26 replies to this topic

[Ahorsesoul]

Oredia French Fries (they say gluten free on the bag), Amy's gluten free frozen dinners and some gluten free chicken nuggets are about all i eat for processed foods.

I am also inviting myself to dinner at your house! If I was you I would drop these three items for the next two weeks just to see if it helped. I find I can not eat Amy's Gluten free items. I do not eat Oredia's at all. Now I can't tell you exactly why but I'm sure I probably had a problem with them at one time. I just do not eat chicken nuggets. I make chicken schnitzel so I turn up my nose at nuggets.

Have you ever dropped dairy for a few weeks? Might be worth a try at some point. Just go slow about adding items back if you improve.

Another thing to consider. Depending on how much 5-HTP you are taking. It was making me jittery when I was taking 300mg. I was ok-ed to go up further by my doctor if needed. I was at a loss as to why I felt the way I did but then Dr. House cured me. They had a show on about a boy who was getting too much serotonin and his symptoms almost matched mine. I lowered my dose and felt better. I do love my 5-HTP.

You can find the cause and get better.

[torimuse]

I'm another person to suggest going on a stricter diet for a bit and see if that helps. 2 weeks after going gluten free, I discovered myself reacting still, and so I (very extremistly) cut out ANYTHING that might possibly be giving me a reaction. 2 weeks into the re-introduction period, and I'm SO glad I did. I found a hidden shellfish allergy that I hadn't noticed before. I've been eating shellfish without a problem for most of my life, but it was such a small reaction that I didn't notice it until all of my gluten symptoms were gone, too. It was hiding.

I haven't tried soy or dairy yet, but those are the two major intolerances besides gluten that I see on here, so I'd try cutting them out. Stick to whole foods, ones that you absolutely know what they are, so that you can monitor just exactly what it is that's going into your mouth.

Good luck. We're all rooting for you!

[kareng]

Hidden Valley Ranch has gluten in it. I don't remember where I read it, but in a cookbook that gives you recipes to recreate recipes from many different restaurants and well known products, I read that you have to crush saltine crackers to recreate Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing.

No it doesn't. Why do you say that? The Celiac Center at the u of Chicago sent me some in a basket of gluten-free stuff.

[Looking for answers]

Please take the advise and try going soy free for a while. I'm usually cool as a cucumber, but just this week, I let a little soy in my diet and I got really depressed and spent 10 minutes trying to convince my husband he was being mean to me. This was certaintly not the case, but something about Soy makes me anxious, blue and act like a child. Thank god I have an amazing husband who understand my food issues and mood swings

[gary'sgirl]

Actually, my doctor talked to me about taking something stronger for a sleep aid...I told him to get out of his office. I am terrified to take something as it did not work for me and drove me almost straight into madness. My mom sides with Doc and also thinks I should let him prescribe me something. Doc said that I wouldn't have to take it every night just when it got past 4 days or like every Friday or something. My mom is willing to come stay with me on the weekends in case anything goes wrong and I still won't do it! Mom and I are going on a cruise at the end of September so I am going to keep on keeping on for the next two months. When we get back, I will reassess and consider the drugs.

I just wanted to add that there are a lot of natural things you can do if you don't want to try meds. I think that in general medication should be used as a last resort - there is a place for it, but it is much better to try natural things first if you are not in a crisis situation (usually going the natural route take more time).

Anyway, you can do a search for natural sleep remedies and bring what you find to your doctor or of course you can look into going to a natural doctor who would already know many different things you can do. There's also things like lifestyle changes such as doing relaxing things a couple of hours before bed, taking an epsom salt bath with lavender essential oil and drinking a cup of calming tea (there are several that help with relaxing) going for a jog at a strategic time of day to help your body to relax at bed time etc...

Well, I just thought that I would throw some suggestions that didn't involve needles and meds out there. I hope one way or another you figure out something to help soon.

EDIT:
I was referring to the sleeping problem, but I don't think I made it clear at the beginning of my post. I don't really know enough to give advice about bipolar or mania at this point.
-Sorry if I left anyone confused about what I was referring to.

Edited by gary'sgirl, 06 August 2010 - 11:17 AM.

[Skylark]

I do take fish oil, Vitamin D, a B complex vitamin, Kava Kava and 5-HTP
My doc's office does offer acupuncture, but I am DEATHLY afraid of needles, so um...no
I am so grateful for this forum. My mom is awesome to talk to but she doesn't live this life and you all do. You all are the knot at the end of my rope.

The 5-HTP may be the source of some of your problems. It's not a bad as SSRIs, but it can push some bipolars into mania. St. John's Wort is another one that manics can't take.

I didn't ever find diet to be particularly helpful for mania. Everyone here is piling on asking about hidden gluten but I would be surprised if that's what's going on. Not everything on this board is related to gluten. I've seen my naturopathic shrink friend work with a lot of bipolars and were are missing nutrients, celiac or not. You do have to be gluten-free to absorb nutrition, but that doesn't seem to be the whole story. She puts all her bipolars on probiotics, fish oil, and high dose supplements (either Metagenics or EMPowerPlus), and makes sure they're eating enough omega-3 and choline (eggs or lecithin are a source) and they get better. It worked for me.

[kayo]

I agree with the others about soy. I would have said the same thing, that it caused me no issues but lo and behold test results show I'm intolerant. Now when I do have some I break out into hives, my Sjogren's acts up and I feel really crappy.

There are some Amy's meals that make me absolutely queasy.

For sleeping I take 5mg of melatonin every night. Works like a charm.

