Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Mental Health Improve Going Gluten Free?

JesikaBeth

Recommended Posts

JesikaBeth Contributor
JesikaBeth
Posted

Hello all. I was wondering if anyone's mental health has overall improved since going gluten free.

 

Especially wondering if those with diagnoses of bipolar disorder, anxiety, and/or ADHD.

 

Thanks in advance :)

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


GF Lover Rising Star
GF Lover
Posted

Hello all. I was wondering if anyone's mental health has overall improved since going gluten free.

 

Especially wondering if those with diagnoses of bipolar disorder, anxiety, and/or ADHD.

 

Thanks in advance :)

 

Hi Jessica,

 

I think you are my twin...lol.  I do suffer with Bi-Polar, Anxiety, ADHD, a few others.  I can tell you that after I started gluten free very many of body symptoms improved greatly.  I had been diagnosed with Fibro, Bursitis, Sacroiliitis, Arthritis, Connective Tissue Disorder, Sicca and a few other suspected AI's.  My body pain was the first thing I noticed getting better.  That was the end of cortisone shots, Desensitizing Meds,.  Pain and Muscle relaxer meds went from daily to as needed.  As far as the Mental aspect.  Some of the improvement came from just feeling better.  My OCD lessened after a time.  My attention increased as Brain Fog decreased.  Memory still sucks as I had ECT treatments that wiped out much of my memories of when I was young and when I was raising my kids.  As far as the Bi-Polar, The Depressions have not been as low and as long  as before which is great.  The Highs do not last as long.  Basically I became a rapid cycler.  I was able to cut down my Psych meds to only 3.  I do know some people report complete resolution of Depression, anxiety and such but I don't know if they are diagnosed Bi-Polar or not.  I still take Ativan daily and take Trazadone nightly for sleep.  I saw on your other thread about your sleep study.  I havent been able to sleep for more than 2-3 hours on my own for at least 10-15 years or so.  Trazadone puts me out for a good 4 hours on a half dose and 7-8 hours on my full dose. 

 

Gosh, that was a ramble...lol.  Hope it helps in some way.

 

Colleen

BlessedMommy Rising Star
BlessedMommy
Posted

I'm diagnosed with GAD with OCD symptoms and it could be just my imagination, but I think that my episodes of anxiety are much less since I became strict about cracking down on CC issues and making sure that trace gluten wasn't sneaking into my diet. 

across Contributor
across
Posted

I have never been diagnosed with any mental health issues, however, I had a pretty good case of continual anxiety and mild depression going most of my life and didn't even realize it because I thought it was my normal personality. When I got off of gluten, both of these cleared up and I almost had an identity crisis because I had never been without them -- I didn't know quite who I was in such calm brain! :-)

 

This happened for me very quickly. As a matter of fact, neuro symptoms are the first symptoms for me that I've been glutened.

JesikaBeth Contributor
JesikaBeth
Posted
  • Author

Hi Jessica,

 

I think you are my twin...lol.  I do suffer with Bi-Polar, Anxiety, ADHD, a few others.  I can tell you that after I started gluten free very many of body symptoms improved greatly.  I had been diagnosed with Fibro, Bursitis, Sacroiliitis, Arthritis, Connective Tissue Disorder, Sicca and a few other suspected AI's.  My body pain was the first thing I noticed getting better.  That was the end of cortisone shots, Desensitizing Meds,.  Pain and Muscle relaxer meds went from daily to as needed.  As far as the Mental aspect.  Some of the improvement came from just feeling better.  My OCD lessened after a time.  My attention increased as Brain Fog decreased.  Memory still sucks as I had ECT treatments that wiped out much of my memories of when I was young and when I was raising my kids.  As far as the Bi-Polar, The Depressions have not been as low and as long  as before which is great.  The Highs do not last as long.  Basically I became a rapid cycler.  I was able to cut down my Psych meds to only 3.  I do know some people report complete resolution of Depression, anxiety and such but I don't know if they are diagnosed Bi-Polar or not.  I still take Ativan daily and take Trazadone nightly for sleep.  I saw on your other thread about your sleep study.  I havent been able to sleep for more than 2-3 hours on my own for at least 10-15 years or so.  Trazadone puts me out for a good 4 hours on a half dose and 7-8 hours on my full dose. 

 

Gosh, that was a ramble...lol.  Hope it helps in some way.

 

Colleen

Hi Colleen! Good to see you again. Yes it does appear we have very similar stories! Thank you for sharing. I too take ativan daily, and for sleep I'm on Seroquel. My sleep is still awkward though. I'm interested to see how my overall health - physical and mental - is impacted by going gluten free.

JesikaBeth Contributor
JesikaBeth
Posted
  • Author

BlessedMommy & Across ~ Thank you for sharing your experiences with me :)

  • 3 months later...
cap6 Enthusiast
cap6
Posted

Before going g.f. I was diagnosed bi-polar, depressed and on three different meds.  I had been on meds for many years.  At year two of being g.f. I felt so much better, and lacking other words, just felt alive and so talked to my dr about going off the meds.  With her caution we started on a plan.  It took two years to completely wean off of all my meds as we went very very slowly!  To date I have been off all meds for 8 months. 

