor initially he was like 'oh, this is probably a hernia' but I told him I didn't have any pain.
Maybe I'm just hypersuggestible.

I work through fatigue and pain so often that I don't think I know what not being that way is like. It changes my baseline so that questions like 'more tired' etc are meaningless.

Like, to stop and think right this moment what hurts...I have a mild headache, above left eye, my foot resting on the edge of a speaker doesn't feel nice, the other foot was put behind me and stretched uncomfortable, there's the pain in my leg where the hernia is close to, and my shoulder hurts. But I don't notice these things, and only upon going through this list of 'where am I in pain' have I moved my feet. Oh, and my wrist too, holding my wrist down on the edge of the desk while I type, that's uncomfortable.

That's not really what the article was getting at though, my experience.