Published on 12, July, 2020
I have been doing a lot of reading about this recently, and I am finding more and more that there are potentially significant links between people with autism and people who have gastrointestinal (GI) issues such as gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
I am a 32 year old male. I have suffered from acid reflux my whole life due to being born with a hiatus hernia. I am medicated for it, and I have been told that I will always be on medication for it due to the severity of my condition. It gets worse with stress, sleeping in a different position, changes in diet... all sorts of things can trigger it to be worse.
Does anyone else, formally or self-diagnosed with autism, have any issues like this?
Hi,
I am autistic and I recently read an article about this. Apparently autistic people have a high level of a certain type of gut bacteria in their guts. It has also been found that around 75% of autistic people have a digestive issue of some kind.
Personally, I have a sliding hiatus hernia which causes acid reflux, indigestion, nausea, and bloating. I have been on medication for it in the past because I got a stomach ulcer. But, the ulcer has since healed and I manage it without medication now. I have to avoid acidic and spicy foods. I am also lactose intolerant which I believe is also because of the autism. I am of white northern European descent, and this group of people have the highest rates of lactose tolerance. Furthermore, no one else in my family (immediate or extended) is lactose intolerant. So it is very weird that I am lactose intolerant. My identical twin is also autistic and lactose intolerant, but she does not have a sliding hiatus hernia.
Also my dad was autistic and he had severe stomach issues that were never diagnosed. He was told it was irritable bowel syndrome. But, I don't know. He was on a very restricted diet for a lot of his life.
Anyway, the article I was reading about autism causing digestive issues was suggesting that eating one yogurt with probiotics everyday might help improve digestive issues by improving the balance of gut bacteria in autistic people's guts (i.e. intestines). And, if you can't have dairy there are dairy free yogurts with probiotics in them too. Of course, there haven't been many studies on this yet, so it's hard to say whether it would actually be effective. Personally, I haven't tried it, but I am considering it.
Well, if you do try it and it works for you, then it seems like there are a number of people in this thread who would benefit from hearing your results!
I believe that my GI issues are definitely linked to my diagnosis or vice versa. I actually think that my GI issues may have masked my diagnosis as a child. But as you said, there's not been enough research to back up such a claim.