Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi Everyone,
I have a friend who is autistic and he has had gastro-intestinal issues his whole life, or as far back as he can remember anyway and he is awaiting a colonoscopy. I am also autistic and have had my own issues with this too. I have been reading different studies and scientific research online and have found that there may be a link between autism and bowel problems. I know from personal experience that all the autistic people I have encountered in my life have had a lot of bowel and tummy problems from a young age. I wonder if any of you have had a similar experience or have managed to resolve these issues in your self and what tips you may have to ease this? Hopefully more research is done on autism's connection to gastro-intestinal problems instead of research money going towards trying to invent cures using old drugs like Suramin for example.
Hope everyone has a good week.
i think itd actually due to anxiety, and anxiety comes with autism.when you get anxious your stomach feels weird, for me personally if i get too anxious it makes me want to poop, and when i poor i feel less anxious as if it pooped out all the nerves.this is why anxiety causes bowel issues because it directly effects that area.
I used to think anxiety caused my bowel issues but I have now realised that it’s the other way about. Because my bowel issues actually make me anxious and that nervous feeling I get in my tummy is actually my stomach just going haywire I think.
Same. So often I'll be sitting there thinking "why am I anxious? I've been really happy all day and I'm not worrying about anything." And then I realise what I'm actually experiencing is not anxiety but rather feeling a bit full after eating a meal. I'm so used to any sensation in my stomach meaning that I might need to find a toilet within the next five minutes that I've come to interpret it as anxiety!
Loperamide is like a magic anti anxiety drug for me. I can do so many things on loperamide that would terrify me without it. In contrast, anxiety medication is pretty much useless.
Yeh I’m the same. I can feel fine but then after eating my dinner or any meal I feel like rubbish for about an hour until it goes away. I think it’s because my body isn’t digesting things probably hence why I feel like rubbish after eating. It’s good loperamide works for you. Yeh anxiety medication is nearly useless if it’s not getting to the root of your problem. Anxiety medication will only help if you have an imbalance in your brain. But if you don’t have that and your problems are caused by your gut/bowel then obviously they won’t make you feel better because it’s not getting to the root cause. My bowel problems can really ruin a whole day for me by affecting my sleep and my mood. It’s a bit of a vicious circle.