Bipolar and Celiac Disease

[Mari]

I seemed to have had celiac disease from when I was about 3 years old and was diagnosed just before I turned 70 so I have been gluten-free for 18 years. I think that my sister also is Celiac but with quite different symptoms. She had extreme hair loss dating back to about her first pregnancy and has worn a wig for many years. Her son took the 23&me test and found he had inherited a main Celiac gene. A short time ago my nephew wrote  to me asking about Celiac problems. Before that several years ago I had seen a photo of one of his daughters. She was very overweight and looked very miserable. I wrote him and suggested he have her tested for celiac disease. I think that she was tested and does have celiac disease but he did not share that information with me. Now he has written me about another daughter. She is about 20 years old and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder while in high school. Her mental problems have become much worse lately. She was in a mental health facility then met a guy online and moved to a different state. When he realized she had mental health problems he turned her out. She was homeless for a while but went to a hospital and is now in a rehab facility as it seems has been using drugs and may have become an addict.  My nephew hopes she will come out of her problems with the right meds and therapy. 

I am very concerned for this young relative. I need to find some way to help my nephew deal with this situation. I have wrttin him about my celiac problems and experiences and about celiac disease in general. References, personal experiences will help find a way to help me find a way to help this young person.

[Scott Adams]

We have 2 categories where we've summarized articles that related to mental health issues that are related to celiac disease:

• https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/celiac-disease-amp-related-diseases-and-disorders/schizophrenia-mental-problems-and-celiac-disease/
• https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/celiac-disease-amp-related-diseases-and-disorders/depression-and-celiac-disease/

Perhaps you could browse through and find related articles and email them to your affected relatives? Hopefully all of your relatives can be screened for celiac disease and go gluten-free if they find it.

[Mari]

On 2/13/2024 at 10:39 AM, Scott Adams said:

We have 2 categories where we've summarized articles that related to mental health issues that are related to celiac disease:

• https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/celiac-disease-amp-related-diseases-and-disorders/schizophrenia-mental-problems-and-celiac-disease/
• https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/celiac-disease-amp-related-diseases-and-disorders/depression-and-celiac-disease/

Perhaps you could browse through and find related articles and email them to your affected relatives? Hopefully all of your relatives can be screened for celiac disease and go gluten-free if they find it.

Thank you Scott Adams. I was hoping for some references. My eyesight is poor so it makes it difficult to find references, difficult to read small print. I will share these links with my nephew.

[Mari]

Most helpful was the response by Scott Adams who posted some llinks to articles.