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Do you experience sensory issues with AS?

Lisa Marie Basile

I can't tell if this has to do with AS, fibromyalgia, autoimmunity/inflammation, or a byproduct of pain/sleeplessness/sensitivity to stress...but I get sensory overload.

I wrote about it below, stating: "According to a study (https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S152659001300028X), this "overstimulation" feeling is super common in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome — and as well as other chronic illnesses (like multiple sclerosis), especially those characterized by chronic pain.

This study also explains that some people's brains and bodies can have a hard time processing multiple sources of input at once. This could be sensory experiences like loud noises, crowds, different smells, lights, and more. It's theorized that this might be due to a lack of serotonin in chronically ill people's brains.

The symptoms of sensory overload can include:

difficulty focusing
irritability
restlessness
an urge to cover your ears or shield your eyes
sensitivity to textures
and more"

https://ankylosingspondylitis.net/living/sensory-overstimulation

Anna Samson Moderator & Contributor
yesss I experience sensory issues too! I always chalked it up to my fibromyalgia but honestly I feel like all my conditions contribute to it
Jed Finley Moderator & Contributor
Oh most definitely! I get so irritable from my spondylitis that I feel trapped. My clothes are too tight, or there is too much stuff around me. I have found myself looking for something in a cramped storage room and just thrown stuff out of my way not caring if it breaks because I need space! Usually this is during a flare and/or I have been really active and my muscles are in fight or flight mode.
1. Lisa Marie Basile Moderator & Contributor
  wow, I feel the exact same way. Especially the clothes! Definitely in flare mode. It’s so weird. I just can’t have stuff around me. I think there’s something unexplored here medically. It changes the brain or something.
Rebecca C Moderator & Contributor
the sound of waves, a ticking clock, instrumental music, or a rain shower really helps me when stressed out, which I believe is brown noise. But typical brown static noise weirds me out. I get it. I had so much chaos in my life back in the day - I was such a different person back then. I need to have a calm work and home space as well. Each time I check out, I call it "finding my peace" which can be up to 3 times daily and can include yoga/meditation, sleep or reading. It's the only way I function. Thankfully my family gets it. Rebecca
1. Lisa Marie Basile Moderator & Contributor
  I love all those sounds, and that you take yourself out of the situation to take care of yourself regularly.
  
  And I feel so similarly to you…my body learned stress and nervous system overload from the past. I think maybe the autoimmunity just makes us less resilient (physiologically, not emotionally). So we gotta do more to make our bodies find stasis again.
LCOTD Member
I also am overly sensitive to loud or auditory complicated environments. I don’t do well in crowds. It takes a great deal of effort to be in those scenarios.
1. Rebecca C Moderator & Contributor
  I understand. It absolutely exhausts me, and I need a week to recharge. Rebecca