A lot of my autistic traits are caused by chronic pain

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At least my need to move around, executive dysfunction and difficulty paying attention. When I take pain killers I notice those symptoms get more mild or disappear. It's nice to know those traits and behaviors are not my personality.

So it's nice to know that you're an NT?

I'm not sure if I'm exactly NT. It's still nice to seperate some of my issues from my personality.

It's always awesome to find a quick fix for an issue that's troubling you. What are the doctors doing over the longer term? I hope you'll continue to feel better.

I'm eating a clean diet and trying to lower my inflammation in general. The painkillers are something I mostly use for emergencies. I don't want to become addicted to them.

Why do you have chronic pain?

I don't know.

Better get to a doctor then, it could be something serious.

Doctors are completely useless for this sort of thing.

What kind of pain killers are you taking? Generic ones? I'm curious because I have issues with what you mentioned (when not seriously and cripplingly depressed~ I have intense hyperness for example.
A number of painkillers have caffeine in them- you might mildly be reacting to that as well.
I hope the pain gets better though! It's a tough thing to deal with.
Lots of women have issues with pain management- and lots of doctors like to not take them seriously at all.

Usually just generic ones. I did take ones with caffeine when I was recovering from my wisdom teeth operation. I noticed I had excellent executive functioning, but I also felt kind of stiff. It was just way easier for me to function in general. I was also taking a bit of codeine. The worst part about my pain is that it's normal for me. I didn't recognize it as pain until I got my wisdom teeth removed.

What sort of pain do you experience, and where? (if it's in a "personal" area, then don't mention it).

It's more of a constant whole body discomfort. It often varies. Sometimes it's obvious pain and sometimes it just feels like a bit of discomfort. It also causes problems standing up. If I stand up for more than ten minutes I start to get extremely tired and occasionally the back of my knees will start hurting.

Perhaps you'd be interested in looking up a condition known as Ehlers-Danlos, which sometimes is associated with pain, and also might have a higher prevalence among people who have autism. I also have chronic pain, and have an appointment with a geneticist in the autumn for an evaluation.

I did look it up. I'm not hypermobile, so I doubt I have it. My sister is actually investigating if she has it. She's hypermobile and she has some of the facial features.

Hi, DevilKisses. Hypermobile type is only one type of Ehlers-Danlos. There are lots of variations, 6 or 10, I think. But it is a genetic disorder that "runs true" in families. So if your sister is ever diagnosed with the hypermobile type, then there is little chance that you would have a different type. The main thing to remember about Ehlers-Danlos is that the ligaments and tendons tend to be rubbery, when they should be holding the bones together, and the muscles tend to be tense, to compensate for the lack of support normally offered by the ligaments and tendons. So it's quite possible, as people age, that they don't 'seem' hypermobile, because the muscles have learned to be constantly contracted to one degree or another, by adulthood.

This is one source of the pain in Ehlers-Danlos. The muscles, which are in spasm, are constantly suffering from micro-tears . . . very small tears in the muscle fibers. This would feel like pain in the muscles.

If a person is hypermobile, then the muscles are probably not in spasm, and a source of pain would be more in the joints, as bones pop out of place, or rub against cartilage in ways they're not supposed to. That would probably feel more like joint pain . . . like arthritis, maybe.

I have spastic muscles, and I don't have hypermobility to the degree that I would be diagnosed as having the hypermobile type of Ehlers-Danlos, even though I have a little hypermobility. I fit much more closely with another type of Ehlers-Danlos, so that's the one I'm going to be tested for.

I'm sorry that you have pain! I can very much relate to your post . . . chronic pain affects every minute of your life! I hope that you're able to find some relief!