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Gluten Free Depression


kaki-clam

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kaki-clam Enthusiast

I haven't posted on here in a while...I sort of fell off the gluten free wagon.  I went to the doctor for severe constipation, got diagnoised with Celiac, spent two years strictly gluten free, still severly constipated, threw in the towel and started eating gluten again....

 

It has been about a year of gluten binging...and along with it came an episode of severe anexity (still constipated...)  went to the doctor, she put me on some meds...anexity handled.  My boyfriend said that he notices I am "better" when I am gluten free...he doesn't mean that negitively, he just isn't sure how to discribe it....and I am not entirely sure what he means..but i think he is refering to my attitude, ambition, drive, etc...

 

anyway, with his love and support, i am now back to a strict gluten free eater.  I have been doing this for about 2 weeks now....i am almost through my second week and I am severly depressed.  (seems all my emotions are severe...)  i haven't left the house in a week.  I have no desire to leave the house.  I have called out sick from work the last 4 days.  I can't say i feel sad..i just don't really feel anything.  i have no interest in doing anything.  Normally I like to knit, crochet, cook, go to the gym, but this last week, getting up off the couch is a chore.  I don't know if this is diet related or not.... I know i need to see my doctor, but then..that would mean leaving the house so i don't know....  I am hoping i will just snap out of this...anyone got any thoughts or ideas?


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shadowicewolf Proficient

Yep, sounds like you are going through the gluten with drawl. Your body likes the gluten, even if it makes you sick. So, it throws a temper tantrum when it doesn't get it. Generally, from what i went through and what i've heard, mood swings, depression, and so on.

Takala Enthusiast

Of course, the entire thing is diet related. 

 

Are you taking a gluten free vitamin B complex, and a gluten free calcium (citrate is good) magnesium, and D mineral complex ?  Your unresolved symptoms really are screaming that you were getting cross contaminated before you fell "off the wagon,"   :( that and eating gluten = malnutrition and cravings, and the doctor just chose to treat the results of the problem by giving you mood meds, instead of exploring your nutrition status.  

 

Constipated...  that's also a thyroid disease auto immune symptom, along with the anxiety and binging.  Thyroid problems go with untreated celiac.  Besides needing a full thyroid panel done, including antibodies, not just the partial blood tests for TSH the docs will tend to do,  there are all sorts of tricks you can do with drinking enough water, certain foods and natural supplements (see what I just said above about vitamins/minerals)  to get you regular again, while trying to get that sorted out. 

nvsmom Community Regular

I agree with everything Wolf and Takala said. Really good advice IMO.

 

Withdrawl was bad for me and I was not a happy camper. I was extremely grumpy but I was able to recognize it as withdrawl so I waited it out. I think it lasted from week 1 to week 3 for me. Hang in there.

 

Definitely request thyroid tests. Your TSH should be near a 1, Free T4 and Free T3 should be in the upper end of your lab's normal reference range (from 50-75% of the range), and TPO antibodies should be very low. Get copies of your labs when you get them done and research at what range most people feel their best.... I have a thyroid problem myself, and my constipation did not improve on the gluten-free diet until my thyroid was being treated; it's still not ideal, but neither is my thyroids meds yet. My fatigue, or lack of "get up and go" did not improve much on the gluten-free diet either, but it is slowly improving with thyroid treatment.

 

Best wishes to you. Hang in there and try to wait out this low. I hope the gluten-free diet will start to help you feel better and that you find your answers.

cavernio Enthusiast

Nutritional deficiencies. Just about every deficiency under the sun can cause depression. A nutritional deficiency could also explain the constipation that never went away too.

