Bleeding 20-Year-Old Scar

[PeteS]

Right. What was the cause of the slight pain all over your body PeteS?

Pancreatitis like Frideswide, due to a blockage caused by gall stones. Pancreas had apparently just started to munch its way through the rest of my organs. Barely remember the next few days as I got filled with morphine and other chemicals - excruciating pain. Very lucky really.

 

[PeteS]

I'm interested to find out what it is that makes this case so special. Some odd pain response is extremely common in autism - hypo or hyper as is usual for us. I don't register pain - I missed warning signs of both appendicitis and pancreatitis until I was in A&E. I first really became aware of pain when I developed fibro - until then I was doing the ignoring broken bones and major cuts thing.

Crikey you had narrow escapes there F. Both can be fatal.

 

[Frideswide]

Yes I have an autistic friend who ended up in a&E when a tooth abscess he didn't know he had burst blood poisoning, very nasty.

One problem is that unless they've seen it before the medics can miss a diagnosis because pain is listed as a primary sign. You also have to get them to give the painkillers etc as normal. Your body is priducing all the chemicals but you aren't registering them or interpreting them properly. Very easy to go into shock.

I know I bang on and on about autism, I suspect it's very boring and predictable. It's becuase I'm desperate to get a more nuanced understanding of it and the possibilities out there. April is autism awareness month and like most adult autistics I know it is massively stressful and, we feel not just no help but positively damaging. So thank you for listening!

 

[hunck]

Pancreatitis like Frideswide, due to a blockage caused by gall stones. Pancreas had apparently just started to munch its way through the rest of my organs. Barely remember the next few days as I got filled with morphine and other chemicals - excruciating pain. Very lucky really.

Bloody hell. A close shave..

 

[Schrodinger's Zebra]

I'm interested to find out what it is that makes this case so special. Some odd pain response is extremely common in autism - hypo or hyper as is usual for us. I don't register pain - I missed warning signs of both appendicitis and pancreatitis until I was in A&E. I first really became aware of pain when I developed fibro - until then I was doing the ignoring broken bones and major cuts thing.

Gentle fibro hug

As for the lady who doesn't experience pain - it would be good if figuring out 'what makes her tick' might help toward chronic pain. I wouldn't mind swapping places with her for just one day - heck, one hour would be nice - just to remember what it's like.

Don't think I'd like to be her though... I wouldn't like the idea of not knowing if something was wrong, you know? Pain is important in that respect.

I'd also be curious to know if there are others like her - she can't be the only one, surely?

I know I bang on and on about autism, I suspect it's very boring and predictable

It's not boring and predictable. It affects you, and is important to you, so 'bang on' about it as much as you like!

 

[escargot]

Slightly off topic, it was fascinating to see on the tellybox, an interview with a 65 year old lady who has an inability to feel pain. Apparently this was first noticed at the age of 7 when she broke her arm and it was her mother who noticed that her arm was hanging at a weird angle. The phenomenon is being investigated and so far the medics have found the presence of a high concentration of some natural chemical. Might be of some use in the future.
I'm not sure whether the inability to feel pain is a good or bad thing - it's certainly a good way of telling you that something's wrong. Was important once for me when I woke up feeling a slight pain all over my body. Very strange and usually I ignore. Nothing else appeared wrong, but in hospital I was told that had I waited a few more hours, I would have been on my way through the PGs. Gulp.
I'm sure that people who suffer chronic pain though would love to be in the lady's position.

A brilliant book called The Gift Of Pain explains it all. Babies who can't feel pain have been known to teethe on their own fingers and chew them off. Adults can easily injure themselves, as when a car mechanic seriously strained his back by pulling too hard on a spanner to undo something. People in India with leprosy can lose toes in the night when rats chew them off. (Keeping a prophylactic pet cat is recommended to such patients.)

Highly recommended.