Aspergers and bowel problems

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Hey all,

Something I’ve been wondering about for a while, is whether my problems with *tmi* constipation and acid reflux maybe has something to do with aspergers or autism in general, as i’ve seen a few people say so. Does anybody know if there IS a connection between the two, and if yes, then how and why??? I’ve had these problems all my life even as a toddler. Just want to shed some light on it really thanks in advance

It has long been known that bowel and stomach problems are very common amoung autistics.

In my opinion stress is an important reason. Life as an autistic is stressful and stress causes bowel problems.

Also autistics can have poor eating habits be it from obsessively eating a few foods at the expense of others, food sensory sensitivities, eating at irregular times due to hyperfocusing on special interests. At 3AM when researching a topic it is tempting to grab a quick pick me up food or drink.

I had band constipation or cramping problems a lot when I was a teen still in school. I experimented with avoiding Lactose which seemed to help. I also wonder if I had some sensitivity to Gluten.

It's better now and sometimes make it a point to include occasional apples in my diet.

I've needed to wear pull-us for a little over ten years, especially to bed.

I've watched my bowel symptom triggers closely for a while and realized that mine was absolutely triggered by stress.

Yeah, it's really common. I've had significant issues of that variety since birth, even to the point of prolapse. The last couple of years I've had trouble with stomach ulcers, too. I don't think I could put it down to one cause. It's probably a mix of stress, a restricted diet, and natural hypersensitivity, all of which are more commonly found in autistics.

When you have to cope with living in a NT world that doesn't accept your differences or change to make things easier for you, this naturally causes anxiety. And when people suffer anxiety they naturally have all kinds of physical health problems and their digestion gets messed up.

I don't really have any digestive problems that I know of, although sometimes I think I have a mild case of IBS.

Usually it is IBS, which is not uncommon. Even many NTs have it. With me, it comes from food allergies because I am allergic to so many foods.

I've had a long history of constipation problems. I haven't had that problem anymore. I think exercising has been helping with it.

Yes, all of the above comments go for me really. I've always had acid reflux and always had stress and anxiety, caused by ASD. I don't think that's a coincidence.

^This

Never before the age of 25 did I have any problems. Then it started sporadically in 2015 with bouts of severe abdominal pain. Then in 2017 I developed an all out motility disorder.

Since August I have been dealing with severe pain, bowel obstructions and ''are you pregnant?'' levels of bloating. I am honestly afraid to eat some days in fear of having another obstruction and experiencing the nightmare level pain it brings on. I have been extremely careful with my eating habits trying not to aggravate it and choosing salads, small portions of food and things that are easy on the stomach. I have even been careful to chew my food longer in order to make it easier to digest and pass. Yet, despite all of this is still doesn't always work.

I did something horrendously stupid the other day, I sat down in a cafe and ate a tiger brownie (a combination of a chocolate chip cookie and brownie with a shortbread crust) and ended up experiencing a murderous level of pain the entire night and was constipated for 4 days after. I almost passed out on the bathroom floor.

I am still on a wait list to see a specialist and I'm a little bit frighted as to what they might find. I have no idea if this has anything to do with ASD but I know in the last 5 years especially I have had an extreme level of stress. But I don't think this is exactly stress related. Again, it's a very frightening thing. I dread being stuck on a major highway in a car and having a sudden onset of the pain.. really, if I have to leave me home town I make sure I have eaten absolutely nothing the night before and the day I leave. It's too much of a risk.

as I age in place I am increasingly unable to tell the wet ones from the dry ones.

Blockages in the solar plexus aka third chakra.

I've never experienced stomach issues,except in the last 3yrs.
Beforehand,i was medically subdued for 25yrs+by drug addiction,hence the 'gut of iron tyres'.

Try meditation,mindfulness and be mindful of your thoughts.
After all,you are and what you experience by what you think!

Research on the mind/brain and how it works,has helped me.
Initially i referred to 'Tiny Buddha' website and Eckart Tolle on youtube.
Also google obviously.

What's helped me has been from my own experiencing on the mind,research and current, mediation,mindfulness,awareness and focus.

I exercise as part of my job,so i'd recommend at least some time out up to a hour or more or less,in a bush walk solitary environment.

I focus on my breathing,rubbing two fingers together and focusing keeping my feet planted,aligned with the rest of my body while i walk.

Horses for courses though and everyone is different,but it's about distraction of thought and focusing.
See what 'distraction' works for you!

Think with the 'heart' not the 'mind'.

The end 'goal' is 'stillness' and letting go of thought and noisy chatter.

But a start,is the road to 'Purging'.

Trust your 'gut',there is more to so-called 'reality'.

I always get cramps and soft stool or diarrhea when stressed. Otherwise I have no bowel problems whatsoever.

One time I was asked for a stool sample and it looked like THIS

I'm studying some of these issues in both autism and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)/Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD), which seem to overlap each other somewhat. Overall, these two overlapping populations report a lot of symptoms that are indicative of 1) immune dysfunction (autoimmunity, general inflammation, mast cell activation disorders) and 2) dysautonomias. "Dysautonomia" means that there is dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. In these conditions, there tends to be an overactivation of the sympathetic branch ("fight and flight"), which often causes GI symptoms. The other branch of the autonomic nervous system is the parasympathetic branch, which is the "rest and digest" branch. So you can imagine why one might experience constipation when your sympathetic nervous system is overactive. Reflux in this context can also be a subtle sign of gastroparesis, which means that the stomach is emptying too slowly into the intestines and so the stomach tries to accommodate by producing more stomach acid. The most extreme form can result in vomiting, but there is a spectrum of severity and can be highly under-recognized by doctors.

Common symptoms of dysautonomia are (but are DEFINITELY not limited to):

-Difficulty standing still (this is intended in the "discomfort" sense, not the hyperactive sense)
-Fatigue
-Lightheadedness
-Nausea and other GI symptoms
-Brain fog or mental clouding
-Palpitations or chest discomfort (also includes high heart rate or changes to blood pressure)
-Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing (may be confused with asthma but doesn't usually respond to asthma meds as well)

Immune dysfunction can also cause a lot of GI problems as you can probably imagine. For instance, acid reflux can also result because of high histamine levels related to general inflammation. Histamine in turn triggers higher production levels of stomach acid. Also, one might be sensitive to various foods, either as an allergic or non-allergic reaction, which can obviously trigger dysfunction and general unhappiness in the GI tract.

So, anywho. Takehome message is: Yes, there's lot of GI issues associated with autism and there are several underlying conditions (immune disorder, dysautonomia) that are often at the root of those issues. If you're interested in reading more, I highly recommend the literature on dysautonomias (the diagnosis "postural orthostatic intolerance syndrome" or POTS has a lot of relevant literature) and immune disorders like mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). While these are both diagnostic extremes of this continuum, they may have some info that is nevertheless applicable to your situation and could be useful. Hope this helps!