Stomach issues

[MarieMarie]

Rudy Simone in Aspergirls: "Most, if not all, people with Asperger's and autism will have some form of digestive issue."

Surprise to me. Does this sound familiar?

 

[Raggamuffin]

I had all sorts of symptoms due to stress and anxiety. As anxiety is common in people on the spectrum I think it's fair to say there's a direct link. Stress can affect the stomach causing aches, pains and excess gas. I had stomach aches lasting weeks at a time during periods of high anxiety. One reason being because when I had a symptom I fixated and obsessed over it.

A stressed mind leads to a stressed body. Also, if a symptom becomes a worry you've entered a vicious circle.

An ache, pain or symptom born of stress will be exacerbated by stressing or worrying about that symptom. Thus, a cycle can begin or symptoms, more stress, more symptoms.

This was a cycle that took me over 5 years to break. Some aches and pains lasted minutes, days, weeks or months. One even lasted over a year. I eventually traced them all back to anxiety. From very early on during this 5 year period I had Dr's, nurses, friends, family and anxiety forum members all advising me it was "just anxiety".

Unfortunately the motto "mind over matter" took a long time to incorporate itself into my mindset. I was convinced symptoms were caused by something else. When I finally reached a stated of acceptance the constant pains and symptoms started to ease up. Eventually it got to the point I'm at now - where I have a handful a week at most and each of them is short lived and gone within minutes or hours.

Unlike how I used to be, I don't react to them when they appear. I let them be, and they come and go as they please. I remind myself to assess what's occurring at the moments I have symptoms. Usually I see that there's more stress at home or at work and I focus on reducing these stressors.

Keeping busy is key. Too much "me time" can leave you thinking yourself into a hole which can be troublesome to get out of.

Other things to improve digestive health is diet. Reducing processed foods and high fat and sugar laden snacks. Also alcohol. I abused alcohol for 6 years and during weeks of binging I'd get real bad flare ups of gut rot. Added to this was the fact that when I was drinking I'd usually be scoffing take aways and other junk whilst drunk. A destructive duo if ever there was one.

Ed

 

[Sarah S]

Rudy Simone i Aspergirls: "Most, if not all, people with Asperger's and autism will have some form of digestive issue."

Surprise to me. Does this sound familiar?

Its a well known (as far as i know and have read) co morbid diagnose to both ASD as well as ADHD

And yes i had it since i was a little girl and was diagnosed with IBS and stress stomach when i was 20

 

[GadAbout]

Rudy Simone i Aspergirls: "Most, if not all, people with Asperger's and autism will have some form of digestive issue."

Surprise to me. Does this sound familiar?

Yup. Very familiar. There are countless threads about this topic on autism forums. At the same time, I would never make a comment that "all" on the spectrum have this, because there are always exceptions.

What @Raggamuffin said about straigtening his digestive issues out is worthy of consideration. In most of these cases, the "cure" is better lifestyle.

 

[MarieMarie]

If all aspies have digestive problems, then I am not an aspie.

This is the weirdest chapter in the book. Rudy Simone says that "Most of the world's top autism researchers and doctors" now believe that "autism is originally caused by a compromised digestive system that alloes toxins from the environment and food to get into the bloodstream and impact brain development att crucial stages". WHAT? This is a very nutty theory. She then refers to a totally non-scientific experiment with a diet supplement she performed on herself and some volunteers. No control group ...

I won't trust her regarding science. Not one bit.

Anxiety etc. causing stomach problems sounds a lot more plausible.

 

[Varzar]

If all aspies have digestive problems, then I am not an aspie.

This is the weirdest chapter in the book. Rudy Simone says that "Most of the world's top autism researchers and doctors" now believe that "autism is originally caused by a compromised digestive system that alloes toxins from the environment and food to get into the bloodstream and impact brain development att crucial stages". WHAT? This is a very nutty theory. She then refers to a totally non-scientific experiment with a diet supplement she performed on herself and some volunteers. No control group ...

I won't trust her regarding science. Not one bit.

Anxiety etc. causing stomach problems sounds a lot more plausible.

In general, I do not have digestive issues.. I have in the past occasionally, but that was due more to a diet full of pop, fast food, processed foods, and other crap.. I've since cleaned up my diet.

And, yeah, that's a pretty nutty theory..

 

[Wolfnox]

No idea.

 

[Sarah S]

If all aspies have digestive problems, then I am not an aspie.

