On and off sensitivity

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Hello. I just wanted to ask all the aspies (and other autistics if they'd like to answer) a question.
I'm Very sensative to light touch, a simple nudge can shock the hell out of me and light finger anywhere almost hurts.
But this isn't always true ... it comes and goes.
For example one month I could be fine , then the next three i could be sensative then maybe the next couple of weeks I'm fine again .
It seems to happen quite randomly.
So my question is, is this normal and/or does anyone else have this problem?

Not diagnosed but it's very likely...

I'm more sensitive to somethings (like light/noise) when I'm stressed. OR when I haven't had enough alone/quiet time noise just completely irritates me.

My touch sensitivity is pretty constant. Don't like light touches, they're not painful, I just don't like them. Light grabs at my arm / pats on the back hurt like hell! It feels like it's going to bruise but it doesn't. Suffocating hugs are suffocating. Very hard touch (bruise/cut forming) might or might not hurt. It doesn't happen often enough to know if it turns on/off like you or if it's stress like the other things. Don't want to start experimenting either.

It tends to be similar with me......sometimes it's much more apparent than other times. Except there are some things that are always bothersome such as florecent lights and the very high pitched noise a t.v makes if its on but the volume is muted or its on the video setting with nothing playing.

I read a blurb about new research showing that autistic people had "inconsistent brain responses" to sensory stimuli, so maybe this is related to what you are describing. Haven't read the study yet, so dunno eggsacly what they are talking about.

Thank you
Hearing (Well reading) other peoples experiences with this is quite reassuring
I guess I'm not so odd after all (Hahaha who am I kidding? )

Oops accidental Link emoticon

That's interesting.

I've had some things range from hyposensitivity to hypersensitivity and back. There are times when I don't know that I'm hungry until the secondary effects (headache, lightheadedness, etc) kick in, and then there are times when being slightly hungry is so distracting I have to eat if I want to get anything done.

No one in my family believes that the television noise exists! It's so annoying! When I was a kid, I had to walk downstairs in the middle of the night to shut it off because the noise was bothering me.

I agree that im much more sensitive when im stressed or if there are a lot of people around. Just yesterday I went to the cinema and some touched my arm and i physically jumped backwards. I must have made quite a scene because the poor guy was like 'oh sorry sorry sorry!' haha

It does vary a lot however light is something im always sensitive to

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Last edited by SpiritBlooms on 04 Dec 2012, 2:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Hahahaha that's exactly what happens to me I jump a lot because of it. But for some reason Hugs are ok ... Most of the time (sometimes i'll probablly end up squirming and fidgeting for the next 6 minutes

PS Did I spell probablly right

I suspected this too but you can't really test for fibromyalgia and I don't really fit the diagnostic criteria or the symptoms. It describes consistent pain and also joints being painful, and other stuff. With AS I think it's more about receiving inconsistent pain. Light touches hurt but harder ones don't sometimes. But with frybromyalgia they're always painful (or am I wrong? somebody correct me, this is just the impression I get from reading).

I would think with Fybromyalgia your pain would go from Painful/Light Touch to >>> Really Painful/Harder Touch, while AS would be inconsistent. Painful/Light Touch >>> Not Painful/Hard Touch, to anything odd like that, and other types of pain in the middle varying.

I find i'm generally more sensitive when i'm particularly depressed or anxious, if that helps.

Yeah I don't think most people can hear it, or at least they don't seem to notice it or be bothered by it. At least my family does not deny it exists like my mom can't hear it but she knows it does exist and that I can hear it.