Asperger's and IBS

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I'm going to make an appointment to meet with my doctor on Monday if I can get one. I must try cut out some of the items you have all listed to see if it helps relieve the symptoms I'm having.

Thank you all ^^

I was born with a specific birth defect - basically my digestive system was not properly formed - and suffer from a very sensitive digestive tract. IBS not diagnosed, but definitely have troubles with that whole region, which have led to quite a number of hospitalizations over the years for intestinal blockages.

My suggestion to all (thank god for the dietician I recently met - brilliant connections were made) is that you go to your local grocery and look for KEFFIR milk. Make sure it's the one with ACTIVE bacterial cultures. Don't take much at a time, but do take it for a while before discounting its value. This stuff CHANGED my life.

I'm only pissed no-one else thought of it - not even bowel specialists - for 37 years!!

I had bowel problems from childhood, just learned to work round them. Unbeknown to me they took a nasty turn, and at 49 I nearly died of bowel cancer. IBS should be diagnosed in the absence of anything more sinister: the proper tests can be nasty, but bowel cancer is nastier!

To consider it from the "stress" angle - does it get worse when you travel, go camping, stay at someone else's house for a while? Are you uncomfortable using public toilets with others nearby? Do you live alone or do you always share a bathroom with someone? Do you tend to "hold in" gas most of the time rather than letting it out (that includes burping)?

If those things ring a bell with you then it might be stress-related IBS which I think is common in people with anxiety issues, which many people with ASD suffer from.

If not, I'd definitely go down the food intolerance / digestive issues route as others have said. Remember to only try one thing at a time, otherwise it's too hard to figure out the precise cause.

I may need to cut out wheat again. My tummy is starting to get a little upset since I put wheat back in.

In out in out....I'll make up my mind one day. Darn decisions making.

Keffir isn't always easy to find. Ther are quite a few grocery chains around me, and only about two of the 5 major ones carry it. Only one of them has the "active bacteria" version (the other one is just useless - I bought it once, without reading ingredients, and it only took a day to realize somethign was off).

The biggest problem is (especially if you don't know what to look for) the grocery store doesn't know where the hell to stock it. In my store it has been alternately in the yogurt section, the cream section, the cheese section, and the endcap sales section. You might have to ask someone where it is, and some won't know wtf you are talking about. It SHOULD be in with the yogurt, because that's what it tastes like, and the ingredients are basically the godzilla of all yogurts. (Godzilla being a good thing, in this case )

I live in Canada, and the store I buy from is a Dominion/A&P owned chain. But the product is rather local (just the next province over). So you may have to cross your fingers and just keep your eyes open everywhere you go.

My fiancé is an Aspie and cannot have any milk products, otherwise he gets bad cramps and diarrhea. He is also allergic to nuts now as an adult but could have all of these things as a kid with no problems.

10 years of absolute misery. Could not have kept my job if my employers weren't so understanding. It was horrid. Stopped eating wheat products and got even worse for 6 months but I stayed off them because for the first time in those 10 years i was able to lose weight (had gained 100 lbs during that time). Then 6 months into it, it just went away. It's amazing. The weight is still coming off, very slowly, but I'm pretty sure the wheat had something to do with it because no diet ever worked prior to this. But not waking up horribly ill every morning of my life is the best! Some people say you can gradually add wheat back to your diet, but I'm happy not eating it.

Try a Paleo influenced diet! Works a treat for removing all digestive symptoms and also things like chronic headaches and fatigue as well. Bloody wonderful diet for making you feel well physically.

I am not strict paleo though. Whilst I removed foods like gluten grains, cows milk/yoghurt, artificial sweeteners, msg, processed foods etc I do consume some limited goats dairy, oats that are free from cross contamination with wheat on occasion (I know they still contain gluten of their own but gluten is actually an umbrella term for the proteins found in certain grains such as gliadin in wheat, hordein in barley and secalin in rye and those proteins can be different which is why celiacs (for example) can tolerate some grains and not others) and legumes.

