Celiac and Depression, Axniety and Low Self Esteem

[hoooperman]

Hey guys, been recently diagnosed. Was wondering if anyone's had a similar experience and can provide some advice. 

For pretty much all my teenage and adult life (21 now), I have suffered from crippling depression, low self-esteem and anxiety. I've been stuck in a viscous cycle of negative thoughts, which leads to low self-esteem and anxiety, which in turn bring about depression. Been in and out of therapy for years, and have struggled to improve my situation and mental state. Being recently diagnosed with celiac, my first reaction was "oh great another thing to worry about". However, after reading some stuff online it seems there have been numerous studies done linking auto-immune diseases and gut health with depression and anxiety. I'm hoping that eliminating gluten will have a positive effect on my mental state, but I don't want to build my hopes up too much. If anyone can relate to this I'd love to hear what you have to say. Cheers

[Posterboy]

  On 5/6/2019 at 7:50 PM, hoooperman said:

Hey guys, been recently diagnosed. Was wondering if anyone's had a similar experience and can provide some advice. 

For pretty much all my teenage and adult life (21 now), I have suffered from crippling depression, low self-esteem and anxiety. I've been stuck in a viscous cycle of negative thoughts, which leads to low self-esteem and anxiety, which in turn bring about depression. Been in and out of therapy for years, and have struggled to improve my situation and mental state. Being recently diagnosed with celiac, my first reaction was "oh great another thing to worry about". However, after reading some stuff online it seems there have been numerous studies done linking auto-immune diseases and gut health with depression and anxiety. I'm hoping that eliminating gluten will have a positive effect on my mental state, but I don't want to build my hopes up too much. If anyone can relate to this I'd love to hear what you have to say. Cheers

Expand Quote  

hoooperman,

I had a lot of your problems with anxiety and depression when I was diagnosed as a celiac.

Here is a nice thread about this topic.

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/122774-does-it-cause-anxiety/?tab=comments#comment-997188

I will also quote/post some other links that might help you.

I highly recommend Magnesium Glycinate and a good Enzymic B-Vitamin see this link about the role Vitamins/nutrition play(s) in depression.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2738337/

Here is their paragraph on B-complex's. B-Vitamins are known to be low in Celiac's and to help Celiac's deal with stress and anyone really.

quoting

B-complex vitamins

"Nutrition and depression are intricately and undeniably linked, as suggested by the mounting evidence by researchers in neuropsychiatry. According to a study reported in Neuropsychobiology,[42] supplementation of nine vitamins, 10 times in excess of normal recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for 1 year improved mood in both men and women. The interesting part was that these changes in mood after a year occurred even though the blood status of nine vitamins reached a plateau after 3 months. This mood improvement was particularly associated with improved vitamin B2 and B6 status. In women, baseline vitamin B1 status was linked with poor mood and an improvement in the same after 3 months was associated with improved mood."

I find people don't know to take B-Vitamins (twice daily or with meals) because they are water soluble and leak out.. .and taking B-Vitamins only once a day keep you half low in them.

I recommend the same for Magnesium Glycinate .. you will notice a difference in about a month with the Magnesium and about 3 months with the B-Vitamins.

You should also have your Doctor check your Vitamin D levels. ...my Vitamin D levels was also low at the time of my Celiac diagnosis, and even today I struggle to keep my Vitamin D levels up. ..unless I am spending most of my days outside ...for example.

Here is the research on Magnesium.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987706001034

If I could recommend any one or two things for depression it would be to take Magnesium Glycinate 2 to 3 times ad day and take your co-enzyme B-Vitamins 2 to 3 a day ...so your body reset's it's stress clock!

I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advice.

2 Tim 2:7 “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” this included.

Posterboy by the grace of God,

[GFinDC]

Hi Hoooperman,

I am sorry to hear you are feeling poorly.  Yes, celiac disease can cause depression.  There may be multiple reasons for this depression to happen.  Lack of vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to function and heal well, ongoing symptoms, adrenal stress, gut disbiosis, etc.   Most of these problems can resolve on the gluten-free diet though.  As our gut heals it begins to absorb nutrients more efficiently.  So we begin to get more of the critical vitamins and minerals we need.  And our gut symptoms tend to decrease also.

