What are physical health problems that go with Asperger's?

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Oh, flat feet, clicky joints, and my feet stick out at five to two... I didn't realise those things were also associated with the spectrum.

Crackly joints here too.

My lower spine gets compressed, and if I sit at certain angles, I pull it apart with a loud crackle.

My hips also lock and I have to force the joints open. Also makes loud crackles.

These aren't necessarily ASD related - in fact, some I would be almost positive have nothing to do with being on the spectrum - but all are things I have experienced in the past or still do today:

Loose joints/cracking & popping
Weak muscles despite a large-built frame
Chronic joint pain
TMJ
Migraines
Digestive issues (adhesions, malabsorbtion, acid reflux, IBS, etc.)
Awareness of visual distortions (peripheral focus issues; dots, lines and squiggles)
Poor balance/motor function
Innate need to move/fidget/drum when overstimulated, upset, or thinking intensely
Reactive hypoglycemia
Anxiety, depression, panic attacks and mood swings
Insomnia, sleepwalking, aberrant circadian (relatively nocturnal by nature)
Occasional heart rhythm variances
Muscle spasms or twitches in the extremities
Sensitive to fluorescent lights and strobes
Weak eyesight (day starts around 20/35, ends around 20/60-20/80 most nights)


M.

Tuesday night and tonight/this morning I experienced minor, yet sharp pains in the left side of my chest when I lay down. It doesn't radiate, or go into my arm, or worsen with breathing; it just happens. I immediately took two aspirins just in case it's a heart situation (cos I always assume the worst and panic). There's always something going on with me, although nothing has been too serious...so far. I hate this, cos I want to go to sleep.

Turns out the pain from the above post was bronchitis.

I've also been waking up with tingling numbness in my pink and ring fingers, like there's a pinched nerve somewhere. I also have muscle twitching, but I'm wondering if that had to do with my use of Symbicort. With all this crap going on, I feel I need some xanax to stop getting too worried. When something is going on with my health that I don't understand, it freaks me out.

Can anybody click their wrists easily, with no pain? Every so often I can do this, and it's audible.

While only normal autistic and not auspie autistic like everyone else seems to be, Ive experienced:

Environmental/Resportary allergies. When they tested me, they quit testing and said to assume the rest.
Low energy during the day.
Underweight/Unable to gain weight. Possibly a digestive issue.
Insomnia
Acne

Depression is a serious issue for people with Asperger's syndrome, and a lot of the physical issues could follow on from depression. All that anxiety is very harmful.

I have Dyspraxia, speaking problems*, Raynaud's, Paradontosis, DSPS and IBS. I think most of Aspies wear glasses, me too.
Depression is connected because of social problems.


*A little strange thing. My pronunciation is good in German, but quite bad in Polish. But I have to use Polish the most, it's my basic language And classic: too loud, too deep, to harsh...

I realised there's so many terms I haven't even heard of in this thread. But hey, I also have some sophistocated terms too. I forgot if I posted here about my health problems since the thread is so long and old, but anyway...

I have VSD (heart murmur) and G6PD. For the G6PD, I can't eat broad beans or smell mothballs too intensly (although no emergency happened before and I've been to urinals with mothballs plenty of times). I occasionally have heartburn, sometimes when running.

I don't know if these problems are AS related or not, but I suffer from :
- a light kyphosis
- strabismus
- hypermetropia and astigmatism
- seborrhoeic dermatitis
- heart murmur
- herpes on lips

In my family there's antecedents of diabetes, Alzeihmer and vitiligo.

Hypertension.

Thankfully it's not too high, but I also have family history against me and all...

One thing to bare in mind when you make these connections is that a lot of the conditions listed here have loads of inter-connecting relationships with other conditions, genetic predisposition, environmental factors, developmental factors, lifestyle, diet.

The human body does not operate like a basic maths formula. If X happens then Y will occur. There are so many factors at work that make up your individual circumstances.

I always read on AS forums about these "co-morbidities" associated with AS and is AS linked to this that and all sorts. I think before you draw any conclusions on the true relationships AS has to other conditions you should take this factor into account. I would hypothesise that if you are under greater scrutiny of medical/psychiatric professionals then you will have a greater chance of being screened for other conditions or have your health more carefully monitored.

If I may also make a point regarding depression. The point has been made earlier that a person with AS becomes depressed because of the social isolation associated with AS To begin with. But is that really a co-morbidity? I would say that is a product of the prejudice and discrimination a person with an autistic spectrum disorder suffers from wider society. I'm getting more into a social model of disability vs Medical model of disability argument here though but I might as well elaborate on it seeing as im in "can't stop typing" mode

The medical model of disability would approach this link with depression that the person with AS is unable to fit into the normality of the world and that it is the fault of their condition and the way they are. Therefore the intervention should be to forceably integrate that person into society and to breakdown their AS behaviour. I.e. you have the problem we are going to fix you and teach you to mimic our way of behaviour

The social model of disability would say that if a person with AS is suffering social isolation to begin with then the society itself clearly isn't a very welcoming one or intolerant of a person with AS to begin with. The society should perhaps consider why it is intolerant of this differance and unable to recognise the strengths of the person to begin with. I.e. Society has the problem society should change to include the person into the wider community.