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High pain tolerance in people with Asperger's.

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JeanES
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10 May 2016, 10:10 am

Pileo wrote:
I have a high pain intolerance except when it comes to my stomach. Digestive problems are my Achilles heel. Other than that, I tend to ignore pain pretty easily. When I go paintballing, people think I'm crazy because I'll only wear a t-shirt and shorts while everyone else is padded up. Hell, a cousin of mine would pay me to shoot me in the arm with various airsoft guns. Didn't phase me a bit.


Two things have REALLY helped me tolerate me digestive pains.
(I get bad gas/instantly have to run to the bathroom/those hot cramps/heartburn/etc.)

Ginger chews for nausea.
Available in flavors from "ginger" to "mint" to "peanut butter" [so oddly good] at your local H-Mart if you're in a big city, or on Amazon. They're so good they helped my grandpa through chemo (I think he preferred the taste of the pregnancy lollies but felt silly eating pregnancy lollies - however, if you wouldn't, those are also a thing in several fruit and herb flavors... and there's an amazing hard candy made with coconut oil and ginger).

Baking soda for anything else.
Dissolved in warm water.
Tastes like warm salty butt.
I really hate the way Tums get stuck in my teeth...
so I figured, it's a base, right?
Chug a glass of warm water spiked with baking soda when you have gas/heartburn/are too full and you get these fabulous burps thirty seconds to a minute later and feel better.



Jacoby
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10 May 2016, 10:14 am

My pain tolerance is fairly high I think, I've never really injured myself to badly but I've burnt my hands so many times that it has too be pretty bad to bother me.



Abyssalrider
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10 May 2016, 11:41 am

Giovanni012 wrote:
Abyssalrider wrote:
I have an incredibly high pain tolerance, and it's coupled a miraculous amount of luck at minimizing injuries when something does happen. Hit by a car twice while riding my bike (2013 and 2015), no injuries either time, though one of those times my bike needed replacing. Several bike crashes on pavement that left me looking like i got into a fight in an alley, walked or rode home each time with minimal difficulty or noticable pain. But i do feel all of that pain, i might scream and swear for a minute or two, but then i move on almost like it didn't happen. Several injuries that would leave my NT friends crying, screaming on the ground or both, i've walked off like it didn't happen. My worst injuries excluding cuts, scrapes, bruises, and a 2nd degree burn on my hand in elementary school was a hyper extended leg at 7 years old. By all accounts i should have broken a bone or joint several times by now but through some miracle i haven't. Never needed stitches, a cast, or crutches before.


Are you sure that you're not a god? Getting hit twice and being fine is pretty impressive. And the feeling pain part is understandable, it's like the pain is there, but not enough to faze you, but it can also make it hard to know if there really is something wrong with you. Are you over sensitive to other thing, sight, sound et cetera?


Other than being sensitive to textures of clothing and food, i'm not really sensitive to most things unless there's many different sources of a given stimuli. Probably in large part due to being an avid gamer since i was 3, played my ps2 until the moment it completely died in the middle of a game lol. Also find myself being a fan of types of music i assume most autistics would be unable to listen to. Primarily various types of metal and hard rock (well known to cover almost the entire audible range of frequencies at any given moment) which for some reason does more to increase my focus and calm me than medication ever did. As for my miraculous knack at minimizing injury or damage i can't even explain it. Being born 6 weeks pre-mature with underdeveloped lungs i was given less than 24 hours to live, 22 years later i'm still here with a list of accidents and injuries that should have been alot worse that's so long, i wouldn't even believe me if i didn't get the front row view of it all.



Basso53
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10 May 2016, 10:05 pm

Giovanni012 wrote:
Basso53 wrote:
Dislocated a/c joint and damage to the tendon. I agree about the delayed response. The pain tolerance was why I could continue to ride until I had surgery to repair the damage. :wink:


Sounds pretty bad, did it at least heal up nice?


After surgery and P/T it healed. :wink:


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Giovanni012
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11 May 2016, 8:36 am

Abyssalrider wrote:
Other than being sensitive to textures of clothing and food, i'm not really sensitive to most things unless there's many different sources of a given stimuli. Probably in large part due to being an avid gamer since i was 3, played my ps2 until the moment it completely died in the middle of a game lol. Also find myself being a fan of types of music i assume most autistics would be unable to listen to. Primarily various types of metal and hard rock (well known to cover almost the entire audible range of frequencies at any given moment) which for some reason does more to increase my focus and calm me than medication ever did. As for my miraculous knack at minimizing injury or damage i can't even explain it. Being born 6 weeks pre-mature with underdeveloped lungs i was given less than 24 hours to live, 22 years later i'm still here with a list of accidents and injuries that should have been alot worse that's so long, i wouldn't even believe me if i didn't get the front row view of it all.


Sounds like you've had quite a time, at least you're still here after it all. And it is quite weird how music that covers the entire spectrum in a few seconds focuses your senses.



