Autistic Like Symptoms.

[ch88]

Hello,

I learned just about a year ago that I have celiac disease. Whenever I eat gluten I get strong anxiety. About 95 percent of my symptoms went away when I quit, but I still have a few.  I had most of the symptoms of high functioning autism, or Asperger syndrome.  One of the symptoms of this disorder is a fascination with learning about particular narrow topics of information. Before I went gluten free I used to spend months and months on end researching information on different types of nuclear reactors for example. When I quit gluten this symptom stayed with me for a while and then gradually faded. My anxiety level went way down almost immediately, however and other symptoms went away. When I eat gluten by accident I tend to hyper-focus on certain things but nothing at all like before. Does anyone else have this symptom when eating gluten?

Also I am much more comfortable around people than I used to be, but I still have a bit of social phobia. I know some other people have had this symptom. How long (if ever) does it take for this to go away?

Thanks

 

[nvsmom]

My oldest son was just like that.  When he went gluten-free about 2.5 years ago his intense focus became a bit less... intense.  It became easier for him to turn away from his passions when need be.

 

He also found it simpler to be with others in busy environments, although sometimes it still becomes too much for him and he needs to step away for a while or he is overwhelmed.

 

It hasn't gone away completely for my son, but his quirks seem more like that of a gifted child rather than something that is seen negatively by others who don't understand.

 

Most celiacs find that the improvements stop after about 3 years gluten-free.  Cognitive and neurological symptoms are often some of the slowest to improve. Give it a couple of more years.  Improvements will probably be slower now, but they may still be happening.

 

How are you with dairy? Dairy also affects my son's quality of social life.

[ch88]

I suspect that milk also effects how I think and that I get brain fog from it. My reaction to milk is very mild compared to gluten and slow to take effect. When I accidentally eat gluten within a few minutes I have a strong sense of impeding doom, even though I know it's just an effect of the gluten. I also avoid people for the most part and become very irritable.  How people appeared to me visually also changed when I quit eating gluten the first time. Their physical features and the way they dressed looked more exaggerated to me and a little bit cartoonish. I talked to a doctor about it and she said it probably had to do with gut bacteria producing neurotransmitters but I think there is more to it than that.  I suspect that it is an auto-immune system response is being triggered that effects the brain. Possibly something similar to the condition known as PANDAS.

I feel great and happy now but I do notice my siblings are more talkative than I am.