IBS and Autism

Hi everyone, I am 50 and was diagnosed in January with Autism and ADHD, I am not getting any professional support, where do you all get support from? I also have IBS which I am learning is very common in people with Autism, it is particularly bad at the moment, probably the worst its ever been. I have started to follow a FODMap and take Immodium every day! Ho do you all deal with it?

  • And you.  I salute you.

  • Cheers Number, appreciate it. I will always throw it out there, much like yourself, I don't mind the silence that follows .lol

    I know it's always hard to swallow advice as experience is always the best teacher.

    But every now and then someone listens and it makes it worth while

    Have a good Sunday mate Pray

  • Hey JT.  The podcast you linked is excellent - I do think Tim Spectre is a fabulous dude.  The other info you gave above is also thorough but concise.  It is gutting (forgive the pun) when no one responds to wisdom and knowledge that you are 'throwing out there to help....it's like shouting in the dark!

    Anyhow - I hope you have a fabulous Sunday JT.

    Number.

  • Just reading some of the other responses: you should all look into Tim Spectres ZOE programme, it removes the guessing and gives you genuine dietary facts to follow for your own specific microbiome profile in your gut.

    Heres a ppdcast worth listening to with him:

    drchatterjee.com/.../

  • I'm a decade in to this issue, and have learnt a lot about diet and symptom management

    Fodmap is a good start. I'd recommend working with a good dietitian to do an elimination diet to see which foods trigger you.

    Also, start drinking a shot of the probiotic called Symprove each morning. Can't overstate how much this helped me. It's £40 a month but totally worth it. It's also had the surprising effect of reducing my anxiety as well

    Fructose has been linked to inflammation in the gut, so it causes diarrhea in IBS sufferers, so avoid or at least vastly reduce.

    You may also be lactose intolerant, it is estimated that 70% of the global population are, they just don't realise it.

    Also, switch go eating the best quality sourdough you can find, instead of cheap bread. This has changed my life, after a decade of eating gluten free bread it turned out it isn't the gluten that was the issues it's all the other rubbish they put in.

    Start listening to the advice of Dr.Tim Spectre (Kings College) he's done a lot of podcasts recently. He runs the ZOE diet programme which I have done, and it is incredible if you follow it

    Good luck, you can get this under control with good choices.

    Oh, and meditation each morning will really help also

  • You might find that if you introduce more plain binding white carbs you are able to reduce the immodium. That was my experience anyway.

  • I have just started a FodMap diet, I don't eat white pasta, white rice, white bread or anything like that. I don't eat spicy, fried or high carb food, so I don't have that much to cut out really. I don't have milk, I have soya milk, don't drink caffeine..I have to take immodium everyday. 

  • I have already done the food diary and it made no difference, no matter what I eat bland or not. I don't eat big meals anyway, I am more of a grazer, but I will look at Symprove thank you. 

  • Keep a food diary to work out your triggers. A great product for your health is Symprove. It works wonders. You can ask for an anti spasmodic for when things are bad. That before a meal can help. Keep meals small and often, reduce fibre, try soluble fibre. Drink enough water, and exercise regularly. Oh, and keep stress levels ti a minimum! 

  • I did the fodmap elimination and reintroduction and found I have a mild sensitivity to polyols so I no longer eat them. Fructrans, fructose and GOS are no problem for me.

    The biggest difference for me was adopting a low fiber, low fat diet. I eat a lot of white bread, white rice, white pasta, some very thoroughly cooked veg, orange juice, and a lot of soy milk and tofu for protein and fats. If I keep fiber intake below 25g a day it slows my system down enough to be manageable.

    I also take immodium a few hours in advance if I'm going somewhere with no toilet access.

    IBS is the diagnosis I have (i.e. all the tests came up negative so that's what we'll call it) but I don't like it. My bowel isn't irritable. It's been extremely consistent every day since I was born in that it simply runs several times faster than it should.

    I get no professional support. I manage my IBS through systematically experimenting with diet and medication and get peer support from fellow autistics from a local group.