Co-morbid conditions? (Autoimmune, etc)

[quietautistic]

Hi ND Mumsnetters, I've been really enjoying this board!

I was wondering if anyone on here has co-morbid physical conditions, as some were mentioned in another thread, and anecdotally almost every other ND person I know has at least one autoimmune condition or chronic illness. I have eczema, hayfever and food intolerances, my family (also autistic) have asthma and allergies as well. All of my ND friends and family are hypermobile, with one friend having fibromyalgia and possible Ehlers-Danlos and the others having numerous allergies. I've seen it posited a few times that could be connections there, though as far as I'm aware they're not scientifically confirmed. Has anyone else had this experience?

I have ADHD and suspect also ASD. I also have hayfever and other allergies/sensitivies and am hypermobile/diagnosed with joint hypermobility syndrome. It's so interesting how often anecdotally neurodiversity and EDS/hypermobility are comorbid!

My ds is neurodiverse and has mitochondrial disease and bipolar. His geneticist, Dr. Richard Boles has found a huge overlap between autism and mitochondrial disease and in fact has done quite a bit of research in this area.

I have hashimotos disease and my mum, who isn't diagnosed but clearly on the spectrum has graves disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

I have hypermobility, multiple allergies and adhd.

My adult DD has diagnosed ASD, Dyspraxia/DCD SPD, CFS, JHS, Asthma and Eczema.

I suspect she also has ADD,

Undiagnosed food sensitivities only because because they don't test for her particular intolerances. The NHS allergy tests only looked for substances that affected digestion or breathing. Over many years, we now know what's likely to set off a reaction and she avoids those foods or accepts she may have a reaction.

One thing I will say about all of the co-morbid conditions is that when one of them is heightened, several if not all of the others become very heightened as well, so she needs multiple interventions to get back to her usual levels.

Sometimes the heightening can be caused by a physical trigger, other times the heightening can be a response to an emotional trigger.

My dd is autistic, she is also hypermobile and has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and possibly POTS (we’re waiting for a cardiologist appointment), she also has very painful periods and is lactose intolerant, but the doctors just don’t seem to realise these are all connected and because she has very bad anxiety (part of the autism) I think the doctors write off her symptoms as this, we get very little help and they just look at one problem at a time

DD: HSD, allergies, asthma,
Me: HSD allergies

I think for us the HSD is the central issue and the rest come as a result of that.

Lots of food allergies, chronic urticaria, chronic fatigue syndrome and I have also pretty much had problems with earaches and sore throats all my life

I have:

Moderate Asthma
Hay fever / allergies
Chronic Urticaria (hives)
hEDS (Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome)
PoTS
Neuropathy and / or Fibromyalgia
Osteoarthritis

Probably forgotten a few due to brain fog and fatigue. I'm also menopausal which doesn't help!

Currently having investigations to ascertain either Mastocytosis or Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. Have been told it's definitely one or the other.

Also some low level stuff like high blood pressure, frequent UTI's, Tonsillitis and generally pick up everything. I have a high Antibody profile and as a result, when I give blood it is given to Neonatal babies.

So many links and crossovers with symptoms. The way I think of it is that my whole body is just hyper sensitive / hyper reactive to the world!

I’m NT but have two ND children. I have EDS, one child has ADHD and dyspraxia, the other ASD.
It’s only anecdotal but it tallies with the theories.

This is interesting.

I have severe ADHD and:

Interstitial cystitis
Histamine intolerance
Dust mite allergy
Hypermobility - and particularly problematic upper back/neck issues
SIBO, chronic constipation and food intolerances
Acid reflux
Anaemia

Autism
EDS type 3
Myasthenia Gravis
Lupus
Anaemia (the ferritin type) being investigated for Coeliacs

I also have a faulty SDHC gene that predisposes me to paragangliomas and started getting migraines 2 years ago (beginning with a 10 week migraine - which was fun).

