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 have ulcerative colitis. I just learned I'm autistic last month, so I never considered the connection. I was hospitalized for it several times. My GI doc would come to visit me at the hospital. I remember hearing him outside my room speaking quietly to the nurse and telling him that I require "special attention". At the time, I took it as he knew I was a person that was really suffering from this disease and he was advocating for me. I always thought he treated me so well. Welp, it probably was that, but that he also noticed I was autistic and was indirectly telling the nurse so he would know why I'm weird when they ask me questions lol.
That’s interesting. Autistic people are 4 time more likely to have a form of IBD like ulcerative colitis. But it’s hard to get diagnosed with IBD as you have to go for a lot of test like endoscopy. Hopefully you feel better now.
Wow that’s a long time it took to get a diagnosis. If it’s okay to ask what age were you when you finally got your IBD diagnosis? It seems that often times they are quick to just dismiss things as IBS or stress related. But I suppose it’s because they are too busy and also maybe IBD in autistic people doesn’t manifest as obvious as it would in a neurotypical person. I think because autistic people because of their communication difficulties might not express the severity of they’re bowel problems very effectively. So I think that’s how it’s gets missed a lot of the time in autistic people. I suppose that’s the value of a colonoscopy because the best way to tell if there is inflammation is to look and see. Do you feel better not that your on anti-inflammatory medication?
Thank you! It took me ~7 years to get a diagnosis. They kept thinking it was "a bug", IBS, and even giardia. Once it got so bad that I looked like I was dying, they finally did a colonoscopy and found it. I'm doing much better now that I'm on Humira and take care to not overwhelm myself.
Mine is definitely related to mental health, so I wonder if it has something to do with the way our nervous systems are built.