ADHD and hypersensitivity article | ADHD Information

http://www.add.org/articles/hypersen.html

good ADD website

Wow, that was really interesting.

I definitely fall into the hypersensitive category. I'm one of the shoe retiers. I'm texture sensitive, sound sensitive, hate being in super crowded places etc. My mom said I was so difficult to dress as a kid because I couldnt stand my socks to have an even slightly lumpy seam. I was forever taking my shoes off and readjusting the seams so they came to a particular spot on my toes. Wow - I was actually cutting some tags out of some shirts when I read this! I am hypersensitive to alot of things also. I'm always cold, right down to my bones. I take a hot bath every night before I go to bed, just so I can warm up. I can't stand clothing tags to touch me - drives me insane! Thank God some makers are stamping the tag info on clothes instead of sewing a tag on. Genius! I also re-tie my shoes and adjust the seam on my socks. I'm sensitive to light - I hate overhead and ceiling lights - they're so harsh! They make me feel like someone's poking my eyes with an icepick! I also have super-sensitive hearing. Can't stand crowded places - the cacophony and people drive me nuts, makes me very irritable.

I have always had the sensetivity to tags in my clothes also.  My son (ADHD) is the same although since he has gotten older not all the tags have to be removed.  Seams on socks, don't get me started.  

When I was a kid I would not eat any food that was touching another food.  The pea juice better not spread out and touch my meat or potatoes.  I couldn't eat mashed potatoes because of the texture.  Let's not even talk about casseroles but somehow soup was OK.  To this day I can't stand tapioca pudding (not because of the taste) and any kind of bread/cookies/pastery that has a doughy texture.

I am sensetive to cold more than hot although since I've developed high blood pressure I have become more sensitive to heat also.

My daughter who is Bipolar is sensitive to sound, smells, food textures and is easily over stimulated by being in situations where there are alot of people.

gettingagrip38488.3790046296Ahh no way! and here I thought I was just REALLY picky with food textures and tastes.....

ha ha ha

I eat plain noodles because sauce is wierd..... ha ha ha

Could it be possible that a lot of people who were diagnosed with ADD really have Hypothyroidism instead?

The same symptoms that cause the mental difficulties in ADD also appear in those with under-active thyroid. Hypothyroidism also causes a lot of those sensitivities as well. I have the same ultra-sensitivity, but a doctor in 2000 insisted after numerous tests I did not have an underactive thyroid. I saw a doctor not long ago for an ear infection and he claimed he suspects Hypothyroidism. I suppose they both can mimic each other. I over-eat mainly because the feeling of hunger returns within an hour & snacking is an ADD boredom habit. LOL

Thanks for the link to the site.  I copied the article to read later.  What you write about sounds exactly like me.  It is really interesting.  It is nice to know other people experience these things.I really get freaked out by loud noises like fireworks and firecrackers. Going to see fireworks on July 4 leaves me feeling really edgy.

I also used to hate camera flashes as a kid. Waiting for the bright light of the flash to go off would absolutely push me over the edge - thank goodness I don't do that anymore.

Antidepressants help me with some of my sensitivities. 

And another thing!

I REALLY HATE cheap underwear. The edges have glue over the seams to keep the crappy cotton from unravelling. Then when you wash or iron it the glue melts into scratchy little lumps that irritate all day.

You spend the whole day squirming around and adjusting your undies, or you have to turn them inside out.

I'm a big fan of french knickers - no seams.

While interesting, the article has some deep holes in it--mainly the lack of a scientific approach. What I mean by that is how might a comparable group of non-ADD people respond? Maybe hypersensitivity isn't related to ADD at all. Without studies that compare the two groups on these various issues, it doesn't mean anything.

However, since I've read that sensitivity to touch is a symptom of ADD, I'm assuming there have been studies done on this--enough to include this (at least in the one book I've read so far: Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults by Dr. Lynn Weiss). Since she's a PhD psychologist, I'm assuming she's had enough drilling on "proper" research so as not to include symptoms that haven't been scientifically validated.

Persoanlly, I'm glad you posted the article because after reading Dr. Weiss's book, I thought she meant hugging type of touch, which I have no problem with. However, I am a compulsive had washer and have been since a very small child. (Have a funny story about that. At 3, my Mother took me to the doctor, a family friend, fearing I had a "Lady McBeth Complex" because of my hand washing. His response was, "Alice, did it ever occur to you that the kid just likes the feeling of clean hands? That became one of our "family stories.")

While I do like touching, I don't like too much of it or for too long. I'm also very sensitive to noise, strongly dislike it, and prefer loose to tight clothes. I'm pretty okay regarding food but my Father (from whom I've no doubt I inherited this) hated tapioca and said it reminded him of eating snot! Same thing with ocra.(Another family story. Daddy was a real character!) IOW, this artcle helped me redefine "aversion to touch" which beforehand, I'd have said was a symptom I didn't have.

