Autistic daughter constantly nauseous, anyone able to help? And any experience with birth control?
I have just joined and have so many struggles! Can anyone help with a constantly nauseous D15 autistic - does have restrictive eating so not the best diet and also anxiety so we know there’s several causes of nausea but 2 weeks of each month are just terrible for her! And intake drops as does weight. Anyone have experience of using birth control as we have talked about it and they may be able to agree to trial a patch and see how it goes but I have read that adding hormones when autistic and high sensory issues can actually be detrimental?
thanks ☺️
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Hi @Stace and welcome to the community! I hope you don't mind but I've updated your title to make it more visible to members who might be able to advise on their experiences 😊
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Hello @Stace and a warm welcome to the community.
We can't give medical advice but I can talk from my own experience and of those close to me.
Firstly, does your daughter have any support for her restrictive eating? From my experience, it's quite common with autistic children, and depending on just how restrictive her diet is, it could be worth exploring ARFID and speaking with her and her GP about having her bloods checked, as she may have some deficiencies that need addressing. One of my children went through a terrible stage of nausea and we found she was iron aneamic and severely deficient in vitamin D, B12 and folate. She was most symptomatic at certain times of the month too. Once these were addressed her nausea lessened and appetite returned. If your daughter hasn't had her levels checked, it is definitely worth you both discussing it with her doctor.
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thank you, we are constantly having them checked and the only thing that shows up is folate being low but I know that you can be on the lower end of ‘normal range’ and then it doesn’t flag. We are using vitamin patches and when I can I put the powder in her drinks but she can’t take a tablet or a strong liquid so it’s all I can do for her in terms of that really.
we have tried all sorts of different therapists across the board but we don’t have anyone locally trained in ARFID and can’t even access any privately anywhere - seems to be a postcode lottery - I seem to know a lot more than any professional I’ve managed to speak to about ARFID and living low demands - it’s down to no demands now at all and being lead by them but as you say - certain time of the month is really difficult and I just don’t know how else to prevent those 10/14 days of intake loss resulting in weight loss each month, it’s obviously unsustainable. Constantly in talks with the GP about it and just desperately want to find a way to improve something for her so she can cope with life more because currently it’s a at a complete stand still and on a decline too - just so sad0 -
Oh I feel for you that must be incredibly hard to witness and suffer I really hope you can find some solution to this
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I live with near constant nausea myself now. It is awful and has stopped me doing pretty much everything that I want or need to do. I did go to the GP about it several years ago, but they basically told me they couldn't do anything, stomachs just get weaker over time and I'd have to put up with it! (In my case, there was additional strain on my digestive system due to other conditions in early years, so this was not really a surprise to me). However, I really can't believe that after 6000 years of medicine, they can't find anything for nausea! Out of desperation I tried some medication. Was first given tablets due to what I assume was a complete misunderstanding. No way could I take those. Then given a liquid, but this liquid had to be taken every day, which is not what I wanted. I wanted something that could be taken as & when necessary. Anyway, reluctantly I did try it. Took over a month for me to reliably get one dose in each day, and honestly I don't think it's doing anything. Certainly not doing enough to make basic tasks manageable again. But I'm also scared to come off it now (after many months) in case the withdrawal makes the nausea even worse! The only thing I've found that can take the edge off on the worst days is one type of ginger biscuit. (Not all types, some types make it worse). If that's not something your daughter has tried yet then it might be worth a go. Perhaps you could try a few first on her behalf, to find the least 'spicy' ones, if your daughter struggles with spice as I do myself. Other than that, I mostly just have plain toast and plain crisps now. I know it's not healthy long term but just don't have any other option at the moment.
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thank you, we have actually been making our way through ginger biscuits when she is able to manage them and have an anti nausea med that she uses sporadically but doesn’t do a great deal - placebo effect I think - I have actually today found a patch that has ginger in for nausea - no reviews on it but I’ve ordered some because anything is worth a try right? I’m sorry you understand so well, it is so limiting
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I hadn't heard of ginger patches before. I will be interested to hear whether they work for your daughter.
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