I suggest you have your vitamin and mineral levels checked by a doctor.  Knowing which ones may be low or borderline can be helpful.  Supplements may help but whole foods are the best source for nutrients.

Recovery from celiac damage varies quite a bit.  You may recover quickly or it may take a few years.  It can really help to completely keep all gluten out of your diet.  Some people find dairy is also a problem for several months.

[Ennis-TX]

Well I was seeing a psychologist for 20 years, on zoloft, seroqueal, depokote, adderal and a few others. After a few years gluten-free and taking Liquid Health Neurological and the Mega Energy supplement in combination with Magnesium, and Vitamin D I find I no longer needed most of them. I also take CBD to deal with this odd depressive aspect that led to suicidal thoughts but when I worked that into my daily routine I found I am happy go lucky and just sort of roll with life and what ever it throws at me. I still have a pessimistic outlook on life but the wallowing in depression and sadness is gone.

Take what posterboy said, many of the issues stem from nutrient absorption issues. B-vitamins, magnesium, healthy fats your brain needs to function etc. Supplementing, eating whole foods, and a gluten free diet with healing will resolve and lessen many issues. Do not stop taking your meds for while though, I had to wean off  them and there was severe withdrawal. At the very least you might be able to lower the dosage in a few years, but everyone is different and the underlying causes of your issues need to be addressed.
You can look up various symptoms for each b-vitamin, magnesium, deficiencies and see if it rings any other bells.

Also some foods can trigger issues in people due to a sensitivity, intolerance, or chemical issues. I had a few foods that would make me flip out to Hyde Mode on people and break things. So keep a food diary and with what you eat, when, and your moods, and how your feel at different points of the days. Look for patterns and rotate your diet. Some odd triggers for me were Red 40 which resolved but I still have effects to aspartame, and asuflame with mood swings.

This is not medical advice, I am not a doctor, just my personal experience.

 

[Posterboy]

Hooperman,

If stress is your main problem try drinking some Holy Basil tea.

Here is an article about it.

https://vitanetonline.com/forums/1/Thread/394

I used to drink it myself for my morning tea...but when I found when my stress(ors) got better in my life I found I didn't need it as  much.

But Holy Basil has a known calming effect...I was also doing it at the time to help my blood sugars. ...it does this it is thought by/helping decrease Cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the body.

And we all know what stress does to us...so anything that can help your stress ...could help your depression/anxiety etc. in theory.

I know it helped me....this is not medical advice but I hope this is helpful.

Posterboy,

[Awol cast iron stomach]

Ditto above posters

Those deficiencies I notice are a problem for me. Vitamins D, all b's particularly b 12 for me and magnesium are an issue if gluten enters my life. 

I did attempted the 2 week challenge for endoscope and colonoscopy as I went gluten-free out of desperation for no one ever tested me and my misdiagnosis' seemed to stick for 20 plus yeard to no avail. I only got through 7 days as the mood stuff were more pronounced then in my entire life. My husband and kids felt even if I ended up not being official they were never letting me eat gluten again after that. They strongly supported an entirely gluten-free house for me after that . I was very unlike myself at that time.

If I get cc I get mood issues along with my gi, ataxia, and DH symptoms/ issues. I tell myself you know what it is ride it out, get the inflammation under control asap best you can until your body absorbs properly again. ?

I have learned to do B 12 sublingual, liquid vitamin D and also liquid magnesium after a cc, as I seem to lose the ability to absorb them from my regular capsule multi when I get a cc hit.

As a woman I can share the mood is worse if it is near my period as my bodies demands for b vitamins and magnesium are greater then.

I do hope for you things improve for you. If you got the psychologist maybe consider if you can financially keep him/ her a bit longer to sort out your emotions after diagnosis if you can. It probably would have done me some good to have had someone, but I needed sleep more than anything while healing.

Good luck