Celiac or food intolerances??

[Caspara]

I’m wondering if anyone have experienced anxiety, mood changes and panic attack when having celiac? So a few nights ago (I generally wake up at least once a night anyhow) I woke up in the middle of the night with a full on panic attack and heart palpitations and felt numb and weird several places all over my body. It was almost like I wanted to call a doctor but I eventually managed to do some deep breathing and relax myself. Over the past few months (or probably years) I have been eating gluten, not like a lot as I try to stay away but I have been recently. My dad has celiac disease and I am starting to wonder if I might have it as well and it’s making my anxiety worse! I often feel very gassy right after eating gluten or starch heavy stuff and I have been gluten free for a few days now (only eating whole foods, no dairy, organic) but I still get quite gassy after eating, is this normal? I’ve wanted to go take a celiac test but I heard you have to eat gluten for a while before going and now I’m scared to eat it as I don’t want side effects to worsen again! I also feel like I in general had intrusive negative thoughts a lot, but I’m hoping no gluten might help. Please has anyone experienced similar??🙂

[trents]

You really do need to get tested for celiac disease, even if that means suffering though eating gluten for about 3 months. A couple pieces of wheat bread per day shouild accomplish what you need for a valid test.

Celiac disease damages the lining (villi) of the small intestine which reduces the ability of your GI tract to absorb nutrients. Your mood changes could be related to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. But the mood changes could also be related to other medical problems so get things checked out.

[Scott Adams]

Yes, such panic attacks can be a symptom.

[GFinDC]

You could go to a doctor and get your vitamin and mineral levels checked.  Celiac can cause malabsorption of nutrients so deficiencies are a possible symptom.  B-vitamins, Vitamin D and several minerals can be low.  Nutrient deficiencies can cause symptoms of various kinds.  You don't need to do a gluten challenge to get nutrient levels checked.  But deficiencies can be an indicator that you have a gluten problem.

[Fasteddy]

I have not been tested for celiac yet, am just suspicious that I have it. But I do have a severe nightshade vegetable allergy and the mood/panic attacks and anxiety is very much a symptom of that. Been fighting that most of my life (varying degrees of success), but have only been relatively free of it for the past month as I have eliminated nightshades from my diet.

As you can see from other posts, quite a variety of conditions that can cause these problems. What can be frustrating is how long it can take to work your way through the various tests and checking for food sensitivities. Foods are often something you can check out yourself by changing your diet and observing the results, but usually take several weeks to cycle round to get results (can be a bumpy ride too). Whereas medical testing is often quicker and subject to the diagnosis of your doctor unless you can point them in a definitive direction..

Sounds quite scary and disturbing, what you are going through. Certainly seems like it is worth the effort to see your doctor, and maybe play around with your diet, as long as one thing does not interfere with the other..

Good luck..!!