Giovanni012
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11 May 2016, 8:40 am

Basso53 wrote:
After surgery and P/T it healed. :wink:


That's good, did you ever get any money out of the person who hit you?



Giovanni012
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11 May 2016, 8:42 am

Basso53 wrote:
After surgery and P/T it healed. :wink:


Good, it'd be a shame if it didn't, did you sue the driver, because it sounds like you might've won the case.



Basso53
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11 May 2016, 9:02 am

Giovanni012 wrote:
Basso53 wrote:
After surgery and P/T it healed. :wink:


Good, it'd be a shame if it didn't, did you sue the driver, because it sounds like you might've won the case.


We didn't have to sue. We filed a claim with his insurance company, and they settled it without having to go to court.


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Giovanni012
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11 May 2016, 9:13 am

JeanES wrote:
That depends.
I'm all about layers of silky/fuzzy fabrics.

Denim?
Oh no.
I quit smoking last year and gained half my body weight (oops, but I've almost lost half it again and fifteen years of cigs vs two of weight loss is acceptable)... anyway, it freaks me out still sometimes when my thighs rub if I have jeans on.
So I started wearing stretchy pants, because this is America. :jester:

So... yeah. It's the stiffness/texture of the fabric, for me.
(Also, holy cow that noise that corduroy makes rubbing sometimes. Owowowowowowowowow.)


Fuzzy and silky thing are sweet to fall asleep to, have you tried satin sheets, they're amazing (just make sure get one satin pillowcase or they'll run off of each other).
I agree with the jeans chafing when you walk, it sounds weird and the feeling is offputting to say the least, and congratulations on quitting cigarettes and losing the weight, it must've been hard but you pulled through it.
Corduroy is terrible and should stop being produced, I've only seen old people wear em.



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11 May 2016, 9:21 am

I have a high pain tolerance. I broke my finger in 8th grade playing basketball and played that game with just my fingers taped together (I was center on the team.) Due to circumstances, I didn't have my finger checked at the ER until over 12 hours later.

I was told when I was in labor with my firstborn that I couldn't *possibly* be in real labor because I wasn't crying, even though the machine was registering very strong contractions. I was walking within 12 hours of both my C-sections.

I've had one or two cavities filled with no Novocaine or other anesthesia. (However, the cold of the water and the blowing air bother me!)

If I stub my toe or bang my hand or arm, etc. I never shout out. I might wince or let out a whoosh of breath. One time recently, I did cry silently for a few minutes because a shelf of heavy books fell on my arm. I only got a tiny bruise.

A few years ago, I had severe back and leg pain for about 6 months. The doctor really did not believe how much pain I was in and thought I was after the pain meds. Long story short, she finally agreed to do surgery (after the 6 months!), and when she went in, she found that my sciatic nerve was SQUASHED FLAT due to a calcified disc on one side and a cyst on the other compressing it. She then did not know how I had been managing.

After that experience, my husband has said I need to say my pain level is two higher than whatever number I think it is.



Giovanni012
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11 May 2016, 9:48 am

nerdygirl wrote:
I have a high pain tolerance. I broke my finger in 8th grade playing basketball and played that game with just my fingers taped together (I was center on the team.) Due to circumstances, I didn't have my finger checked at the ER until over 12 hours later.

I was told when I was in labor with my firstborn that I couldn't *possibly* be in real labor because I wasn't crying, even though the machine was registering very strong contractions. I was walking within 12 hours of both my C-sections.

I've had one or two cavities filled with no Novocaine or other anesthesia. (However, the cold of the water and the blowing air bother me!)

If I stub my toe or bang my hand or arm, etc. I never shout out. I might wince or let out a whoosh of breath. One time recently, I did cry silently for a few minutes because a shelf of heavy books fell on my arm. I only got a tiny bruise.

A few years ago, I had severe back and leg pain for about 6 months. The doctor really did not believe how much pain I was in and thought I was after the pain meds. Long story short, she finally agreed to do surgery (after the 6 months!), and when she went in, she found that my sciatic nerve was SQUASHED FLAT due to a calcified disc on one side and a cyst on the other compressing it. She then did not know how I had been managing.

After that experience, my husband has said I need to say my pain level is two higher than whatever number I think it is.



Wow, it does sound like you have a really high tolerance, breaking a finger and playing with it taped up (doesn't sound good for the school), did it compromise the game at all for you?

The nurse couldn't *possibly* be professional to say that because of you not crying, it means that you're a pretty strong woman, congratulations by the way for pushing through it.

Going to the dentist to fix a cavity without meds is a suicide mission, can't believe the water bothers you and not the drilling into your teeth.

I'm the same, except that i say "ow" or "oh" as an auto response to getting hit. What did you do to get a shelf to fall on you?

Holy crap, your nerve was crushed flat? It is amazing that you were managing through that, good thing you got it fixed, can't believe it took six months though.



