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Amity
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02 Sep 2014, 2:51 am

One of my earliest fears was tap water in the bathroom. (Showers, baths and swimming pools were fine) I have memories of cold water hurting my skin; I think this happened more so when I was upset or warm, it was like an electric shock that went through my body. No one understood that it was real.

My resting temperature is usually 36c/97f, but I can feel incredibly hot internally without being noticeably warmer to touch. If I?m really distressed my temperature spikes. Another fear was of handmade Aran wool jumpers, as a child I was given these as presents, the texture was unbearable, it felt like I was suffocating and that internal heat would build instantly. Could this be temperature, or touch sensitive?



EzraS
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02 Sep 2014, 3:02 am

Sure. I think that's common in autism. I hate feeling overheated. It makes me feel very irritable. I like it when I can wear a soft hoodie comfortably. Also any kind of course clothing drives me crazy like new stiff jeans. All my clothes have to be very soft and kinda worn out feeling. The cold doesn't effect me much. There's times when I'm in my room with the window open in the winter just wearing underwear. That always bugs my mom and she complains that my skin is ice cold, but I don't notice it.



Claradoon
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02 Sep 2014, 3:40 am

Thank you for this! I have been wondering about exactly this kind of thing. Body heat has always been a big problem for me and it's a mystery. I don't know what causes it or what to do.

My temperature is "normal" even when I feel raging heat inside. The temperature of my skin isn't the same all over my body - that makes showers very difficult, because the water is cold as it hit my head and too hot as it runs down my body.

There was one incident that was caused by stress - I was at work, on a deadline, too much happening at once, and all of a sudden I felt like I was running a 105F temperature. I went and stood outside, in a blizzard, wearing only my thin office dress, and it brought my temperature down. I went back to work and everything was okay.

Come to think of it, last week I did pre-op for an up-coming surgery. Very stressful but I managed. But the night after that, I woke absolutely swimming in sweat, with all the bed clothes flung all over the room.

Okay, maybe for me it's caused by stress - but how should I deal with it? Prevention? Cure?



Claradoon
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02 Sep 2014, 4:11 am

Aha! I'm back. Look what I found:

"Living with temperature regulation issues can put a person in a constant state of discomfort. They may be unable to sweat as other people do to cool down, or may sweat too much for the perceived temperatures. The important thing to remember is that the person with Autism experiences temperature regulation issues and does not feel the temperatures in the same way that you do. What you may see as an extremely cold day, may actually feel warm to the person with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. This discomfort can lead or contribute to the sensory overload, shutdowns, and meltdowns."

There's more

http://autism.answers.com/symptoms/temp ... ear-a-coat

But it doesn't offer any solutions. I guess it's helpful to know why it's happening.

There's an ad in the middle of the page for "Speak to a cardiologist now" that I would ignore.

Does anybody know what regulates heat in the body?



Amity
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02 Sep 2014, 4:35 am

Hi Ezra, all the clothes i wear are soft fabrics, cotton mostly and my favorite hoody is ancient. :)
Claradoon, I have no idea what causes it or how to prevent or cure it, today is my first time to describe this as an adult. I don?t know if it is a touch or temperature sensitivity. I taught it could be a Thyroid related problem, but the blood test ruled that out. As a child I taught I was imagining the pain, because no one else experienced it and the solution I was given in most cases was 'mind over matter'.
Just seeing your second post now, I find SPD confusing, its best if I research it some more, thank you.



Eureka13
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02 Sep 2014, 11:13 am

Claradoon wrote:
Aha! I'm back. Look what I found:

"Living with temperature regulation issues can put a person in a constant state of discomfort. They may be unable to sweat as other people do to cool down, or may sweat too much for the perceived temperatures. The important thing to remember is that the person with Autism experiences temperature regulation issues and does not feel the temperatures in the same way that you do. What you may see as an extremely cold day, may actually feel warm to the person with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. This discomfort can lead or contribute to the sensory overload, shutdowns, and meltdowns."

There's more

http://autism.answers.com/symptoms/temp ... ear-a-coat

But it doesn't offer any solutions. I guess it's helpful to know why it's happening.

There's an ad in the middle of the page for "Speak to a cardiologist now" that I would ignore.

Does anybody know what regulates heat in the body?


Oh gosh, I've lived with this all my life and thought it was just me. I had no idea that this trait of mine was connected to ASD.

It's way more apparent when I have other stress in my life, too. If things are going smoothly and I'm relatively content/happy, I don't notice temperatures nearly as much.