But the academic in me still wants to see the typical response of a control group rather than just an AD(H)D group!

sachetm38506.378912037

OMG!  I'm about ready to send a link to this site to my family and friends, just to prove to them I'm not a total freak!  LOL

I can relate to the socks, tags, and foods things, but like Slacker I also have a thing about hearing ppl eat.  I hate it.  That was the first test my fiance had to pass when I met him for the first time (we met in a chatroom).  When I told him that, he looked at me like he couldn't believe that it was that important.  The eating noise that drives me totally nuts is hearing the food/saliva moving around inside a persons mouth--and slurping, can't stand slurping.  Uhgg

Cutting off the tags and even the seams has always been a
GoodThing(TM). Walking near the wall will avoid unexpected touches.
Keeping all windows open and praying for winter avoids overheating...
Not much to add... Just... wow, i'm not alone, again.
Reading your posts is such a good medication!

[QUOTE=chicx0r]

 And here I thought I was just picky, LoL.

 I am the same way...I attributed the noise sensitivity to migraines, but I
can't stand noise...

[/QUOTE]

Hi chicx0r, welcome to the migraine party.
For me, the migraine state always feels like at least ten times the normal
sensitivity (which is too confusing already). Call me mad, but as much as i
hate that migraine, as much do i love it. After an attack i feel very relaxed
and i never managed to get into that state without it. There are no
thoughts left to bug me, my brain is silent, i see beauty all around me
and i am so glad to be alive (again). I even refused to take medication
sometimes and traded 2 horrible days for a few hours of true felicity.

I wonder if migraine is like an emergency shutdown for my brain if there
are too many thoughts, impressions or emotions whirling around in my
head. Would be interesting if there is a survey about adhd and migraine.

 And here I thought I was just picky, LoL.

 I am the same way...I attributed the noise sensitivity to migraines, but I can't stand noise...like I always know when the volume is down and the radio/tv/computer/etc is not OFF. 

 But I'm 'picky' about foods (due to texture usually)...can't wear a lot of clothes...get distracted & irritated by the 'little things' that most people don't seem to notice.

 Actually, I have met other people who can relate...but they also have mental disorders or illnesses...I never really thought about it like that...hmmm...

[QUOTE=eliza] I just remembered for quite a few years I couldn't stand wearing skivvies - those high necked tops. I hated anything constrictive or scratchy near my neck. I can wear scarves or turtlenecked jumpers sometimes, if they're not too tight, but I don't really like them. The wool has to be just right, not tickly or scratchy.

Sometimes I have to put my shoes on 10 times before I get the socks feeling right.[/QUOTE]
You're not alone, Eliza! Those and MORE annoy the heck out of me! BTW, "skivvies" ... well, it just made me laugh, cuz in the States, 'skivvies' is your underwear! Like men only in their skivvies, are only wearing their underpants. LOLWow I never thought this was an ADD trait.  None of my clothes have tags, I don't wear turtlenecks or tight clothing, and bad smells affect me much more adversely than other people.  I have very sensitive skin and cannot wear any makeup or fragrances.  Weird.my wife has hypothyriodism. checking son's in aug. Tagless clothes are available. I guess a Sensory sensative person came out with it.

I can't stand the textures of some food. I'm also a bit obsessive compulsive, so if I decide I don't like something I can be obsessive about not liking it.

I loathe eating anything foamy. I can't stand the frothed milk on a cappuccino. I always order a flat white, or ask for no foam. I can handle a little bit if I can stir it in, but if there's an inch of foam I have to scrape it into the bin, or into a napkin. I put it in the saucer and pretend I spilled my coffee, or I make my friend eat the foam off the top before I can drink my coffee.

I can't drink milkshakes and smoothies that have been in the blender too long, when there's 4 inches of froth on the top. (Unless I scrape out the frothy layer)

I also hate beaten egg whites, souffles, pavlova (that's soft meringue cake), and frothy toothpaste. 

And I hate the noise people make when they drink a milkshake or cappuccino, and they slurp the froth from their cup. Gives me the creeps, like nails on a blackboard.

My family keeps telling me to grow up, but I can't, foamy food really creeps me out.

 

I just remembered for quite a few years I couldn't stand wearing skivvies - those high necked tops. I hated anything constrictive or scratchy near my neck. I can wear scarves or turtlenecked jumpers sometimes, if they're not too tight, but I don't really like them. The wool has to be just right, not tickly or scratchy.

Sometimes I have to put my shoes on 10 times before I get the socks feeling right.

 

noise...can't stand to hear people eat, drives me up the freaking wall.  when my husband eats french fries or my daughter and her pickles...arg it literally makes me mad cause it drives me insane.  thats just the worst thing ever but soggy bread comes in at a close second.

the whole sock and tag thing...hate it! another thing i can't stand is people touching me especially if i just showered or touching my face...it really freaks me out and people getting in my face to talk to me...arg

i could go on about the things that drive me nuts but...just thinking of these things is making my skin crawl, i gotta get up and shake myself clean..

Hmm...then that just makes me plain ol ADHD then. I gotta get to a pschiatrist asap. 8( [QUOTE=Reizende]

Could it be possible that a lot of people who were
diagnosed with ADD really have Hypothyroidism instead?

The same symptoms that cause the mental difficulties in ADD also
appear in those with under-active thyroid.

[/QUOTE]

If the physicist does his job right, then he checks for hypothyroidism first.
It is a standard part of the process of excluding other possible disorders
and well known. I'd be really supprised if someone missed that during
adhd diagnosis. So my guess is that the number of missdiagnosed people
in this case is about nil.

... oops.. physician of course... :)ADHiDsBest38491.7225810185