Alyssa’s Story - Can a Probiotic Have Benefits for Autistic People?
One thing many people on the autism spectrum will tell you is that they’ve tried a lot of different methods, including pharmaceuticals or natural medicines, that claim to be able to help them.
Sadly for most, they find those claims unfounded.
Alyssa Salter is a Neurodiversity and Disability Specialist working for Bened Life. She’s a straight-shooter with a healthy dose of skepticism toward anything that claims to help autistic people.
Alyssa’s own background gives her some unique insights into the challenges that can be faced by neurodiverse people. She was diagnosed with autism as an adult, so she’d gone through high school and college, even earning a master’s degree, without any accommodations. “I know what that looks like to not be seen and not be supported because you don’t fit a tight mold of what ‘that thing’ looks like,” she says.
It’s fair to say Alyssa has experienced a lot on her own journey with autism, so it is a huge privilege that she was prepared to share her experience with Neuralli - a new type of probiotic.
Here’s her story:
Link Between Autism and GI Issues
There is a well-documented link between autism and gastrointestinal issues. Numerous studies have found that problems such as abdominal pain, constipation, and diarrhea appear much more frequently in autistic people than in their non-autistic peers. In fact, GI issues are the most-common comorbidity with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
Alyssa describes having some painful GI issues among her symptoms. These can greatly impact her life and her overall levels of comfort. Alyssa is selective about food and anything she ingests; “being careful with what I put inside my body is very important to me,” she says.
A Healthy Dose of Skepticism
When Alyssa first heard about Neuralli, she felt quite skeptical. “I’ve been sold my whole life, from different doctors, from the media - this diet, this is the cure-all. It will solve all of your problems.”
Probiotics were among many different potential solutions Alyssa had tried before, without success. “I didn’t find any relief,” she says. Having been burned in the past by scam products, Alyssa hesitated when it was suggested she try Neuralli. “I said, I’m going in with a healthy dose of skepticism,” she says.
The Road to Real Results
To back up a little, Neuralli is a probiotic pill that helps with a healthy gut-brain balance. The gut is often called “the second brain,” as the enteric nervous system that governs it relies on the same type of neurons and neurotransmitters found in the central nervous system.
In fact, a key difference between Neuralli and other probiotics is that it is the first gut-brain medical probiotic. The probiotic strain within Neuralli, PS128, supports a healthy microbiome, which may help with healthy gut function. This probiotic strain also appears to balance brain chemicals in preclinical studies.
Neuralli is specifically formulated to provide nutritional needs for neurological conditions, to support better sleep, mood, and movement. In the world of probiotics, only very specific strains will help with neurological and mental health, which is the focus of Neuralli.
Alyssa describes her journey to seeing results with Neuralli as a gradual process. She noticed about a week in that she had a healthy experience in the bathroom, which had otherwise been quite rare.
About a week after that, Alyssa’s wife told her that she’d noticed Alyssa had more energy. When Alyssa asked her what she meant, her wife explained she’d noticed her sleeping through the night, something that simply didn’t happen previously.
This realization prompted Alyssa to see other changes, as well. Not only was she getting better sleep, but she wasn’t experiencing the painful cramping that had previously kept her awake.
Staying on Top of Meltdowns
Alyssa describes how she experiences meltdowns, a common occurrence for autistic people.
For her, a meltdown is a full body experience. It includes sensory information such as sight, smell, hearing, taste, or touch becoming intense and overwhelming.
Alyssa says there is often a lead up or “rumble phase” to a meltdown, where the overwhelm just keeps growing. She describes it as like a wave, building and crashing. The brain can’t distinguish between various types of pains, so it could be from either physical or emotional pain.
What does Alyssa do when a meltdown happens? Sometimes recovery is as simple as removing herself. However, sometimes, while removal will prevent more waves crashing over her, the damage is already done. Recovery may take hours or days, and the fallout is multi-sensory. “My body will suffer,” she says.
Since taking Neuralli, her experience has been much different. “I’ve been able to work through the big feelings that come up on the precipice of a meltdown,” she says. “This is my new normal, having space. It’s like I get an extra breath of relief.”
While Alyssa doesn’t suggest that Neuralli is a cure for meltdowns, it does allow her more time and space to de-escalate herself. “It gets me back to the shore before the waves can crash me there.”
An Inclusive Approach to Product Development
Alyssa describes her experience working with Bened Life as a positive change from what she’d seen before. “They’re committed to the ethos of ‘nothing about us, without us,’” she says, meaning that they don’t create a product for a particular group of people without the involvement of people from that group. “It’s wild to experience being invited to a table, then handed the microphone.”
Is Neuralli For You?
If you’ve been struggling to manage GI and neurological symptoms, it may well be worth your while to give Neuralli a try. “Why wait until you’ve hit rock bottom with health stuff? Give it a try and see if it can have a positive impact,” says Alyssa.
“It’s just two capsules a day, and it can have such a positive impact on your body, mental health, and wellbeing.”
Bened Life is committed to robust scientific research and the communities its product serves. To learn more about Neuralli, you can check out the scientific studies, company background, and testimonials from our customers. If you’re ready to order and try it out for yourself, take a look at our order page here.
Recommended reading:
My Experience with Neuralli - A Neurodivergent Nurse Weighs In
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