Depression & Anxiety with having Celiac Disease

[extreme963]

I have Celiac Disease, am Bipolar and I have anxiety. I am on medication; however, I can't help but wonder if there is a connection. I have read articles about this.  Is anyone else out there experiencing any mental health issues while having Celiac Disease?   

[Carolyn Haun]

I think in this environment not having anxiety would be rare.  Take it seriously that you are responding to a difficult time.  I hope you have either a professional or a good friend to talk it thru.  More directly to the point, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia before Celiac.  The symptoms are almost identical but my therapist put me on the generic of Cymbalta.  At 60 mg., for me it is very powerful.  I think anyone with our muddle of symptoms and life problems needs an antidepressant.  I can feel anxiety, but it is not overwhelming.  There are also several over the counter supplements (one called Anxiety) that are available at Amazon.  Most importantly I hope you feel better. Good luck.

[trents]

3 hours ago, extreme963 said:

I have Celiac Disease, am Bipolar and I have anxiety. I am on medication; however, I can't help but wonder if there is a connection. I have read articles about this.  Is anyone else out there experiencing any mental health issues while having Celiac Disease?   

Mental health disorders seem to be more common among the celiac population. Nutritional deficiencies are one reason, as I already mentioned. Another reason is often the social changes celiac disease often demands in order to be gluten free. It can feel isolating. which can lead to depression.

[knitty kitty]

@extreme963, 

Welcome to the forum!

Yes, I've had mental health issues including depression, anxiety, and others.  Mine were connected to vitamin and mineral deficiencies that commonly occur in CeD.  

Anxiety and depression are frequently the first subtle symptoms of vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  Vitamin D deficiency is linked to depression, as are deficiencies in B12, Thiamine Vitamin B1, and magnesium.  

I found this article helpful....

The Role of Vitamins and Minerals in Psychiatry

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3046018/?report=reader

You might find my blog helpful.  I've recorded my experiences and helpful research.  

Hope this helps.

P. S. @Carolyn Haun, have you tried high dose Thiamine for your fibromyalgia?   It worked wonders for me.

High-dose thiamine improves the symptoms of fibromyalgia

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3669831/

[extreme963]

16 hours ago, trents said:

Mental health disorders seem to be more common among the celiac population. Nutritional deficiencies are one reason, as I already mentioned. Another reason is often the social changes celiac disease often demands in order to be gluten free. It can feel isolating. which can lead to depression.

Thank you. My next question is how do I go about determining what nutritional deficiencies I may have?  What do I look for? I take vitamin D3, B-12, Folic Acid, including medications for Bipolar and Anxiety. I am a veteran and I go to the VA. I am not sure if they would pay for me to get blood work to check for vitamin (nutritional) deficiencies due to Celiac Disease. It wouldn't hurt to ask I suppose.  

[trents]

Really, there is no particular need to do testing for vitamin and mineral deficiencies IMO. The testing isn't always helpful anyway since it only is measuring what's floating around in the blood and not what is making it into the cells. Symptoms are in some ways more helpful in this regard. So, many of us recommend the shotgun approach to cover the bases based on experience and following the experience of other celiacs over a period of years. Here is what I recommend routinely in these situations and what other "veterans" on this forum recommend:

An adult multi vitamin

A high potency B-complex

Subligual B-12 (2500 mcg ?)

5000-10,000 IU daily of D3

Magnesium glycicnate or Magnesium citrate (more on this later)

zinc (follow dosage recommendations on the bottle)

 

Concerning magnesium supplementation, it's important to get a formulation that is more bioavailable. The most common form found in chain stores is Magnesium oxide which is not absorbed well and therefore less likely to do any good and more likely to give you loose stools. Start small on the magnesium supplement and increase it gradually until you find the amount that gives you loose stools and then cut back a little. You may have to go online (like, Amazon) or to a healthfood store to get mag glycinate. I'm taking 200mg daily of magnesium glycinate.

Costco is a good place to get most of these products and many of the Kirkland signature brand and Nature Made brand supplements are gluten-free and will say so on the bottle. Make sure all your supplements are gluten-free.

The supplements I have listed above and their dosages are safe. With the B-vitamins, they are water soluble and any excess used by your body will simply be peed out. You will notice your urine turning bright yellow and this is normal and expected when taking high doses of B-vitamins, particularly B2.

[Scott Adams]

We have dedicated an article category for summaries of medical research on this topic:

https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/celiac-disease-amp-related-diseases-and-disorders/depression-and-celiac-disease/ 

[extreme963]

On 7/26/2023 at 1:40 PM, trents said:

Really, there is no particular need to do testing for vitamin and mineral deficiencies IMO. The testing isn't always helpful anyway since it only is measuring what's floating around in the blood and not what is making it into the cells. Symptoms are in some ways more helpful in this regard. So, many of us recommend the shotgun approach to cover the bases based on experience and following the experience of other celiacs over a period of years. Here is what I recommend routinely in these situations and what other "veterans" on this forum recommend:

An adult multi vitamin

A high potency B-complex

Subligual B-12 (2500 mcg ?)

5000-10,000 IU daily of D3

Magnesium glycicnate or Magnesium citrate (more on this later)

zinc (follow dosage recommendations on the bottle)

 

Concerning magnesium supplementation, it's important to get a formulation that is more bioavailable. The most common form found in chain stores is Magnesium oxide which is not absorbed well and therefore less likely to do any good and more likely to give you loose stools. Start small on the magnesium supplement and increase it gradually until you find the amount that gives you loose stools and then cut back a little. You may have to go online (like, Amazon) or to a healthfood store to get mag glycinate. I'm taking 200mg daily of magnesium glycinate.

Costco is a good place to get most of these products and many of the Kirkland signature brand and Nature Made brand supplements are gluten-free and will say so on the bottle. Make sure all your supplements are gluten-free.

The supplements I have listed above and their dosages are safe. With the B-vitamins, they are water soluble and any excess used by your body will simply be peed out. You will notice your urine turning bright yellow and this is normal and expected when taking high doses of B-vitamins, particularly B2.

Thank you for all this information.  Everyone has been extremely helpful! 

Thank you! 

[Wheatwacked]

Keep increasing vitamin D until you reach 80 ng/ml (200 nmol/L for optimum benifit. My depression went away at 10,000 IU a day and if I stop I regress.  My serum level is steady at 80 ng/ml. I thought mowing the lawn 2 hours a week midday and shirtless would be sufficient but was wrong.

Lithium Orotate 5 mg a day relieved my anxiety.  That feeling that it has to be done now.  NOT the 1000 mg dose of Lithium Carbonate used to burn your brain out in Bipolar treatment.

In the form of soluble salts, Li is absorbed virtually entirely in the small intestine.  That makes Lithium deficiency a risk from Celiac Disease malabsorption.

          Is Lithium a Micronutrient? From Biological Activity and Epidemiological Observation to Food Fortification  For the first time, an inverse correlation between the concentration of Li in drinking water and suicide rates was recorded in the USA. Differences in the incidence of suicides, murders, and rapes were reported in the population of 27 counties in Texas which were divided according to Li concentration into three groups: high, 70–160 μg/L; medium, 13–60 μg/L; and low, 0–12 μg/L [7]. Research carried out in 226 counties of Texas and 34 Greek prefectures indicated the inverse correlation of lithium concentration in water and suicide rates; 

The main sources of Li in the diet are cereals, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, and some mineral waters.