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ocdgirl123
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09 Aug 2016, 1:11 am

In general, my pain tolerance is pretty high. It is often said that many autistics either have a very high or very pain tolerence. However, there is some pain I'm much more tolerant to than NTs are, some that I have an average tolerence to and some I have a low tolerence to pain.

My tolerence for cuts and scrapes is very high. Also, the sensation of having my hair pulled can actually be enjoyable and doesn't hurt that much even if it's pulled too hard. Sometimes, I get cuts and scrapes and don't even know how I got them.

My tolerence for deeper pain is about average, maybe a little higher, but it's nothing compared to my tolerence for cuts and scrapes.

When it comes to needles and bee stings however, my tolerence is a little lower than it is for most people. Some people say that needles don't even hurt, but I've never had this experience. I wonder if it's because when I was getting a shot when I was 5, I was told that it wouldn't hurt at all so I was surprised when it did, which made the pain feel more severe. I do think that needles aren't as painful as they look, but that doesn't mean they don't hurt at all.

Anyone have a similar experience?


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GodsPuzzlePiece
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09 Aug 2016, 1:19 am

I kinda get what you mean about needles! When I get shots, I'm always told that they don't hurt but I can FEEL them in my arm. I actually have panic attacks about needles now..... But I don't feel some other pains that other people do. I never feel any "womanly" pains. None. Ever. But I'm also am a big baby and a hypochondriac when things last longer then two days. I thought I was gonna die from a simple cold once.



C2V
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09 Aug 2016, 7:38 am

I have actually been told both by a GP and recently by a surgeon that I have a partial insensitivity to pain. The latter had me monitored more closely after surgery, because if something was drastically wrong post op, I may not be aware of it. They also questioned why I waited so long in the level of pain even I was in pre op to seek surgery, and the only answer I had was because I could manage it, until it exacerbated other conditions.
The explanation I was given was that I was born in chronic pain - I have had an inexplicable neurovascular condition since birth. For my body to be able to cope with that level of pain all the time, I grew insensitive to it (and continue to - I was much more sensitive to the neurovascular pain as a child than I am now, so the insensitivity apparently progresses with age) until now, most of the time I just discount it as background noise and it doesn't affect me.
Interesting idea that may be of use to your musings - I'm alexithymic so am also often unaware of the emotional impacts of being in pain, which decreases the overall level of the experience of pain itself. You'd be amazed how much of the aversion to pain is emotional, rather than the actual physical perception. And I am also partially insensitive to drugs - it takes more sedatives / anaesthesia to knock me out and keep me out than it should for my weight range, I can drink someone three times my size under the table, etc.
many autistics have pain variance. Seems to go along with neurodiversity and sensory processing differences. I may be slightly insensitive to pain, but I am very sensitive to pressure and cannot stand it at all, to the point where being hugged or even wearing tight clothing is intolerable to me.


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ToughDiamond
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09 Aug 2016, 11:20 am

I can tolerate a broad range of pains and irritations very well if I'm strongly focussed on something else. If I'm not focussed on anything, I can't screen out even the slightest pain. So I have to keep my mind active.