Central sensitivity includes sensitivity to all forms of sensation – it’s an all-encompassing classification of sensation + pain.

Sensations that are not painful to others can be painful to people with central sensitivity. They are hypersensitive to pain itself and other sensations which all can result in pain response accompaniment (hyperaesthesia/allodynia/hyperalgesia), including auditory, visual, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and visceral hyperaesthesia. However, which organs experience what type of pain and when depends on the person as it can vary widely.

In my case my bladder hurts a lot with only very little in it. This leads to me having to go to the bathroom a ridiculous amount of time during the day and night. I always need to know where the bathroom is anywhere I go before I do anything else.  It’s so ridiculous that I have to get ridiculous right back at it and conserve water by using a gallon of water in my toilet tanks.

I experience pain with just the littlest of stool in the colon, which sets off my low back pain in a severely awful way. Because of this I have to stay regular, but for me, that means passing stool at least once a week. More than that is highly unlikely for as long as I can remember. On the bright side, when I do pass stool, it tends to empty. I use a number of different methods to prevent this pin from different types of laxatives, to natural laxatives like consuming coconut oil or milk, to heat therapy, vibrational therapy, yoga, etc. I take Chlorella as a supplement to resupply myself with electrolytes and vitamins lost when using laxatives – it’s a superfood.

Visceral hypersensitivity is a symptom often attributed Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), which is classified a central sensitivity syndrome.

The littlest amount of gas anywhere in my digestive system is painful – very sharp, which can lead to severe irritable bowel attacks. To avoid these attacks I follow a strict diet and have “go bag” and protocol I follow in case they do occur. However, those with central sensitivity are less likely to feel pain in organs such as the liver, kidneys, etc. On more than one occasion while  getting an ultra sound of my abdominal region, they couldn’t see well because there was so much gas. Even with no fat on my stomach, my stomach bulges due to gas daily. Trying to stand up correctly pushes the gas in, which hurts more, so after years of not regularly engaging my core muscles, I have a constant battle with stomach fat.

Also in my case, my menstruation was so crippling I was prescribed Depo-Provera to completely stop my menstruation, and it continues to work wonderfully at doing that 11 years later. No cramps, no bleeding, no side effects, nothing. This is a highly rare side effect though, so it may not work for everyone.

In addition, my lungs burn with little activity, it hurts my esophagus a little to swallow pills and hard or abrasive foods, I have very strong chest pains when startled just a little bit, and if I don’t eat something frequently, the hunger pangs (pains) in my stomach are overwhelming.