Does having a fever help stop a full-blown meltdown or shutdown? Can it lesson or control sensory overload?
Mayday! Mayday! Meltdown Imminent!
I have been running an unexplained
low-grade fever for the past few weeks. The only connection I am noticing is
that they come on the heels of over stimulation, overload, and meltdown.
Last night, I was so close to classically
holding my head and rocking in the corner that I had to retreat to my bedroom
and quite literally lock everyone out. I am pretty sure at some point one of
the boys walked in before I locked that door because I heard my self yell, “Intruder!”
Then leapt for the door to get it shut again.
Mom was cruising down meltdown highway.
The kids had been loud and rowdy
for over two hours, the TV was on with flashing cartoon characters bothering my
eyes, the baby was screaming, and all the while hubby was snoring away on the
sofa. How in the world he could sleep through the madness is beyond me.
My head was pounding, my eyes went fuzzy,
and the room was beginning to spin. I felt out of control, and disoriented.
When I my son tried to speak to me, I barked something that did not resemble
actual words. My earplugs were failing to even filter out the sound of the
crickets outside. Mom was about to lose it!
After about an hour locked away in
my bedroom with earplugs in and my head underneath a stack of pillows, I felt the
fever start. I can always feel when a fever is coming on. It starts with a tingling in my back, which
travels to my head and rest of my body.
Not long after it turned into a
full-fledged fever my sensory overload began to lessen. Then I was able to
remove the earplugs, come out of the room, and re-enter the land of the living.
Research Study about Fevers and Autism
After doing some research, I found
a 2009 article citing a study, which implied the reason why some autistic children
show marked improvement in their behavior while running a fever.
The correlation between my fevers
and the lessening of my sensory overload is makes sense according to the logic
behind this article, but I am beginning to wonder if my body is becoming so
worked up from the overstimulation that it is actually causing the fevers, which then in turn calms down my senses.
Wouldn't that be an odd way for our
bodies to compensate for the overload? It figures being sick would make me feel
better.
Of course my fevers could be
completely unrelated and just happen to come on at the exact times of my
overload. I’m inclined to think this is unlikely, since I am not a big believer
in coincidences and this has been happening more frequently lately.
That said I will be making a
doctor's appointment first thing tomorrow morning for a check-up just in case
there is another explanation for these interestingly timed fevers.
Am I the only one who has
experienced fevers in the face of overload or meltdown? What do you all think?
Fevers related to autism and meltdown, or a separate issue altogether?
I end up getting fevers sometime after about a week of overloads. I get to the point that even a remotely spoken syllable can nearly send me over the edge. I would really like to know how guys can just sleep like that though... through the chaos and clammer.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how they can sleep through it! I wake up because the damn crickets get too loud, or the neighbor's A/C unit turns on! Drives me insane--quite literally sometimes.
DeleteIt is interesting that you mentioned you get fevers sometimes after about a week of overloads. I am finding they are happening very often these days, but I have been getting overload lately several times a day!
And yes...sometimes one syllable or a sigh can send me over the edge when I get to that point. Lots of extra stress happening in life right about now and that too is definitely affecting how often I feel like a meltdown is imminent.
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ReplyDeletewhen i get sick i don’t notice i have a fever but it does help me abit but it also makes me more likely to have a meltdown and being in college doesn’t help I already had two meltdowns here one they called the cops on me after saying they would give me three warnings before actually calling them which they lied and the other was due to these high school kids that are part of the college they were talking randomly strumming on the guitar and drumming on the tables with pencils which drove me over the edge and then I got sick with something. But when I do get overloaded I tend to have a meltdown or just shutdown, my parents tell me I should I just take medication to stop this but that doesn’t help.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you are having a hard time. The overstimulation (especially noise level)often brings on meltdowns for me as well.
DeleteI don't believe, but I could be wrong, that I've heard of any medications that can help with meltdowns. Have you tried any? What kind? Did it help at all?