Autism spectrum disorders and gastrointestinal problems

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I have some gastrointestinal problems and I remembered hearing about a link between them and autism so I googled it, but there's so much information geared towards people who want just snippets of information and I want to hear the whole story. I've seen alot about gluten and casein free diets but quite frankly I'd rather not undergo such an extreme inconvenience with my busy schedule. I don't know if that's even a legitimate cure for the issues. I was wondering what was the scientific consensus on this (if there is any) and what should I do for myself to alleviate my troubles? I'm scheduling a doctor's appointment this week so I'd also like to know maybe what questions to ask, things to mention etc.

also, if anyone else has gastrointestinal problems please share them if you're comfortable because I want to know I'm not alone in this.
Thanks guys

I know a lot of the people who are into the science of things will say "No connection," and leave it at that; but the practical issues are more complicated and they do bear some looking into.

They've done studies on it and there isn't any statistical link between autistic people and non-autistic people (especially people with other disabilities) and gastrointestinal problems. That is, we have them at the same rate as the general public. I know there are a few here who will disagree with me, but from all my research, anytime someone looks at it with numbers and statistical logic instead of with small numbers of case studies or anecdotes, you get that answer: Autism and gastrointestinal problems don't have a correlation, or if they do, it's a small one; and without a correlation, there can't be any cause and effect relationship (barring some extremely unlikely bad luck with confounding factors).

That said, though, when you have both at the same time, the whole can be more than the sum of the parts. Autism can have an effect on your gastrointestinal problems, and your gastrointestinal problems can have an effect on your autism.

If you have autism, chances are the limits of the input your brain can handle are much lower than the limits of an NT brain. Most of the time, there's only so much you can take before you start losing skills and not being able to cope. One kind of input comes from your digestive system--and what would be a non-issue for an NT can send an autistic person into shutdown.

From the other angle, autistic people can have hyper- or hyposensitivity that can interfere with treating gastrointestinal problems. If you are hypersensitive to texture and taste, you may easily end up with a restricted diet that isn't friendly to your digestive system--like a lactose-intolerant child whose restricted diet contains milk, and who consequently has the expected symptoms. Or you could be hyposensitive--not process the signals from your digestive system well enough--and be completely unaware that you had problems, except that you were feeling inexplicably more irritable and had less brainspace to work with.

With anybody who doesn't have access to workable communication skills, there's also the problem of not expressing pain the usual way--you might feel it and know you felt it, but be unable to explain it to your parents, who wouldn't have a clue because you weren't crying or making the usual "my tummy hurts" faces.

I wear Depends. I think that I might also have IBS. I go through periods, where I feel intense pain in my intestines. I also don't wish to put all my time into a gluten free, dairy free diet. There are too many special foods to buy, and cook and that can be very expensive and time consuming. I make an effort to stay away from pop and coffee.

I definitely have issues. I'm all over the map - too hard, too soft, three days without... and it had only been getting worse. I started taking Align about 6 weeks ago, and it seems to have stopped the downward spiral, but this is still far from over.

I've seen a few articles about the spectrum-GI relationship, but they never made much sense to me. I felt like the wrote alot but said nothing.

Y'know, there's no reason really why it'd be wheat or milk specifically; it could be other things entirely. Those might be common things to have problems with, but they are by no means the only ones; it'd be like assuming that if you have allergies it must be a pollen allergy and then wondering why you still break out whenever you eat strawberries. It might make sense to just write down what you eat for a little while and see if you can find patterns; maybe there's something your stomach doesn't like. Mine doesn't like high-fat stuff, for example; and my little sis can't eat red meat. I wouldn't call that "digestive problems" because we just don't eat them and consequently have no trouble at all; but if there were multiple things, or something very common, that you didn't handle well, especially on top of an already touchy system, you could have some trouble out of it.

Etiology of gastrointestinal problems remains unknown. Recent publications describing upper gastrointestinal abnormalities and ileocolitis have focused attention on gastrointestinal function and morphology in AS. High prevalence of histologic abnormalities in the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon, and dysfunction of liver conjugation capacity and intestinal permeability has been reported. Mild to moderate degrees of inflammation were found in both the upper and lower intestinal tract. In addition, decreased sulfation capacity of the liver, pathologic intestinal permeability, increased secretory response to intravenous secretin injection, and decreased digestive enzyme activities were reported in many children with autism. Treatment of digestive problems appears to have positive effects on autistic behaviour.

Taken from here and here

I have IBS, GERD, lactose intolerance, lack of some other enzymes, and most likely sensitivity to gluten as well. And soy. And fibre. Basically everything except water. Also had candida infections in my digestive system some time ago.

I've taken anti-anxiety medication to help with a diagnosed Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Plus I follow a diet, listen to more music, and try to avoid stressful situations. It's not gone but it's now more or less under control, and I'm not depressed anymore.

@AlienVisitor
I probably need 1kg of that anti-anxiety medication per day lol. Anxiety is probably my worst problem in life which no doubt hurts my ability to digest.

@Booyakasha and Callista
thanks for the info. I didn't think of it in that light but, yeah, having stomach problems and sensory sensitivity together is what makes it all so bad. Plus I'm very likely to go on doing something that's hurting me but ignore the pain/discomfort because that's what I'm used to doing.

I have gastrointestinal problems.

I've never been able to pinpoint exactly what sets mine off, but I did see a strange pattern when I lived in another town. I love to read and when I went to the public library, after about 5 or 10 minutes I'd start cramping and have to run to the bathroom. Every time and at various libraries too. I had always had the experience of stress being the main trigger so I couldn't understand why a place I liked to be would affect me that way. Someone suggested that perhaps I was having a reaction to something like what they might treat books with to deter bugs.

Since I also have somatization disorder, psychiatrist wanted to put me on anxiolytics because of the anxiety and it's affect on my health, however I decided to try out the cheaper method - meditation, yoga, physical activity (best in nature) and generally avoiding any kind of distress (that can be avoided). So far so good.

I've had gastrointestinal problems for as long as I can remember. I personally think it's anxiety related, but I'm not positive. My mom also has had gastrointestinal problems for years - maybe it's genetic? It's quite frustrating.

At Callista said. GI problems are just common, in everyone, period. I have GI problems but so do most people. And of course any health problems can cause stress causing further problems functioning.

I have GI problems but they don't seem to be as bad as what some people describe here. I have IBS which can get pretty bad. I also have sensitivity to certain foods. Some food/drinks just make me ill.

I have IBS. It goes through periods of being quite severe and times when I can forget I have it. I have trigger foods/drinks that set it off, but these change over time - which keeps life interesting. Also, I find it flares up when I am most stressed/anxious. I think I'm the only person I know who keeps anti-diarrhea medication in their wallet.

I have GI problems. They seem to be anxiety aggravated for me. I always keep spare undergarments at work.