JeanES
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11 May 2016, 10:24 am

Giovanni012 wrote:
Fuzzy and silky thing are sweet to fall asleep to, have you tried satin sheets, they're amazing (just make sure get one satin pillowcase or they'll run off of each other).
I agree with the jeans chafing when you walk, it sounds weird and the feeling is offputting to say the least, and congratulations on quitting cigarettes and losing the weight, it must've been hard but you pulled through it.
Corduroy is terrible and should stop being produced, I've only seen old people wear em.


I would love them, I think, but I imagine satin sheets snag and run?
My home has three cats - two of whom have their claws.

So I get fuzzy blankets, and those jersey t-shirt sheets. Which are difficult to keep on the bed at times, but soft and breathable.

And thanks! Quitting did come with one unexpected side effect - I forgot how much everything smells :!: Good or bad, it's a LOT.



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11 May 2016, 11:13 am

Giovanni012 wrote:
nerdygirl wrote:
I have a high pain tolerance. I broke my finger in 8th grade playing basketball and played that game with just my fingers taped together (I was center on the team.) Due to circumstances, I didn't have my finger checked at the ER until over 12 hours later.

I was told when I was in labor with my firstborn that I couldn't *possibly* be in real labor because I wasn't crying, even though the machine was registering very strong contractions. I was walking within 12 hours of both my C-sections.

I've had one or two cavities filled with no Novocaine or other anesthesia. (However, the cold of the water and the blowing air bother me!)

If I stub my toe or bang my hand or arm, etc. I never shout out. I might wince or let out a whoosh of breath. One time recently, I did cry silently for a few minutes because a shelf of heavy books fell on my arm. I only got a tiny bruise.

A few years ago, I had severe back and leg pain for about 6 months. The doctor really did not believe how much pain I was in and thought I was after the pain meds. Long story short, she finally agreed to do surgery (after the 6 months!), and when she went in, she found that my sciatic nerve was SQUASHED FLAT due to a calcified disc on one side and a cyst on the other compressing it. She then did not know how I had been managing.

After that experience, my husband has said I need to say my pain level is two higher than whatever number I think it is.



Wow, it does sound like you have a really high tolerance, breaking a finger and playing with it taped up (doesn't sound good for the school), did it compromise the game at all for you?

The nurse couldn't *possibly* be professional to say that because of you not crying, it means that you're a pretty strong woman, congratulations by the way for pushing through it.

Going to the dentist to fix a cavity without meds is a suicide mission, can't believe the water bothers you and not the drilling into your teeth.

I'm the same, except that i say "ow" or "oh" as an auto response to getting hit. What did you do to get a shelf to fall on you?

Holy crap, your nerve was crushed flat? It is amazing that you were managing through that, good thing you got it fixed, can't believe it took six months though.


I don't remember if the broken finger affected my game. I was not a starter, so I'm not sure my being in any game affected the outcome too much. :D

Yes, the nurse was very unprofessional. That whole situation is a very long story, but the short of it is that I had to make a fuss (I got talked about badly behind my back by the doctor on call and the nurses.) But making a fuss ultimately ended up saving my son's life. He was born not breathing and had to be resuscitated. One of the reasons my labor was problematic was because he was out of amniotic fluid.

Yeah, I don't understand the dentist thing, either...

The nerve getting squashed flat...I consider it a miracle that I don't have permanent nerve damage!

The bookshelf...I was reorganizing the back room and getting rid of some books, and too late I realized that the shelf above was held up only by the books below. That was pretty dumb! :(



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12 May 2016, 4:34 pm

This has been an issue for me...

I wrote about my ankle issues a few years back here on WP:
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=317553&p=5664053#p5664053

Anyway... I ended up with chronic ankle instability due to repeated sprained ankles some years ago... I failed to notice the serious nature of some major sprains because of my high pain tolerance, and simply continued to exercise etc... Unwise, indeed...

Eventually I have learned to be more aware of my movements and avoid risks like sudden changes in pace and direction, and I haven't had ankle sprains for several years now... It also helps to have running shoes specifically designed to offer maximum stability... but I'm still highly averse to even walking on uneven terrain, let alone running...

Anyway, I have noticed on some occasions - when I had a major fall on my bicycle as a kid and ended up all bloody - that I tended to feel dizziness/vertigo instead of pain...

So perhaps it isn't just a high tolerance to pain... but a different sensory experience altogether...



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19 May 2016, 1:20 pm

Giovanni012 wrote:
I've fractured and broken my bones a couple of times thinking it was fine which leaves me wondering if other people with Asperger's also have an unusually high pain tolerance as well.


Fractured my metatarsal in my foot and was walking around on it like nothing. The only reason why I went to the doctor was that it was swollen and the swelling had not gone down in three days! When the doctor saw my x-ray, thinking I had a swollen tendon, he gasped and wondered how I did not know I had a broken bone. He was shocked and I was shocked too!


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