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Celiac Disease And Mental Health Dx's

Guest Hydra

By Guest Hydra
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Guest Hydra
Guest Hydra
Posted

I just thought I would start this thread and this seems like the appropriate forum. I am looking for support from anyone as I am new (this year) to the Celiac Disease dx. Many moons ago I was dx'd with PTSD and then BP 1, GAD and SAD have been added over the years. I was also dx with IBS about five years ago. Lots of initials for just one person! :blink:

Anyway, my main concerns are that if my psych meds are gluten-free, my pdoc has no clue. Also I noticed a rapid cycling of my moods while I was slowly cutting gluten products out. I can tolerate dairy and I am thankful for that. My reg doc that I see on Monday wants to refer me for further allergy testing and it just depresses and also pisses me off that I have yet another disease, disorder, ailment to deal with.....I just keep thinking, enough is enough, already!!! Thanks for reading my vent, I feel a bit better. :D

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Ursa Major Collaborator
Ursa Major
Posted

Hi Hydra, and welcome to these boards.

Do you know that ALL of your mental health problems could have been caused by celiac disease? So, be aware that you may need to slowly get off all your meds over time, as they would make things worse if not needed any more.

Gluten will act like an opiate on the brain in people intolerant to it, and can cause depression, mood swings, hallucinations, anxiety, angry outbursts, schizophrenia........... you get the idea. Many people with celiac disease were erroneously diagnosed with many mental health problems, and recovered when eliminating gluten.

When first eliminating gluten, many people go through a withdrawal stage, that can last up to two weeks. During this time you can be very unstable mentally, it's just like withdrawal from street drugs, and is unfortunately to be expected. This stage will soon pass, and you'll start feeling better soon.

Kyalesyin Apprentice
Kyalesyin
Posted

Y'know, you sound exactly like my wife when she was first diagnosed. I thought the mood swings were bad ON the gluten. Oh no... withdrawl was like.... a cross between someone quitting H, stopping a small child having candy, getting a teenager to clean their room and trying to do higher level phsics with a hangover.

The withdrawl phase for us was about a month, but the change was pretty sudden, and we've only gone up from here.

You don't realise how good its possible to feel, until you realise that its possible to feel good.

VioletBlue Contributor
VioletBlue
Posted
I just thought I would start this thread and this seems like the appropriate forum. I am looking for support from anyone as I am new (this year) to the Celiac Disease dx. Many moons ago I was dx'd with PTSD and then BP 1, GAD and SAD have been added over the years. I was also dx with IBS about five years ago. Lots of initials for just one person! :blink:

Anyway, my main concerns are that if my psych meds are gluten-free, my pdoc has no clue. Also I noticed a rapid cycling of my moods while I was slowly cutting gluten products out. I can tolerate dairy and I am thankful for that. My reg doc that I see on Monday wants to refer me for further allergy testing and it just depresses and also pisses me off that I have yet another disease, disorder, ailment to deal with.....I just keep thinking, enough is enough, already!!! Thanks for reading my vent, I feel a bit better. :D

I have suffered from depression my entire life as well as PTSD after my parents deaths. I've been gluten-free almost three months now. The difference is night and day. It is hard to put into words how things changed, and the change is somewhat gradual. You may not even notice at first or realize. Very simple things that would have driven me down into a deep dark hole before barely concern me now. I was accidentally glutened last week and the depression and rage came back with a vengance. I now truly realize the difference between gluten-free and non gluten-free.

I completely understand the "enough is enough". That was my main focus the first month or so going gluten-free. It didn't seem fair that I had to have one more thing taken away from me. I would literally just sit and cry for an hour. I cried for all the things I could no longer have, for the simple convenience of ordering a pizza for dinner instead of cooking. I cried because I did not believe anyone would understand what I was going through. But mostly I cried because it just seemed so unfair on top of everything else in my life to now have to deal with this.

Now days, while I'm frustrated by the things I can't eat or do, there isn't this huge emotional weight to it the way there was before. I don't sit and cry anymore thankfully. If I think about it at all it's with gratitude that I'm alive and getting healthier and that I feel this good. How I feel about being gluten-free now is the difference between a Vulture and a Fly. It used to be a huge dark and obscene thing that preyed on me and weighted me down. Now its merely annoying.

I hope going gluten free helps.

violet

Guest Hydra
Guest Hydra
Posted

I have known for years that gluten and other food allergies are associated and common in those with mental health dx's...I am really lucky to have a very good pdoc, as he has me on minimal meds, just one AP at night, a benzo for anxiety when needed and a sleeping pill only when needed. I see a tdoc too and she is wonderful. I will be shocked and amazed if going gluten-free stops my mania and psychotic symptoms. We shall see. Ack, I got glutened yesterday by eating hot and sour soup, the restaurant assured me it did not have any wheat in it.....but I have welts all over my legs today, and I think that takeout soup was the culprit. Thanks for the encouraging words, Ursa Major, it is truly appreciated. :D

Kyalesylin, you crack me up....you just explained what I call rapid cycling....sheesh, the past 8 or so weeks have been one wild ride for me and my family, as I am have done my best to cut out gluten sources. My mood has not swung like that, that fast, that up up and away and that low in over a decade!!! Let's just say I certainly have not been boring to be around the past two months.......but I really want to get off this ride. My reg doc, my derm doc, my pdoc and my tdoc warned me this would happen but lordy, they don't have to go thru it. I am feeling much better this week though, more evened out and sleeping schedule is good. Thanks for the giggles/smiles and the words of hope and encouragement. B)

Violet, thank you for sharing your experiences with me. You don't know how much it means to me to hear such positive things....wow, I really like your vulture/fly analogy. (((Hugs))) to you. I have been keeping a mood chart at my tdoc's request as I go thru this...I was all over the place for several weeks and things seem to have calmed down within the past week or so...I see the pattern to wellness.

I can not imagine myself off psych meds, they have always been my safety net. Like I said my pdoc allows me to be minimally medicated, not stoned or zoned out to the gills. This year has already brought some big changes for me. I look forward to being a healthier person all the way around this year.

Take Care-Hydra

CarlaB Enthusiast
CarlaB
Posted

Sorry you're feeling bad. The person at the restaurant probably didn't realize that soy sauce usually has wheat in it.

Until you're healed and feeling better, you might want to stick to restaurants that have gluten-free menus to avoid accidents. It's pretty hard to learn to be 100% gluten-free at home ... it's even harder to tell a waitress to tell a chef how to do it.

It sounds like you may also be allergic to wheat ... welts sounds like an allergic reaction!

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