Mental health when glutened

[Jennnnnn]

I am looking for other people's experiences regarding their mental health when they have been exposed to gluten. I have anxiety and depression and recently I ingested gluten and had some scary symptoms. My anxiety sky rocketed, I had trouble catching my breath, had pressure in my chest, very depressed and my thoughts were racing. I had GI issues as well but it was my mental health that was really affected. Has anyone else experienced this? I have heard from one person that they also experience anxiety when exposed to gluten, but my symptoms were at a very scary level. I am not getting support from health care professionals when I try to explain this. I am not going to eat gluten again because it was such a bad experience, but I am now super worried about cross contamination and accidental exposure. When products say may contain wheat I am not sure if I should avoid altogether. I already have a restricted diet and finding gluten-free labeled products is hard. I would love and really appreciate to hear from people who can relate/have advice/know of people who experience this, etc. 

[Wheatwacked]

Four days after increasing my daily vitamin D3 intake to 10,000 IU a day my mood was so good I looked at my bottle of vitamin D and exclaimed "this is sunshine in a bottle!" That was March of 2015 and I've been taking it ever since. If I stop taking it for any length of time the first symptom that I notice is that I avoid answering the phone. Later I found that 5 mg Lithium Orotate reduced my anxiety level.

Vitamin D and Depression: Where is all the Sunshine? 

Possible Role of Vitamin D in Celiac Disease Onset

An RDA For Lithium?  "Evidence is slowly accumulating that relatively tiny doses of lithium can have beneficial effects. They appear to decrease suicide rates significantly and may even promote brain health and improve mood."

[Scott Adams]

Welcome to the forum!

The article below will help you avoid gluten, which is very important if you have celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Either condition can affect your mental health. 

If you have celiac disease, then vitamin and mineral deficiencies are likely, which can also affect your mental health and well being, so it would be a good idea to take a good multivitamin and mineral supplement, and be sure that it is gluten-free.

It is also possible that you have separate issues going on, so it would still be a good idea to discuss this with your doctor, and see if professional mental help might be helpful.

 

 

[knitty kitty]

@Jennnnnn,

Welcome to the forum!

I've found an interesting article for you.

Neurologic and Psychiatric Manifestations of Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3641836/

 

I suffered from panic attacks when glutened.  I had vitamin and mineral deficiencies that contributed to my mental health problems, as well as reacting so badly neurologically to gluten.  

I found my panic attacks became more manageable when I supplemented with the B Complex vitamins and extra Thiamine (Vitamin B1) in the form called Allithiamine, and magnesium.  

Have you been diagnosed with Celiac Disease?

What sort of restrictive diet are you on?  Is it just for Celiac or something else?  

Thanks for joining!

[Jennnnnn]

Thank you everyone for your replies! I have been diagnosed as Celiac for 1.5 years but struggled to keep a gluten-free diet. I would go about 2-4 months and then slip up and eat gluten. But after this last experience I am dedicated to making sure I don't ever slip up again! I am a vegetarian and I don't eat eggs. I try to avoid dairy as well. I am going to try the vitamins and really focus on my health. Did anyone go through a grieving process when they gave up gluten? 

[knitty kitty]

@Jennnnnn,

Definitely, yes, there's a grieving process that many of us go through.  You're not alone.  We're here to support each other.  

I went on the Autoimmune Protocol diet, a Paleo diet, (it has a vegetarian version), that's been proven to promote healing in the intestines.  The AIP diet was developed by a Celiac doctor with Celiac children, Dr. Sarah Ballantyne.  Check out her website.

I found I would have crazy cravings for gluten foods, but I connected it to craving the vitamins with which wheat products are enriched.  As I began supplementing with a B Complex vitamin, magnesium, and Vitamin D, my cravings diminished.  (And those panic attacks calmed down.)

I get really bad neurological symptoms, too.  Yes, they can be really scary.  And doctors can be very exasperating because they don't understand how Celiac can mess with our heads as well as our tummies.  

You're not alone.  There's lots of knowledgeable people here to help and encourage us.  

Kitty

 

[RedFacedJock]

I've only recently gone gluten free (just over 3 weeks now). But before I did, I was having frequent panic attacks where I felt like I was either having a hard attack or about to have a stroke. I've also had persistent depression for years and a consistent brain fog where I just can't keep my mind on things and feel very fatigued.

This is gradually improving. Some supplements i'm taking to help keep the anxiety/panic attacks in check include Magnesium, L-Theanine, Myo-Inositol and Taurine.

[knitty kitty]

16 minutes ago, RedFacedJock said:

I've only recently gone gluten free (just over 3 weeks now). But before I did, I was having frequent panic attacks where I felt like I was either having a hard attack or about to have a stroke. I've also had persistent depression for years and a consistent brain fog where I just can't keep my mind on things and feel very fatigued.