[lucia]

She puts all her bipolars on probiotics, fish oil, and high dose supplements (either Metagenics or EMPowerPlus), and makes sure they're eating enough omega-3 and choline (eggs or lecithin are a source) and they get better. It worked for me.

Just wanted to add that my friend who has found relief from fish oil has to take way above the recommended dosage for the effect.

I think it's amazing that supplements can effect bipolar symptoms. That makes me wonder about our modern diet, frankly.

[cap6]

I can add nothing to what has already been said as I am a total newbie but want to tell you that I feel your pain, anger and frustration. I was diagnosed manic depressive years ago & have been on meds which i hate only because I don't like taking so much stuff. Don't give up. Let your mom help is she can. This site seems to be a wonderful place to go for support.

[T.H.]

Just re: the gluten free aspect of the foods (and so sorry if this was said before - I read most responses, but not all, so I might have missed it!).

If any food says gluten free, that doesn't mean it's gluten free enough for you, personally. It means that it has met the legal limit that it needs to be below in order to call itself gluten free. The legal limit isn't zero, however. Most Celiacs don't react to less than the legal amount, but some most definitely do.

Also, currently, by US law anyway, 'naturally gluten free' grains, buckwheat or sorghum for example, get to call themselves gluten free automatically, without necessarily having to be tested. A dietician's association was testing some of these whole grains and flours and found a lot of them were contaminated with much higher gluten levels than the legal gluten-free limit. Soy flour, buckwheat, sorghum, and white rice flour were some of the worst offenders.

So if you are eating anything that is pre-made - like the salad dressings, sauces, oreida products and so on - you could be getting gluten enough to make you sick, even if it wouldn't do diddly to most celiacs. Or if you are making a lot of your own stuff from gluten free flours and whole grains, you might be getting glutened accidentally that way, too. Might be worth while googling 'home gluten test' and getting a few of those - you can check your foods for gluten levels. They are expensive, so it would likely be best for flours or something you eat a lot of, but it might help.


Or...is there any construction or art supplies in your house? Many of these contain gluten that could be in the air and getting to you.

Or...do you get much in the way of dyes? Celiacs sometimes have more trouble with dyes, preservatives, etc...

Or...do you eat organic? I've been reading reports of kids having problems with pesticides, where many of them who had symptoms of ADD or ADHD completely 'recovered' after they went organic and their pesticide concentrations dropped. Perhaps that might manifest differently in adults, but still be an issue? Don't know, but it might be worth a shot shifting to organic for a couple weeks.

Wish I had more, but that's all that pops to mind. So sorry it is so very debilitating right now!

[Skylark]

Just wanted to add that my friend who has found relief from fish oil has to take way above the recommended dosage for the effect.

I think it's amazing that supplements can effect bipolar symptoms. That makes me wonder about our modern diet, frankly.

There are studies showing lower levels of micronutrients in foods. Soils aren't what they used to be after decades of farming chemicals.

But... why do some people become bipolar and not others? If it were purely diet we'd all be bipolar and the indicence would be rising as with obesity and cardiovascular problems. Bipolar would also be less frequent in less industrialized socities and I don't believe that's the case. It's been a while since I looked at the epidemiologic studies though.

There must be some inherent need for extra vitamins/micronutrients or perhaps an absorption defect.

[GFinDC]

I consider myself to be quite the foodie! I have been allergic to shellfish for most my life, so I steer clear of seafood and shellfish, other wise, I will eat most anything except beets. I pride myself on being able to recreate some of my favorite gluten filled dishes with a gluten free alternative..so here is a sample list of what I dine on...

tonight I am having pot stickers: cheebe bread mix filled with ground chicken, garlic, carrot, watercrest, scallion, fried in sesame oil and steamed in gluten free chicken broth. All dipped in a sauce of gluten-free soy sauce, chili garlic and sesame oil.

I made Chimichurri (pureed parsley, orgeano, cilantro, garlic, rice wine vinegar, olive oil and cumin. This will be eaten over flank steak, marinaded in olive oil, garlic and salt.

i eat mini burgers using slices of fried polenta as buns, and top these with mayo, bbq sauce, pickles and onions.

I make a lot of chinese food like orange beef, orange chicken, general tsos, fried rice and spring rolls

Nachos, tacos and empanada's made with cheebe's bread mix

for lunches I eat left overs, or salad ( I eat a lot of salad as I CRAVE fresh veggies) with either hidden valley ranch dressing or italian dressing or my own homemade russian dressing.

Oredia French Fries (they say gluten free on the bag), amy's gluten free frozen dinners and some gluten free chicken nuggets are about all i eat for processed foods.

I live alone and my entire house is completely gluten free to my knowledge. I check all my soaps and shampoos and I don't wear makeup. All my lotions, etc..all gluten-free.

Any ideas where I might be going wrong?

Food intolerances are not limited to gluten, soy, or dairy. You as an individual could be reacting to any of the items you listed as eating regularly, or several of them. How about carrots, turnips, garbanzo beans, peppers, tomatoes, potatos, celery, fish, eggs, corn, nuts, rice, fruit, or any of the other myriads of other foods that people have reactions to? Do you know that it is safe for you to eat these foods? You can take all the drugs you want and not get better if you are making yourself sick eating foods your body doesn't like.

There are plenty of us on this board with additional food intolerances beyond just gluten. So at least there is a chance of it for you too right?

I really think you need to get serious about finding out your food problems first off. If that means doing an elimination diet then dive on in and get started on your journey of self discovery. You are an individual and your results can very widely from others. So the best way (IMHO) is to test yourself systematically and learn what foods make your body tick or go boing! You already know something is wrong and it could be since it is fairly common among us, another food intolerance or two or three.