Published on 12, July, 2020
I have been diagnosed as autistic/Aspergers
I don't seem to feel pain the same as most people. I am a beekeeper and regularly get stung and although I does hurt it doesn't seem to bother me. I once got stung over 100 times at once. I also cycle competitively and have suffered various injuries whilst racing including broken ribs where I have carried on regardless
When I was a kid I was always falling into stinging nettles or getting scratched on barbed wire
I also like extreme tasting foods - espresso coffee, vindaloo curry, extra hot chilli sauce, grapefruit juice etc
I thought that autistic people had sensory issues and are extra sensitive to pain which is the opposite to me
Are these autistic traits? when I had my diagnosis my assessor didn't think so but I'm not so sure
Yes, they appear to be quite typical autistic traits. As Binary has stated, sensory issues can be hyper or hypo, and in my personal experience a lot of autistic people have a high tolerance to pain.
I myself am certainly hypo sensitive to pain, though it’s not always easy to get people to believe it, meaning that serious injuries have been repeatedly misdiagnosed as minor ones, causing further harm in the long-term. I guess you’re just not expected to walk off a torn ACL stating only that ‘my knee feels weird’...
NAS36609 said:I guess you’re just not expected to walk off a torn ACL stating only that ‘my knee feels weird’...
How are you recovering? I remember you had surgery. Hope you are well!
I also remember a similar thread where I mentioned me breaking an ankle, and basically being told because I can walk on it, it's fine. Well I'm going to have to have surgery too, on a bone spur. This high tolerance to pain thing isn't as advantageous as people think!
No problem, I'm glad to hear the knee is OK, but sorry to hear about the issues it's caused. I'm pretty afraid of the same kind of thing. I know that I'll probably be in a similar situation. I've left it years to get my ankle sorted, so I could have more issues. Best to be optimistic though!
NAS36609 said:Best wishes for your surgery and whilst I agree that a high tolerance to pain isn’t always advantageous, it is very useful post-op!
Same goes for you! Shame you've got to have surgery too, but yeah, the tolerance thing will be an advantage!
It’s kind of you to ask. My knee itself is doing okay, but I do have other issues caused by my surgery - tendinitis, nerve damage and a very weak hamstring - which are not so great! I need foot surgery now too...
Best wishes for your surgery and whilst I agree that a high tolerance to pain isn’t always advantageous, it is very useful post-op!
I worry about it a bit myself. The problems I'm having with my legs are mounting up. My right ankle just keeps locking up, and my patella is loose in my left knee. I didn't even know I had a problem with them until they kept locking or giving up. One thing I worry about is my hands, lots of injuries, and if they stop working I'm f*****.
[Edited by Moderator]
agreed definitely a disadvantage I have had similar experiences with the doc and others as I don't react to stuff.