Autism and gastrointestinal (GI) disorders

I have persistent lower right quadrant pain/discomfort which has been going on for what feels like forever. Around ten years ago I had a colonoscopy, which was obviously great fun. It proved inconclusive other than finding some inflammation, which they say could be the result of the "preparation". 

The following day, despite of some discomfort I felt great, my brain fog, allergies and general anxiety had either gone or had dramatically reduced. Over the next week it slowly came back.

I've spoken to various doctors and they either say it's interesting or coincidental.

I don't have reflex disorders, but I did have pretty bad constipation issues before I moved abroad. I think a mix of eating healthier and walking more helped me a lot, but it still flares up every so often. I'm just hoping it doesn't come back in full once I return home to the UK. 

I can't find the video on hand but I have seen Dr.K from HealthyGamerGG give an interesting bit of analysis on why he thinks that there is a link between ASD and Gastrointestinal Disorders. I don't agree with everything there, but if I find it i'll post it as a reply to this thread.

Yeh so I have chronic constipation and this causes my anxiety and GERD it took a while to realise it was my tummy causing my anxiety rather than my anxiety causing my tummy issues. I can honestly say that pain management and bowel management and diet can go much further than any anxiety drugs like Valium etc. the answer was staring me in the face. Did you that constipation causes GERD and can cause inflammation in the bowel? Autistic people I believe have problems emptying their bowels more than anything. Dunno the reason why but yeh that’s a big issue

Apologies for the late reply. Holidays and the system upgrade have kept me away from this site for a while.

For me I find that having an enforced pause works. By that I mean setting aside a few days to calm everything down. Shift stressful work meetings to other days, cancel other engagements and just generally calm everything down in my life. Just for a few days. I also calm my diet down: no alcohol, just the one early morning coffee, maybe a couple of teas. Simple wholesome food. Early to bed: 10-11pm watershed, early to rise. Some quiet early morning meditation before the rest of the house wakes up. And some walks; get out each day for 30 minutes of walking. A couple of days of this and I can feel normality returning to my gut. 

I have long term issues with allergies and asthma, which the doctors say is exacerbated by reflux. A couple of times I added gorgonzola to my pizzas, and woke up with a mouth full of acid, so now I don't mix the two, obviously. 

Irritable bowel is a other of my woes, I avoid gluten now but nuts and chocate also seem to be challenging for my touchy gut. Actually it's probably more vegetable oil than chocate, so I avoid cheaper chocolates that have that. 

I have found this whole thread very interesting, too! I was not expecting to hear from so many people who have similar issues to me as well as being autistic.

Having read a lot of the responses here, it appears that it could have links to stress and anxiety due to being autistic. Co-occurring conditions are easily identified and could easily mask autistic traits. In my case, doctors weren't looking for autistic traits they were looking to treat immediately obvious medical conditions.

Do you find anything that helps your symptoms when you are having a flare-up?

I'm sorry to hear that about you and your children. I can relate to iron deficiency even though I have a (mostly) healthy diet; I don't drink alcohol, etc.. 

I imagine I probably have more going on than I know about because it's never been properly looked into. I have always been medicated rather than have anything properly investigated.

I would like to speak to a consultant so I can understand my specific conditions better. Did you get that appointment via the NHS, or was it a private appointment?

I agree, it is an early warning sign for me, too. My body has the same response as yours when getting stressed. Either reflux or "challenges at the other end", as you beautifully put it

Do you find anything that works to relieve your symptoms? What do you do when you start to notice those initial signs?

I am finding all of this so interesting...

I am sorry to say I know of his existence only, nothing else about him

I'm sorry to read that.  Do you like Francis Bacon?

Don't get me started on mental health issues

Red82 (Formerly Mellowjian) said:

I'm very, very tormented and miserable.

I relate to that. This is me...

I haven't had a drink in years so I don't have that issue anymore.

I've  had more general problems my whole life, as I have been Autistic my whole life.  I've also developed Mental Health issues.  Coeliac disease has left me weak and never wanting to leave the house. I'm very, very tormented and miserable.

Hello Red82, For how long before your Coeliac diagnosis did you have problems? Coeliac disease has nothing to commend it, in my opinion. The food is expensive and bland. I also have chronically low vitamin B12 levels.

I was diagnosed with Coeliac disease, aged seven, back in the days when not much was known about it. I spent much of those seven years in various hospitals being tested for various maladies as I failed to thrive because on nutrient malabsorbtion. As a consequence, I didn't start school until I was eight years old.

I started drinking when I was eight years old. That Christmas I got drunk for the first time! By the time I hit my teen years I started drinking more to help with my social anxiety. It didn't help. I would start drinking and continue drinking until I had passed out. Then I would wake and be violently ill, vomiting everywhere. Let me tell you that being a vomiting drunk is not socially advantageous. I realized once I started I had no "off" switch. I could never recall the drinking only the waking and vomiting. Once, after an evening's drinking and vomiting I returned home. On the way I stopped and laid in the middle lane of the A4 in London and waited for the end.

The next day I realized I had a major problem -one of many. My new year's resolution that year was to stop drinking. It didn't help with my social anxiety. I was 15 years old and I have kept that resolution through some very dark times.

A couple of years later my alcoholic mother died in a pub! The North Star - the star that guides one home.Oh, the irony.

I can empathize with your Coeliac situation and your alcoholism.

I was diagnosed with ASC earlier this year aged 65.At this stage of my life I am back in the middle lane of the A4 in waiting for the end, figuratively speaking. As that sage Bobby McFerrin one opined, "Don't worry, be happy"

There's a line from a song I like that resonates with me: "Someday we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny"...but not yet, in my case.

Hello Nemo. I've only had it about 5 years but it has added to my problems exponentially.  I had severe problems before all this ,of course.

I've heard you can drink Wine with it.  Red wine only isn't it?  I'm a recovering alcoholic so I best not do that.

Very interested to hear that so many people here also have reflux problems. I developed a hiatus hernia at 30 (12 years ago) and been on medication ever since. I didn’t know I was autistic back then and all I could find about it was that it generally affected people over 60 or overweight, neither of which I was so it’s always been a bit of a mystery to me. Had no idea it may have a connection with autism - perhaps brought on by the constant anxiety or something

me too , i was diagnosed with aspergers back in 2018 and have had reoccuring stomach issues since 2017 , been back and fourth with doctors  reflux issues and stomach pains which have lead to multiple a&e visits , tests and and even a camera showed  no signs of anything severe  . 
i have noticed when im stressed my symptoms flare up and vice versa

I’m autistic and both of my adult children are autistic. My eldest has had long standing and quite serious GI problems - to the extent that he gets seriously underweight and has iron deficiency etc. it’s been a huge problem for him. He has a very healthy and varied diet. My youngest has a very limited and unhealthy diet due to issues with food relating to his autism - and that affects him. But he doesn’t have the same serious issues as my eldest. I get very affected by stress - it upsets my stomach. My eldest’s Consultant talked him about the ‘gut/brain axis’ - which seems to be a key aspect of all of this. It definitely seems to be a common problem for autistic people. Hopefully one day they’ll be more research and support for this. 

I have  Coeliac's Disease too, The food is so much more expensive,  I do missed drinking lager I've had to change to drinking wine lol