Hypochondria

I have only done one  at the start when i went to wrexham ,and the person i saw worked in a meat plant .Felt ill when i got back  But in hindsight i think it was a leaking engine manifold and i was gasing myself .

I don't fear health problems, anymore. Over the past year, I have done SIX Covid tests; all out of my own free will. All six have been negative.

"Make decisions based on your hopes, not your fears!" (Nelson Mandela)

I believe that our Nation became Paranoid hypochondriacs long before Covid entered the frey.

I put my hypochondria down to catastrophizing .

I agree, it can be absolutely terrifying and even stop you doing day to day things. I used to sometimes stay awake all night convinced I must have cancer, and for a while I used to get these stabbing pains in my chest (now I know it's just a harmless muscle-related thing) and I would be sure I was going to die of a heart attack, and I have also several times been certain I have problems with my teeth but I don't, I actually have good teeth. It has sometimes led me to do stupid things like trying to remove skin defects with a razor when I thought I had skin cancer.

I think lots of people get these fears sometimes, but with autism you are more likely to keep it to yourself and obsessively ruminate over it and then the fear grows. It also makes it worse if you have anxiety about seeing doctors/dentists e.g because of sensory issues, because then you might avoid telling people your worries so that you can avoid going to the doctor/dentist. (This was my situation, I am improving though.)  Autism also leads to high levels of stress/anxiety quite often, and these things can heighten your sensation of pain so you might get normal twinges etc and think that it's something more serious. 

My advice is to always share it with someone (close friend/family member/medical professional) when you get worried about possibly having an illness. You can say "I know I'm probably worrying too much, but I am experiencing [some symptoms] and I need to check it's nothing serious so I can stop thinking about it". GPs are used to this kind of thing, they will want to help put your mind at ease. It's not a waste of an appointment if it stops you being distressed.

Hi 

I have Autism too and i experiences issues with wavering sensory processing issues that affect my ability to recognise my own body temperature, When i am hungry, When i an Thirsty. at the age oi 24  the only thing i can honestly be 100% sure recognise is when i am having a headache/migraines by which time its too late. 

I have had episodes when i have been really unwell and i havent noticed until i've passed out.

I have a very poor tolerance with stress and combined with anxiety that makes me extremely tired, most of the time it takes me more time to realise that im stressed by which time it too late. 

You need to find a General Practitioner that understands sensory disorders and autism or ask your gp to refer you to a specialist before this develops into something life destroying because the stress will make you physically sick and without the biological mechanism to understand how unwell you really are you could miss symptoms of anything that you may develop in the future. This is a real concern and is dangerous and your doctors need to explore assessing it.