This is gradually improving. Some supplements i'm taking to help keep the anxiety/panic attacks in check include Magnesium, L-Theanine, Myo-Inositol and Taurine.

 

Hey, Red!

I found Vitamin D, magnesium,  and a B Complex supplement and some extra Thiamine (Vitamin B1) in the form of Allithiamine very helpful. 

(Inositol needs the eight essential B vitamins in the B complex to work properly.  Celiac Disease damages the part of the small intestine where the B vitamins are usually absorbed...so supplementing while you heal is beneficial.)    

Depression has been linked to low levels of Vitamin D.  Blood levels of Vitamin D should be about 80 nmol/l in order for Vitamin D to work well.  I felt my depression lifting as my Vitamin D level rose.  

I also supplemented Vitamin A and Vitamin C, and my skin problems improved.  

My brain fog, fatigue, panic attacks, and lack of focus diminished remarkably when I started taking Allithiamine.  

I take Tryptophan and L-Theanine before bed.  They help heal the intestines and are relaxing.

Sounds like you are coming along well.  Are you including dairy and oats in your gluten free diet?  These can cause continuing inflammation and it might be best to skip them in the early months of recovery and try them again at a later date.  

 

[RedFacedJock]

Hey KK

I'm currently sticking to lactose free dairy to see how it goes. I'm consuming oats at the moment but have decided to exclude Soy from my diet as I think I may be intolerant to Soy as well as Gluten. I'm trying to keep my overall Carb intake low however with the largest percentage of my Carbs coming from the fibre in fruit and vegetables. I'm really trying to stick to foods low on the Glycemic Index to combat insulin spikes, as I believe those spikes have been a major contributing factor to my inflammation.

[Wheatwacked]

10 hours ago, Jennnnnn said:

Did anyone go through a grieving process when they gave up gluten? 

Yes. Gluten is addictive and also affects the same neuroreceptors as heroin, so some people have withdrawals and cravings.

As knittykitty mentions vitamin and mineral deficiencies are common with Celiac Disease.

If you are avoiding eggs and meat, be sure to get enough choline. Minimum is 450 mg a day and upper tolerable limit is 3500 mg a day. That equates to 14 to 112 cups of cooked broccoli a day, or 3 to 23 large eggs a day.  Choline Fact Sheet for Health Professionals 

 Low choline levels in pregnant women raise babies' risk for brain and spinal-cord defects, study shows

[Kate333]

Hi Jennnnnn,

I had depression/anxiety for years prior to a celiac disease diagnosis 2 years ago which continues after adopting the 100% strict gluten-free diet.  Thankfully, my latest follow-up TTG/IGA blood test is normal and the EGD biopsy shows gut healed.  Yet I STILL struggle with bad depression/anxiety which affects my GI and other body systems.

Grieving period?  OMG, YES!!   I even have had weird dreams about food anxiety or craving or eating my old favorite foods!   So, of course, a celiac disease diagnosis requiring huge diet changes fuels sadness, in addition to health/food anxiety, all of which understandably worsens depression/anxiety/panic attacks.  And, of course, the pandemic came along and only increased everyone's health anxiety....:-).   

I've learned that severe anxiety/depression can actually "trigger" or activate otherwise dormant celiac disease genes into full-blown celiac disease, so am not surprised to learn about the prevalence of celiac disease-MH related symptoms & issues.  The difficulty is in figuring out cause-effect as there is much overlap.  Severe anxiety/depression alone (separate from celiac disease) can also cause the same acute panic attack-like symptoms you describe.  But regardless of the cause-effect, it is very important to make sure you are addressing/treating BOTH celiac disease and MH symptoms to help you heal and recover. 

A few suggestions:

Avoid the added stress/anxiety of worrying about labels, truth in labeling, cross-contamination by avoiding ALL packaged, processed, manufactured foods (even those labeled "gluten-free") and buy/cook/eat ONLY fresh, natural foods for a few weeks/months and see how you feel.   Shopping is so much easier, cleaner (and cheaper) if you buy/eat only fresh food.  Also, don't eat out (or even take-out) because restaurants are not a safe bet, despite gluten-free menu claims. 

Limit internet/social media/TV exposure.  Tough to do but so vital as 90% of the content is negative, overdramatized, depressing "news".  Also, try to avoid "doom-scrolling" about symptoms/celiac disease, which only feeds health anxiety.   And, of course, meditation, massage, exercise to take your mind of your health issues.  

You might also benefit from a low-level anti-anxiety/depression medication and finding a good MH counselor who understands health anxiety.  Two resources have been very helpful to me:  the website, anxietycentre.com, which describes in detail how depression/anxiety affects all the body systems, including GI, and the book, "It's Not All in Your Head:  How Worrying about Your Health Could Be Making You Sick--and What You Can Do About It," by Dr. Steven Taylor. 

I hope you feel better soon!