Thanks everyone for the responses! This is really interesting- I saw anaemia mentioned and I completely forgot I have B12 anaemia myself, and chronic tachycardia. Hopefully in the future we might see some studies linking everything, with everyone's anecdotal evidence there must be some sort of link for a lot of people! The correlations with HSD/EDS and allergies are the ones I've heard the most about, I'd love to see an explanation someday

@quietautistic

Thanks everyone for the responses! This is really interesting- I saw anaemia mentioned and I completely forgot I have B12 anaemia myself, and chronic tachycardia. Hopefully in the future we might see some studies linking everything, with everyone's anecdotal evidence there must be some sort of link for a lot of people! The correlations with HSD/EDS and allergies are the ones I've heard the most about, I'd love to see an explanation someday

I asked about co-morbidities elsewhere

I have asthma, hay fever and allergic rhinitis - mostly dust mites (these and rheumatoid arthritis run in both sides of my family) along with urticaria, psoriasis and occasionally eczema.

I also have neuropathy in hands, arms and legs, osteoarthritis, heart disease (probably not related to ASD).

Then I have Temporal lobe epilepsy presenting as focal seizures and auras (finally diagnosed 20 years ago after having had the aura symptoms for years), and have had migraines all my life - I would be interested to hear if anyone else has epilepsy here especially TLE and if you have migraines as well (these plus ASD and a couple of other neurological disorders are common co-morbidities with this type of epilepsy).

@ABitOfAShitShow a ten week migraine sounds like utter hell, I hope that never happens to you again

Hi there everyone, I hope you don’t mind me popping on here.
My DD age 12 has asd and adhd and has hemiplegic migraines.
She’s had a tremor in her hands the last year. I’m struggling to get her to the dr. Does anyone this as part of a comorbidity? TIA

@AgnesR

Hi there everyone, I hope you don’t mind me popping on here. My DD age 12 has asd and adhd and has hemiplegic migraines. She’s had a tremor in her hands the last year. I’m struggling to get her to the dr. Does anyone this as part of a comorbidity? TIA

Hi Agnes, my 19 year old son with ASD has a tremor in his hand. He's never been to the doctors with it.

Hm, interesting. I am hypermobile and have muscle spasms, I also have eczema and a couple of allergies. ND wise I have suspected adhd and dyspraxia which are in themselves often comorbid.

Yes I completely agree OP - my research has definitely shown this.
I have:-
Endometriosis
Adenomyosis
Pcos
PoTS
MCAS / interstitial cystitis
Probably EDS

I think I am ND but not sure what conditions although suspect dyspraxia, maybe dyslexia.
My dd is definitely ND - dual exceptionality with gifted, dyslexia probably ASD and dyspraxia.

Plus migraines since I was 7, with aura form mid 20s. Asthma. Hayfever.

@AgnesR

My DD has intention tremor, an OT documented it as part her
Sensory Profile in the hand praxis section.

Is your DD's tremor evident when she is using her hands e.g. lifting or pouring or does it happen when she's not using her hands, or both?

If the problem is getting your DD to see a GP, then in some areas you can refer to an OT. Perhaps your DD would be okay to see an OT, initially, or maybe they could do it via video link?

The OT should be able to determine what sort of tremor it is and whether you need any further referrals for it.

Hi Ofwarren -

My daughter's is both hands. It may be nothing significant I guess!

Hardtimes -

Thank you for your reply.

It seems to be when hands are still. She's pretty good with fine motor. An OT assessment might be a good thing, thank you, sensory stuff seems to be getting worse...

Thank you both for your thoughts.

ofwarren and AgnesR that’s so interesting about the tremor. My teen DS with ASD has quite a pronounced tremor in one hand and the other shakes a little. He’s never been to the GP with it either, but I noticed it when he was about three. He also has DCD and sensory processing disorder.

OP, I have ASD and have suffered from several auto immune disorders including Graves and B12 anaemia. I also think I have undiagnosed endo (had symptoms for years) but don’t want to be investigated for that.

Thanks @LilyRed! I was at the end of my tether, let me tell you!