Suffering Depression - Medication Question

[Raining Skittles]

I'm headed to my doctor the day after tomorrow. I have a few things to talk to him about but one is that I think I need to start taking a depression medication now.

Can anyone let me know which ones are gluten free and if any of them I need to stay away from?

Also I can't take time-release meds since I don't absorb enough.

Thanks in advance!

[ravenwoodglass]

You are very new to the diet. Some of us will go through withdrawls when we have stopped all gluten. That may be what is happening with you and if it is it is normal and the depression will lift without the use of antidepressants.

There are also a lot of life changes that celiac brings and some find it helpful to talk to a counselor about it.

Do be careful to make sure any antidepressant is gluten free if you do have to use one. Also carefully review side effects and whether people have difficulty stopping them before you start taking a med.

[bartfull]

The withdrawal can definitely cause depression but so can celiac! I hate to see anyone go on medications that have side effects and almost all meds do, espeically meds for depression. Could I suggest you just give the diet more time? You might well find that as you heal, your depression will lift. (((HUGS))) to you.

[LauraB0927]

I also have Celiac but I'm a mental health therapist for adolescents in a psychiatric hospital. Please know that anti-depressants take AT LEAST 3 to 4 weeks to start having an effect because it needs to build up a therapeutic level in your system. There are side effects that your doctor should make you aware of, and I am not a fan of regular physicians prescribing anti-depressant medications. They dont know enough about it and often prescribe inappropriate doses. They should be leaving it up to psychiatrists or psychiatric nurse practitioners who need to rule out other conditions first, like Celiac as a probable cause. I agree with the other posts, Celiac AND/OR Celiac withdrawal can cause depressed symptoms and I'd give the gluten free diet a good try before you start exposing yourself to anti-depressants. Some of the side effects of anti-depressants are decreased sex drive, weight gain, dizziness, constipation, nausea, etc....how severe are your symptoms??

[MitziG]

Yep, second the above. Unless you are suicidally depressed, I would hold off a bit. Depression and celiac go hand in hand and MANY people find that they no longer need meds after awhile on the diet. Once you start meds, it can be a vicious cycle...you don't just stop them and have things bounce back to the way they are.

They have their place, I am not anti-antidepressants. They saved my life. But don't go down that road unless you must.

If your depression is severe and you feel suicidal however, please seek help asap. And again, avoid your gp. They are uneducated about psychiatric meds and will toss whatever the latest pharmaceutical rep gave them at you. If you are going to do it, go to an expert.

[MitziG]

Also wanted to add, most of the name brand ssris are gluten free. Generics are very iffy tho, and vary by manufacturing facility. Your pharmacist will likely need to call the facility directly to get accurate info.

[GF Lover]

A different opinion for you. I've been on psych meds most of my life as well as had celiac symptoms most of my life. Going gluten free helped me tremendously with all gi issues and migraine. On the other hand my mental health issues have not changed. I am bi-polar, severe depression, ptsd, anxiety, etc. I think alot of people get relief if symptoms are not quite severe. I also think there are alot of people like me who have been hospitalized for their issues and will suffer with them most of there life, hopefully not.

A med welbutrin comes in doses you can take throughout the day. There is also Lamictal that can be taken at different times. The brand new meds that they push are very expensive and won't be covered under insurance.

There are many options and they start you on very small doses. If you find at some point you don't need them then you slowly reduce the dose thru a week or two, then done. Some people find these med work for them for shorted time frames to get thru bouts of depression. There are many choices. Aside from antidepressants there are mood stabilizes, anxiety meds, and psychoactive meds.

Whatever you decide, research alot, and then you can make an informed decision

Good luck to you

[kittty]

I tried two different antidepressants (first paxil, then celexa) a couple of years ago, and the side effects were worse than the anxiety/depression. I was already having problems with diarrhea, but on these medications it never stopped. There was also awful insomnia, and couldn't sleep more than two hours at a time. On top of that, they did nothing to help my anxiety/depression - but maybe I didn't take them for long enough to find out.

After I stopped taking them the diarrhea never stopped. It wasn't until earlier this year, after going gluten free, that I got any relief for that. I truly believe that the antidepressants irritated my GI system even more than it already was, and exacerbated my celiac symptoms.

Anxiety has been more of an ordeal for me than depression, but since going gluten-free things are getting better. I'm definitely not 100% calm and happy, but there is a noticeable difference and hopefully it will continue to improve.

[Raining Skittles]

Many thanks to all of the replies on this.  Almost three years later now and I did continue to suffer severe depression and am now on medication and seeing a psychiatrist for medication management and a psychologist for mental health. 
 

[bartfull]

Thanks for coming back and giving us the update. I hope things continue to get better for you.

[cap6]

Just another two cents here..... I was diagnosed bipolar, depression many years back and was on three different medications. After being gluten free for two years (I was one of those who took much longer to heal) I started to slowly cut back on my meds, one at a time. It took over a year but I am not medication free. My doctor feels that my depression was really just related to my celiac. My point? Go slowly. Don't jump on the meds right away. It can be so many things causing your depression and once your body starts to heal you just might find your mental outlook improving too. This is a huge lifestyle change. Just looking at the list of things you must change and be careful of can be depressing! Take it slow!