Physical And Emotional Symptoms

[ERA's mom]

It has been quite a year since my oldest daughter (20) was diagnosed with Celiac a year ago. She went off her gluten-free diet for a couple of weeks (she felt she had been divinely healed....long story....) about a month ago. She very soon came down with a bad yeast infection; sleeplessness; racing heart; dizziness; over-confidence; over-spending; etc. etc. including almost (angry) manic emotions of which we have never seen. This has been going on for 3 weeks or more. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO RECOVER FROM GLUTEN?...the dr. ran tests and convinced her to go back on her gluten free diet (whew). (a friend says it takes her 1 week to recover; her son, 2 weeks. Now, her counselor, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, feels that she is bipolar, and prescribed .25 mg Risperdal. (This daughter had a high-tech brain scan 2 years ago, to diagnose learning challenges...OCD; GAD; and developmental delays... and bipolar did not show up then...the nurse-practionier said that bipolar can develop / show up later on). Has anyone dealt with bipolar type symptoms, etc.??My husband is wary of another presription for our daughter; she is taking Effexor right now; and is doubting the diagnosis. The survey that the practitioner had me fill out lined up with bipolar. Also, the yeast infection is being stubborn, despite 2 courses of treatment. Thanks so much for any help!

[celiacgirls]

I don't know how long it takes to recover from gluten. But I wanted to answer other parts of your post. First of all, bipolar doesn't show up on a brain scan or mri or anything like that. It is usually diagnosed by symptoms and then trial and error of medicines. My depression went away totally after getting off gluten, so I would be hopeful that after she is back on the diet, her "bipolar" could go away. Apparently, gluten can cause mood swings.

Also, SSRI's for depression can cause mania and be mistaken for bipolar. I am not sure if Effexor could also do that.

Most importantly, when I went off gluten, within 2 days, I felt "giddy". I knew about the manic effects of the SSRI's, so I stopped taking my Lexapro. The psychiatrist agreed that it sounded like I no longer needed it. Maybe that is what is happening with your daughter. How long has she been on the Effexor?

[celiacgirls]

I don't know how long it takes to recover from gluten. But I wanted to answer other parts of your post. First of all, bipolar doesn't show up on a brain scan or mri or anything like that. It is usually diagnosed by symptoms and then trial and error of medicines. My depression went away totally after getting off gluten, so I would be hopeful that after she is back on the diet, her "bipolar" could go away. Apparently, gluten can cause mood swings.

Also, SSRI's for depression can cause mania and be mistaken for bipolar. I am not sure if Effexor could also do that.

Most importantly, when I went off gluten, within 2 days, I felt "giddy". I knew about the manic effects of the SSRI's, so I stopped taking my Lexapro. The psychiatrist agreed that it sounded like I no longer needed it. Maybe that is what is happening with your daughter. How long has she been on the Effexor?

I wanted to add I am not a doctor and what I posted is just my understanding after reading a lot on the intenet about children and behaviour problems.

[ERA's mom]

I wanted to add I am not a doctor and what I posted is just my understanding after reading a lot on the intenet about children and behaviour problems.

She has been on Effexor for approx. 2 years.

[DingoGirl]

sleeplessness; racing heart; dizziness; over-confidence; over-spending; etc. etc. including almost (angry) manic emotions of which we have never seen. This has been going on for 3 weeks or more. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO RECOVER FROM GLUTEN

This describes my life to a T for many years. I am diagnosed bipolar type II (more depression than mania, unfortunately) and, sadly, am on disability for it. Also have undiagnosed learning disabilities and have had great trouble maintaining employment. I had 10 years of extreme insomnia and could hardly function, and then at other times, would sleep for weeks, hardly able to rise from the couch and just trying to resist taking my own life, which was all I wanted to do. Only my faith in God and hope for a better future kept me alive.

I have been gluten-free for almost five months and am finally stabilizing, not totally, but have seen amazing improvement. I am still on Effexor, and seroquel, for sleep and mood stabilization. I hope to be off all meds one day, if possible. I am now seeing some mood swings again, BUT - have a very prolonged broken heart with a man that I almost married who continues to fall in and out of love wtih me and jerks me back and forth.....so there is a situation causing much of my distress and I am going to remove him from my life completely. Very sad and difficult situation.