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


  • 9 months later...
ch88 Collaborator
ch88
Posted

I used to have many mental health issues including strong anxiety and obsessive thoughts, anger issues, depression, and autistic symptoms etc.  before I went gluten free.  Now I feel great. 

  • 4 weeks later...
Seifer Rookie
Seifer
Posted

Yes immensely, but it takes a long time for many people like myself. My brain had pretty much been addicted to gluten for all my life and to completely change that was a long process. If I  would eat some pasta now it basically causes some sort of mental breakdown for 24 hours where I get brainfog, signs of schizophrenia, random temper tantrums, addictive eating, sleep problems, adhd etc. certainly not worth the trouble. 

  • 1 month later...
etbtbfs Rookie
etbtbfs
Posted

If gluten is killing your thyroid, then getting some of your thyroid function back WILL help mental health, esp. Anxiety and depression.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,439
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    AGordon410
    Newest Member
    AGordon410
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      4.5 years into diagnosis, eating gluten-free and still struggling: would love support, tips, & stories

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Thank you so much for sharing your story with such honesty and detail. Please know that you are not alone in this struggle, and your experience, while incredibly challenging, is more common than those "gluten-free miracle" stories on social media would have you believe. It's completely understandable to feel isolated, but your diligence in tracking your symptoms, following up with scopes, and working with professionals is truly commendable. It's encouraging that your villi have healed, which proves you are successfully avoiding the large-scale damage of gluten; however, it's clear your immune system remains in a heightened state of alert. Your intense reaction to the quinoa flakes is a classic sign of this hypersensitivity. Given the reputable brand, it's highly unlikely to be gluten cross-contact. It's much more probable that you are reacting to the quinoa itself—perhaps due to a separate intolerance, its saponin content (which can irritate some sensitive guts), or cross-reactivity, where your immune system mistakes similar protein structures for gluten. Your nutritionist's plan for a simplified, grain-free (except rice) baseline is an excellent strategy. The goal is to calm your nervous and immune systems down completely before slowly testing individual foods, like avocado or even quinoa in its whole form, to identify the true triggers. Remember, healing from years of damage takes time, and setbacks are part of the journey. Be kind to yourself; you are doing everything right by continuing to investigate and advocate for your health. Your path to feeling better may be more complex, but it is absolutely valid.
    • Scott Adams
      Diagnosed celiac for 1-2 months ago and everything makes me bloated.

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      When you are first diagnosed it is very normal to feel overwhelmed and depressed about the vast dietary changes that a 100% gluten-free diet entails. Many people with celiac disease, especially those who are in the 0-2 year range of their recovery, have additional food intolerance issues which could be temporary. To figure this out you may need to keep a food diary and do an elimination diet over a few months. Some common food intolerance issues are dairy/casein, eggs, corn, oats, and soy. The good news is that after your gut heals (for most people who are 100% gluten-free this will take several months to two years) you may be able to slowly add some these items back into your diet after the damaged villi heal. There are a couple of things that can help you feel like you have "regained control," and the two that I recommend are learning to read ingredient labels so that you can shop with confidence, and the other is learning to become a good cook (if you aren't already). If you can master these two, then you have regained control of your diet, and can eat safely and recover. To help this site has extensive recipes and cooking sections: https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/gluten-free-recipes/ https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/gluten-free-cooking/ The following two lists are very helpful for anyone who is gluten sensitive and needs to avoid gluten when shopping. It's very important to learn to read labels and understand sources of hidden gluten, and to know some general information about product labelling--for example in the USA if wheat is a possible allergen it must be declared on a product's ingredient label like this: Allergens: Wheat.        
    • Scott Adams
      bread

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Thanks for sharing this! Bread machines are still the way to go if you want outstanding gluten-free breads.
    • Scott Adams
      Major Glutening

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      What you've described is every celiac's nightmare, and it's very frustrating to be failed by a product that was specifically labeled as safe. It would be great to know which product it was so others here can be warned. Six weeks of inadvertent exposure is a significant insult to your system, and it's no wonder that after two weeks you are still feeling the effects. The body, especially the nervous system when dealing with ataxia, needs considerable time to calm the inflammatory response and begin to heal. It's common for a major glutening to take several weeks to even a few months for symptoms to fully resolve, so be patient and gentle with yourself—you are on the right track. The anxiety and panic are also a very real, physiological part of the reaction for many of us, compounding the feeling of helplessness. What you're feeling is not a step back to your pre-diagnosis state; it's a severe but temporary flare. Focus intensely on the basics now: rest, hydration, and simple, whole foods. You have not undone all your progress. Your body remembers how to heal; it just needs time and a safe environment to do so. You are not alone in this.
    • lmemsm
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By lmemsm · Posted

      Thank you for mentioning that.  My main reaction to gluten seems to be related to the skin and breaking out.  So, I'll definitely take that under consideration when trying to figure out how to better supplement calcium.  I'm trying to use lower oxalate and lower histamine greens like broccoli, baby bok choi, collards and Lacinto kale.  Recently, I've been getting migraine reactions to spinach, possibly from the histamine.  I do use Malabar spinach (not related to spinach) but only a leaf or two in foods and I don't think it has a high calcium content.  I should check into longevity spinach and Moringa again.  Some gardeners in our area grow them.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.