Do people with Aspergers really have GI issues

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There are many conflicting reports, some studies show no difference in prevalence of specific GI diseases like celiac, I have seen several showing no increased incidence in asd.

My only GI symptom has been a reluctance to eat anything for the first four hours of my day (eating too soon made me nauseated). Since childhood, I have generally skipped breakfast or, chosen to delay it. Does that count?

My six year old niece who has classic autism is the same way. Ever since she's been an infant she hasn't eaten well first thing in the morning even if offered something she really likes.

Only GI issue I know of personally is GERD. I do get occasional bouts of 'sour stomach,' but I'm not sure if that's related to anything else or just part of the GERD. I can relate to what others have mentioned about anxiety related gut issues.

I am personally convinced that autism along with most other mental illnesses/issues probably stem from auto-immune issues. Lots of immune cells in the digestive system. Science findings of this stuff isn't really strong yet, but I absolutely have brain and gut issues that all stem from an autoimmune disease.

There is nothing saying that you have to have digestion issues to have aspergers though, nor the other way around.

I'm the same way...though I find as I get older, I can eat something within an hour or two after getting up, just not right away. As a kid I would always skip breakfast and a lot of the time didn't eat anything at lunch either. Even now, most of the time I can only handle about one full meal a day, plus some snacks of course. I never understood how anyone could possibly eat *3* full meals a day.

I've got celiac and lactose intolerance. My body also has a hard time processing some other foods, like many beans, lentils (although that may be an issue of cross contamination), and oats.

I wouldn't say that there was a direct alleviation of my ASD symptoms when I stopped eating gluten and dairy, but indirectly, it is much easier to behave semi-"normally" when you don't feel like you're about to s**t your pants.

TBH, at this point I regulate my entire GI system with coffee and cigarettes.

I don't think that is GI problem.
Ackshuly, many people can't eat in the morning and skip breakfast.

I know what you mean.

I used to smoke, and it was a great treatment for both my ADHD and IBS symptoms. And for whatever reason I never got addicted to it. I eventually lost the taste for it though, and now I don't know if my lungs could handle it again as they have become very sensitive to smoke. But, I wish like hell that I could start smoking again, because it soothed my gut.

I am lactose intolerant, but I don't think this have any relation with ASD. I also had 2 ulcers, but it was stress related, and I think there is the relation, anxiety and stress and gi problems

I have HFA (leaning towards Asperger's), and I have GI problems and a gluten intolerance. But it's a lot more efficient to find things these days!

I have celiac disease which is an autoimmune disorder caused by gluten. Whenever I eat gluten I get very strong anxiety levels. Before I eliminated gluten from my gluten I had extreme anxiety and paranoia. I have some traits that are consistent with autism such as difficulties with communication. Communication is a whole lot easier for me now. On an emotional level I feel very normal and calm now. I also suspect I am allergic to caffeine and have eliminated it from my diet. From reading posts on the celiac disease forum there is a very wide range of different types of metal health problems that can be triggered just by eating gluten. A lot of the symptoms overlap with autism.

I think autism could be an autoimmune disorder (in some cases at least) because of how closely my symptoms used to matched with high functioning autism. There are similarities betwean cells in the gut and the cells that make up the brain-blood barrier.

Here is some more information if anyone is curious:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3641836/

I agree, I don't eat in the mornings because I usually feel kind of sick until I've been awake for 2 or 3 hours. It's often said that it cuts your performance to skip breakfast, but eating has never helped me to handle mornings. When I was a young child I didn't feel bad in the mornings, and enjoyed breakfast, but it began to change when I was about 12.

I don't have any complaints about my GI tract, it seems to perform better than average, possibly because I eat healthy food, though I also eat a lot of unhealthy biscuits, cakes and pies. The only digestion medicine I have in the house is bicarbonate, which I might need once a year or so, and kaolin and morphine a couple of times for stomach bugs.

My appendix burst when I was 11, and I had a weird complication afterwards, but I think that was just a bit of intestine that got kinked during the operation. Nothing would pass through me for a few days and I was in agony, but it fixed itself, then returned for a day, then went away again forever.

I've had some awful griping pains in my intestines a couple of times, but it was soon over and I'm pretty sure the culprit was my overconsumption of English muffins. I'm fine as long as I limit myself to one muffin at a time, or eat something with fibre in it as well. Whisky followed by lager proved unwise so I only did that once.

I've had plenty of anxiety but all that gives me is mild "butterflies."

I have had G.I. problems all my life. In fact I'm scheduled for a gastroscopy this coming week. I had only recently learned that there is a high incidence among people on the Spectrum.

Which causes which would be an interesting question. It makes sense that people with a nervous condition would have additional G.I. issues. But there is a theory that G.I. issues is part of the pathology of a large percentage of people with autism.

I had GERD sense I was little & it's managed by a med nowadays & I haven't noticed any imporvement with my Aspergers by treating it. I also had bad stomach problems when my anxiety was bad & getting on anxiety medication helped my Aspergers & my stomach problems.

I had GI issues as a child, suffice it to say that bran cereal helps to a great extent.

As an adult, I was diagnosed with GERD, only to find out that it was food allergies. When I stopped eating those foods, the problem went away.

Now, involvement of the immune system is an additional jump, and one that makes a lot less sense to me.