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?
Not that I'm aware of,but I've never tried anything like an elimination diet..
I also have a long history of GI problems and learned about the association whilst preparing for my ASD assessment last year (which resulted in diagnosis).
After delays due to a disbelieving GP, I was diagnosed with GORD at age 9. I'd also been told that I'd be on medications for life, but the top dose became increasingly ineffective. A couple of years ago, I had surgery to repair my hiatal hernia and reinforce the valve with an implant. Since then, I haven't needed any PPIs.
I also have diverticular disease with complications and Barrett's Oesophagus.
I have had chronic and severe indigestion, which I resolved, and diverticular disease, which is still a problem. I was investigated for a suspected stomach ulcer, but nothing was found. I still had agonising indigestion, but eventually the penny dropped and I put two and two together. For a number of years I could not drink cask conditioned beer without horrible stomach pain. I reviewed what I was regularly consuming that might be related to cask beer and I thought yeast! Cask beer and leavened bread both contain yeast. I cut out leavened bread from my diet and my stomach symptoms disappeared completely. I obviously have a food intolerance for yeast.
I've had stomach issues my entire life. I required a few operations when I was born. My diet is quite limited these days and have bought some of the most annoying night time symptoms under control in the last year by cutting out fermentable sugars (Google FODMAP). Food is no longer fun, or if it is, I have to resign myself to problems for a few days after.
I have other problem also lasting my whole life - bloating, flatulence, often diarrhoea. Doesn’t matter what I eat or drink, it’s always like this. But often getting worse, this is one of the reason why I avoid trying new foods and restaurants generally.
I haven't been diagnosed with anything that I know of, but I am prescribed Omeprazole, which I can afford to forget to take for exactly one night before sleep becomes impossible. I didn't realise it could be autism related. I always figured it was diet induced.
No, I haven't. I was only diagnosed with ASC a few months ago, aged 65.
Interesting. I know there are studies on Coeliac Disease and it's links to autism but I don't personally have it. Have you ever done any research into the two being linked?
I have Coeliac Disease and have had it since infancy.
That is certainly something that I have experienced in the past.
Does anything in particular trigger that for you?
Does chronically going from constipation to the opposite end of things count as such?
I have that too, as a result of my acid reflux. I was diagnosed with that at 20.
Do you have other GI issues?
I have Barrett's oesophagus.