This is the weirdest chapter in the book. Rudy Simone says that "Most of the world's top autism researchers and doctors" now believe that "autism is originally caused by a compromised digestive system that alloes toxins from the environment and food to get into the bloodstream and impact brain development att crucial stages". WHAT? This is a very nutty theory. She then refers to a totally non-scientific experiment with a diet supplement she performed on herself and some volunteers. No control group ...

I won't trust her regarding science. Not one bit.

Anxiety etc. causing stomach problems sounds a lot more plausible.

First not all with ASD etc... get all the if inded any of the Comorbid diagnosis

Second her statement reg this noncence reg digestive problems is the root of ASD thats just plain BS simple as that i got all my diagnosis from both my family (incl my mom and probaly my dad only mild on both ) SEVERE birth comlications causing me to be without air for WAY to long. They had to pull me out in a hurry to save me

As Anxiety as well as depression etc... Also are well known Co morbid diagnosis i agree that its the stress in general from our diagnosis that we have to live under that probaly produce our digestive problems (ie negative stress)

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

It's not an uncommon co-morbid but "most if not all" is an exaggeration.

 

[clg114]

I have stomach problems, but I do not believe it is caused by being on the spectrum. When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I drank a lot. That was hard on my stomach. I really like hot, spicy food and a lifetime of eating like that is hard on my stomach. Also, I have a very old stomach.

 

[Tom]

Rudy Simone says that "Most of the world's top autism researchers and doctors" now believe that "autism is originally caused by a compromised digestive system that alloes toxins from the environment and food to get into the bloodstream and impact brain development att crucial stages".

I would have to say that statement is likely false. From my attempts to follow the resaerch, I get the impression that is just one line of several lines of research and it is not widely supported.

 

[Pats]

I figured IBS would be fairly common due to the constant stress of everyday life.

 

[Fino]

I got nothin'.

 

[Streetwise]

Rudy Simone i Aspergirls: "Most, if not all, people with Asperger's and autism will have some form of digestive issue."

Surprise to me. Does this sound familiar?

yes but it’s also pertinent to people who have a lot of stress.

 

[Thinx]

Mmm I think digestive issues are generally common, and as has been said, they are also often linked to anxiety.

In my family, the autistic traits came from my dad's family but the digestive problems were in my mum's family. I am not anxious and I don't have diverticulitis or colitis which my mum has, and her uncle died of at 40, but that was in about 1940, he had fought in the first world war too.

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

Rudy Simone has a tendency to exaggerate the research and state supposition as fact. Her work is valuable in bringing attention to female autism but as with all work that presents as scientific but does not provide full citations for statements, should be taken with a pinch of salt.

 

[MarieMarie]

Rudy Simone has a tendency to exaggerate the research and state supposition as fact. Her work is valuable in bringing attention to female autism but as with all work that presents as scientific but does not provide full citations for statements, should be taken with a pinch of salt.

The whole book seems a bit ... biased. She has her own experiences, and of course has talked to many others. Still I think ...

... well it might well be me who is not typical. But my impression is this book describes a specific type of female aspie. Like Rudy Simone, and those who are similar to herself.

If I want very neutral descriptions then probably I should read more scientific-like books. For now, a couple of chapters have been really useful but I'm learning to quickly browse through parts of the book.

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

The whole book seems a bit ... biased. She has her own experiences, and of course has talked to many others. Still I think ...

... well it might well be me who is not typical. But my impression is this book describes a specific type of female aspie. Like Rudy Simone, and those who are similar to herself.

If I want very neutral descriptions then probably I should read more scientific-like books. For now, a couple of chapters have been really useful but I'm learning to quickly browse through parts of the book.

If you want a more objective look at female autism I recommend Tony Attwood's "complete guide to aspergers".

 

[Rasputin]

I had severe food allergies that manifested as Urticaria growing up. Additionally, I am lactose and gluten intolerant. From what I have read these are common with ASD, though I grew up during a time (1960s and 1970s) when they did not screen for ASD. Even to this day I have to follow a restrictive Paleo diet free of milk, grains, and with limited carbohydrates.

 

[Sarah S]

The whole book seems a bit ... biased. She has her own experiences, and of course has talked to many others. Still I think ...

... well it might well be me who is not typical. But my impression is this book describes a specific type of female aspie. Like Rudy Simone, and those who are similar to herself.

If I want very neutral descriptions then probably I should read more scientific-like books. For now, a couple of chapters have been really useful but I'm learning to quickly browse through parts of the book.

In general all Neuropsycological diagnosis are highly individual so you cant compare youre self to anyone else (incl in here) you also have to take in to account what level? , any other co morbid diagnosis and what level on those ? For example