My first manic episode was at age 21 with the first SSRI antidepressant I took - didn't sleep for four days and lost 12 pounds that week....talked a million miles and hour and was higher than a kite. It's embarassing to think back on, really. Bipolar often shows up in the teens or twenties.

Keep your daughter OFF gluten, and on a mood stabilizer for a while. I am not familiar with that drug she is taking, there are all kinds of new, exotic things doctors try to prescribe and some of them - Lamictyl, Abilify, And Tegretol (an older drug) made me absolutely bonkers and crawling out of my skin - did much more harm than good. Seroquel, just 100 mg. a day, works quite well for me and lithium worked well for me also in years past.

but, all that said, the MOST significant improvement I have ever seen in my very frustrating life has been the removal of gluten. I am in a bit of a low ebb just now, but overall, have never felt better and consider it a blessing from God to finally be diagnosed. I was inordinately malnourished and exhausted when the endoscopy revealed that I had not ONE villi left and my TGA level was greater than 100 - and they stop measuring at 100. It is now down to 17 - great progress.

Blessings to you and all hope for a bright future for your daughter - she's young and will make great strides.

[kbtoyssni]

I think it could take a month or two to get three weeks' worth of gluten out of her system.

I also suffered from depression. Since going gluten-free I am happier than I've been in years. So if the symptoms of bi-polar have showed up recently - since she started eating gluten again - that could have a lot to do with it. It's possible the drugs might help right now, but I'd wait a month or two and then see how she feels. I was able to go off all the drugs I was taking a few months after being gluten-free. Hope this helps and good luck!

[Guest Robbin]

My heart goes out to anyone who has bipolar. My dh has bipolar and it started in his late teens. I read Susan's post with tears because I know a little of what she has gone through. You should definitely convince her to stay gluten-free. It sounds kind of like a manic episode is what got her started thinking she would go back to gluten and the whole vicious cycle began. Its like --what came first the chicken or the egg? It has been my understanding that the basic drug for bipolar is lithium. If she is eating gluten, she would not absorb her meds properly either and there you are, back to the beginning. This may take a couple of weeks with everything that is going on. If it is a severe bipolar episode, she should probably be in a hospital or watched closely. The lows sometimes come on fast after the highs. The medicine takes a few weeks sometimes to level things out also. If she lives at home (don't remember as I write this if you said) that will make it so much easier to keep her gluten-free. People in the middle of a bipolar manic episode are unreasonable and do not realize what harm they are doing to themselves and others. You are all in my prayers. Bipolar is as brutal as celiac and both together must be very hard.

[rinne]

From my perspective the most important thing is to get some base line of how she is doing and if she is medicated how will you do that? Gluten is a powerful poison for Celiacs and it affects us all in different ways and some of how we are affected is emotional. I know at that age I was crazy and I am very grateful that I was able to find a way through it without medication.

Recently I was speaking with a friend who is bipolar about her life and her diet history and she said that when she had been on a diet that didn't include wheat or processed food she had been healthy and felt great. However, she is not so motivated now to change her diet, she has been on medication for many years and it appears to have become a safe place for her. I would hope that wouldn't happen to your daughter.

[Mongoose]

symptoms, etc.??My husband is wary of another presription for our daughter; she is taking Effexor right now; and is doubting the diagnosis. The survey that the practitioner had me fill out lined up with bipolar. Also, the yeast infection is being stubborn, despite 2 courses of treatment. Thanks so much for any help!

Since going gluten-free and then CF, and discovering how negatively food can affect our health, I've become a believer in using food to gain health too.

For the stubborn yeast infection -- yeast loves sugary, starchy foods, so have your daughter cut out any sweets and go easy on any bread too, until the infection eases up. For me this usually takes about 5 days.

For the bipolar -- do a Google search on "bipolar Omega 3" -- you'll find some interesting material. Maybe try adding Omega 3 supplements to her diet or find a way to reduce Omega 6.

Best of luck in this difficult situation!!