Tired of this but relieved that I am not the only one who feels like this

by Jean
(Northern California)

Wow, I am so glad I discovered this site.

Where do I begin? I am a 46 year old female. Well, I have always been this hypersensitive person, very picky eater, very very sensitive to noise. I had so many difficulties in school, with learning and getting along with others. I was always in my 'own little world', daydreaming, staying away from other people. I always felt like an alien since I never fit in. I feel like I have to work much harder than most people and get the same results. To this day, I get frustrated very easily and feel like I am so stupid.

It was not until my early thirties I was diagnosed with ADD. Before that, I was mis diagnosed with bi polar disorder and some of the symptoms of ADD seem to overlap. I have experienced depression/anxiety on and off for most of my life. I was hospitalized in my 20's since the depression got so bad. A few years after that, I discovered alcohol and was self-medicating with it. The drinking got so bad I ended up in rehab. I go to AA meetings and relate a lot of the others there but I yet met anyone who have this strange hypersensitivity to stimuli and clothing, which brings me to the next thing:

There was a period of time I could not stand the feel of the hair on head, especially on one side of my head. My head would actually tingle there. I went to a neurologist and he prescribed some medication in which I reacted to badly. The head tingling thing stopped though.

A few months later, all of a sudden, I could not stand the feeling of sleeves on my arms. My skin would burn and the movement of the fabric across my skin would drive me nuts. There are times it would be worse than others. Going sleeveless was great but come winter and the colder seasons, ugh, finding clothing that would not bother me is an on-going challenge. This has been going on for over 20 years and it has taken over my life. I have seen 5 different doctors and am at the end of my rope. I feel like I am crazy with this problem. I am tired of going to doctor after doctor and nothing can be diagnosed. All I know is that I cannot live like this anymore. I take neurotin and that helps to a degree. I also take anti-depressants and medication for ADD. This 'condition' also makes me depressed. However, when I hear stories which I have read here, it is reassuring.