Injuries

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Do you notice all injuries?

I read this topic in the parent's forum and was wondering how many of the adults here, who are autistic, have a different reaction to pain than the majority of people. The main question is, whether you notice all kinds of injuries immediately by the pain? I think this is not the same as pain tolerance (feeling it, but not being too bothered by it).

I've made the experience that there is a difference in noticing different injuries for me.

Small injuries, like a pick with a needle and scratches are very painful. Moderate and big injuries that result in somewhat strong bleeding or invisible injuries like broken body parts, are very, very hard to notice. I tend to miss them completely at times, too.


I was riding a scooter and while I was looking at the friend on rollerblades besides me, when I fell into the ballast on the other side. I didn't notice the injuries until we continued driving and the blood tickled my skin. I jumped off the scooter and freaked out, because the sensation of blood running down my ankle was so gross.
As a young child (kindergarten age), I often injured myself, because I didn't notice any pain or any over sensation, until I suddenly saw the injury (or until my mom saw it). I was scared of needles and light touches anyway, because those hurt badly.
During the years, the recognition of pain got a little better. As soon as I notice an injury, I'll try to concentrate on the pain to find out whether it is something serious or just annoying. I can shut out the pain (or things like stinging-nettles, itching) completely though. On a school trip three years ago, our group fell into the nettles and legs, hands itched badly. They others were complaining all the time, while I didn't fell anything anymore after half and hour, it was funny.

What are your experiences with injuries?

I am weird with pain and sickness. I will whine and complain about a cold or a paper cut, but when I tore my ankle off my leg, I held it together, or when I had a 105 fever a few years back, I just said "I need a doctor."

When it comes to basic injuries though, I get more annoyed with them than bothered by pain. The pain doesn't usually bug me, its how uncomfortable the bandage is, or how my clothes rub against the wound.

I often don't immediately notice minor injuries like cuts, until someone points out that I'm bleeding. But I have a very high pain threshold as a result of a former medical insurance company basically refusing to treat chronic pain issues. (They said it was medically unnecessary.)

I had minor surgery once (taking a 6"-long pin out of my left foot after I developed an abscess) and somehow they forgot to give me a local to numb the area. But it didn't really bother me that much. Another time, when I was having surgery yet again on the same foot, the local wore off while the doctor was still suturing my toe. It kinda squicked his nurse that I could feel him sewing up the toe, but it didn't bother me at all.

At jiu-jitsu i had hurt my chest. I didn't notice it the day it happened. A couple days later my chest stared feeling awkward. i felt it w/ my finger around the general area, as i could not tell exactly where it was. there was a bump sticking out of my chest, and it was the source of this awkwardness. so i felt the other side of my chest and found the bone did not feel the same in the same spot on the other side of my chest. it didnt hurt, it just felt weird, so i took the palm of my hand and tried to push it back in, it didn't work. so i did a palm strike to my own chest to try to make it feel better, and it did. then a couple days after that it started to really hurt when i moved carton ways so i complained to my parents. my step-dad felt it, and freaked out thinking i had a broken rib and got all pissed at the guy from jiu jitsu who he automatically blamed. my mum then got me an appointment for the doctor for like the next day, but i didn't bother going.
then just a few weeks ago now, also at jiu jitsu, i was working w/ a new guy. i told him exactly how to do an armbar, and he did it exactly as i described, but forcefully. my arm made a big "POP!" sound and automatically contracted. i was not in pain, but i was scared to move it. i moved it anyway, slowly, to test it, and it did not hurt. so i got up and the instructor felt my arm and started pressing on placed asking if it hurt. he said if i had some w/e injurty thats what i would have got from this accident, i wouldn't be able to withstand the pain of my arm being touched on the w/e part of my arm. so i assumed i was lucky and did not get hurt. the next day my mum forced me to goto the hospital, she even came with me. the doctor had said i had pulled mussel and tendons or ligaments or something away from the bone. it is such a serious injury they had put me in front of all the people in front of me waiting for the doctor, gave me tons of pain killers, and xrayed it and did all this crap... and it didn't even hurt. the pain killers did nothing and when i looked at my arm, i did not even see it looked off. people who saw my arm after said it looked grose, but to me it just looked like my arm. anyways after going to the hospital they said i was lucky because when this crap came off of the bone, it didn't break the part of the bone it was attached too, so i didn't need anything extra. they gave me exorsizes to do to make sure the w/e doesn't heal shorter. after doing these i can now feel the pain in my arm.
i have sense become left handed.

I'm like a cat, I have never been injured, apart from casual cuts or bruises.

I don't always notice injuries or the need for a doctor. Most of the time I will notice the blood before I know I am cut. Once I got a nail though part of my hand at work so I pulled it out and went back and finished what I was doing then I went for a tetanus shot. Yesterday I stepped on a board with nails in it and had to have someone pull it off my boot and out of my foot. Many times I have no clue if I need medical attention and have to be forced to go.