I also limit processed sugars and keep my carb consumption relatively low (but not no carb or very low carb) as well as avoiding additives and preservatives etc.

I don't even get bloating on this diet.

Google paleo diet for more details.

Based on my experiences, I believe that the root cause of IBS symptoms and Autism symptoms are one in the same - or that at the very least the digestive issues amplify Autism symptoms if there's a genetic predisposition component to it.

I implore you to read the thread linked in my signature.

It took me over 30 years of my life to be pointed in the right direction, and a handful of life crippling unproductive years due to strong Autism symptoms.. but once I figured out the root cause of digestive issues and treated them over the last several months via diet & herbal treatments, I've reduced my Autism symptoms by more than 95%. Some are completely eliminated. I'm back to life and work in a major way and am happier and healthier than I have ever been in my entire life.

Please feel free to PM me as I am open to discussing any of this completely transparently with anyone who'd like to talk about it.

Cheers,
Richard

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No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

I had bad digestive issues for years, misdiagnosed as IBS, which turned out to be food intolerances -- gluten is the primary one, but I've since discovered that eggs, alcohol and a few other things also cause problems.

I have problems with acid reflux for some time now.

A couple of years ago I had a terrible bout with psoriasis. I've had psoriasis for a long time, mild enough that I never realized what it was for the longest of times. Anyway the psoriasis went into a terrible flare. About eighty percent body coverage, severe erythroderma, plaques all over, the skin on my feet peeled off it bits that looked like cornflakes, generally I was shedding skin by the double handfuls. I searched and researched the net for possible cures, went to see a dermatologist, did not like any of the standard treatments and finally wound up getting remission through certain selected supplements.

Because of this, I have spent a lot of time researching about the immune system, the co-morbidity aspects of depression, chronic fatigue, IBS, psoriasitic arthritis, rheumatism, and even autism. There seems to be a lot of research pointing toward the state of the immune system and how severe a lot these symptoms relating to the conditions are.

As I have gotten older, I have generally gotten where I have more problems with GI issues and what seems to help me when I have problems that seem to fall within the territory of IBS is three things. Ginger root, echinacea-goldenseal and ibuprofen. I have read where there is some legitimate research to support ginger root and echinacera may act as an anti-bacterial agent, but in a way that is more friendly with the natural gut bacteria than standard antibiotics. I have found ginger root supplements help anytime my stomach is upset or I feel a certain amount of nausea in general.

So when my IBS type symptoms start acting up, I hit these these supplements for a while until they ease and then for a few days after. I have tried both natural yoghurt and probiotics as a way to regain better gut health, but I really can't say one way or the other if they have helped that much. I have noticed that my intolerance with lactose has been reduced by taking a lactobacillius probiotic which in turn has helped considerably with the acid reflux, so there is that.

Nothing saying it will work for anyone else, but this is what I have found that helps for me.

I've had IBS for prob 15 years now - it mainly started when I was a teenager, I thought it was nerves due to school.

Wheat makes things worse, eg. bread and pasta. So I eat gluten free pasta, lots of rice, and potato but pretty much gave up on bread. (the gluten free offerings are a bit meh). Sometimes I eat bread as I love it sooooo much, but then I get bloating, really thirsty and very very lethargic.

I also avoid dairy - milk seems to act as a diuretic and gives me heartburn.

I tend to avoid meat as it gives me diahrrea. Small amounts of fish seems to be ok.

The foods that are suggested for gluten free, eg. lentils, beans etc. cause upset in themselves, so I have a very very restricted diet.

I've tried probiotics, makes a negligible difference, but seems to act as a diuretic, so less watery stools.

I've recently been prescribed an antibiotic that is supposed to kill off the bad bacteria in the stomach\gut, which is apparently quite common in the US (I'm in Australia) but I haven't tried it yet - I have anxiety over taking medication, and I worry about the side effects