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    • marion wheaton
      Thanks for responding. I researched further and Lindt Lindor chocolate balls do contain barely malt powder which contains gluten. I was surprised at all of the conflicting information I found when I checked online.
    • trents
      @BlessedinBoston, it is possible that in Canada the product in question is formulated differently than in the USA or at least processed in in a facility that precludes cross contamination. I assume from your user name that you are in the USA. And it is also possible that the product meets the FDA requirement of not more than 20ppm of gluten but you are a super sensitive celiac for whom that standard is insufficient. 
    • BlessedinBoston
      No,Lindt is not gluten free no matter what they say on their website. I found out the hard way when I was newly diagnosed in 2000. At that time the Lindt truffles were just becoming popular and were only sold in small specialty shops at the mall. You couldn't buy them in any stores like today and I was obsessed with them 😁. Took me a while to get around to checking them and was heartbroken when I saw they were absolutely not gluten free 😔. Felt the same when I realized Twizzlers weren't either. Took me a while to get my diet on order after being diagnosed. I was diagnosed with small bowel non Hodgkins lymphoma at the same time. So it was a very stressful time to say the least. Hope this helps 😁.
    • knitty kitty
      @Jmartes71, I understand your frustration and anger.  I've been in a similar situation where no doctor took me seriously, accused me of making things up, and eventually sent me home to suffer alone.   My doctors did not recognize nutritional deficiencies.  Doctors are trained in medical learning institutions that are funded by pharmaceutical companies.  They are taught which medications cover up which symptoms.  Doctors are required to take twenty  hours of nutritional education in seven years of medical training.  (They can earn nine hours in Nutrition by taking a three day weekend seminar.)  They are taught nutritional deficiencies are passe' and don't happen in our well fed Western society any more.  In Celiac Disease, the autoimmune response and inflammation affects the absorption of ALL the essential vitamins and minerals.  Correcting nutritional deficiencies caused by malabsorption is essential!  I begged my doctor to check my Vitamin D level, which he did only after making sure my insurance would cover it.  When my Vitamin D came back extremely low, my doctor was very surprised, but refused to test for further nutritional deficiencies because he "couldn't make money prescribing vitamins.". I believe it was beyond his knowledge, so he blamed me for making stuff up, and stormed out of the exam room.  I had studied Nutrition before earning a degree in Microbiology.  I switched because I was curious what vitamins from our food were doing in our bodies.  Vitamins are substances that our bodies cannot manufacture, so we must ingest them every day.  Without them, our bodies cannot manufacture life sustaining enzymes and we sicken and die.   At home alone, I could feel myself dying.  It's an unnerving feeling, to say the least, and, so, with nothing left to lose, I relied in my education in nutrition.  My symptoms of Thiamine deficiency were the worst, so I began taking high dose Thiamine.  I had health improvement within an hour.  It was magical.  I continued taking high dose thiamine with a B Complex, magnesium. and other essential nutrients.  The health improvements continued for months.  High doses of thiamine are required to correct a thiamine deficiency because thiamine affects every cell and mitochondria in our bodies.    A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function.  The cerebellum of the brain is most affected.  The cerebellum controls things we don't have to consciously have to think about, like digestion, balance, breathing, blood pressure, heart rate, hormone regulation, and many more.  Thiamine is absorbed from the digestive tract and sent to the most important organs like the brain and the heart.  This leaves the digestive tract depleted of Thiamine and symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi, a thiamine deficiency localized in the digestive system, begin to appear.  Symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi include anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, headaches, Gerd, acid reflux, gas, slow stomach emptying, gastroparesis, bloating, diarrhea and/or constipation, incontinence, abdominal pain, IBS,  SIBO, POTS, high blood pressure, heart rate changes like tachycardia, difficulty swallowing, Barrett's Esophagus, peripheral neuropathy, and more. Doctors are only taught about thiamine deficiency in alcoholism and look for the classic triad of symptoms (changes in gait, mental function, and nystagmus) but fail to realize that gastrointestinal symptoms can precede these symptoms by months.  All three classic triad of symptoms only appear in fifteen percent of patients, with most patients being diagnosed with thiamine deficiency post mortem.  I had all three but swore I didn't drink, so I was dismissed as "crazy" and sent home to die basically.   Yes, I understand how frustrating no answers from doctors can be.  I took OTC Thiamine Hydrochloride, and later thiamine in the forms TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) and Benfotiamine to correct my thiamine deficiency.  I also took magnesium, needed by thiamine to make those life sustaining enzymes.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins, so the other B vitamins must be supplemented as well.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.   A doctor can administer high dose thiamine by IV along with the other B vitamins.  Again, Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine should be given if only to rule Gastrointestinal Beriberi out as a cause of your symptoms.  If no improvement, no harm is done. Share the following link with your doctors.  Section Three is especially informative.  They need to be expand their knowledge about Thiamine and nutrition in Celiac Disease.  Ask for an Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test for thiamine deficiency.  This test is more reliable than a blood test. Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/ Best wishes!
    • Jmartes71
      I have been diagnosed with celiac in 1994, in remission not eating wheat and other foods not to consume  my household eats wheat.I have diagnosed sibo, hernia ibs, high blood pressure, menopause, chronic fatigue just to name a few oh yes and Barrett's esophagus which i forgot, I currently have bumps in back of my throat, one Dr stated we all have bumps in the back of our throat.Im in pain.Standford specialist really dismissed me and now im really in limbo and trying to get properly cared for.I found a new gi and new pcp but its still a mess and medical is making it look like im a disability chaser when Im actively not well I look and feel horrible and its adding anxiety and depression more so.Im angery my condition is affecting me and its being down played 
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