Brain-fog

[Moscow]

Diagnosed about two months ago. I think I'm getting better but I am not sure. I have recovered mu energy but the brain fog is still there making it rather difficult to teach a classroom full of kids. Why does it take so long for this brain thing to clear. I mean what exactly is the process? Am I slowly clearing out my system or what? Two more questions: Can I eat corned beef out of a can and is there any fast food that I can eat - not that I want to - it's just that the whole Coeliac thing can be tricky in airports.

[angel42]

Diagnosed about two months ago. I think I'm getting better but I am not sure. I have recovered mu energy but the brain fog is still there making it rather difficult to teach a classroom full of kids. Why does it take so long for this brain thing to clear. I mean what exactly is the process? Am I slowly clearing out my system or what? Two more questions: Can I eat corned beef out of a can and is there any fast food that I can eat - not that I want to - it's just that the whole Coeliac thing can be tricky in airports.

Hi Moscow,

I would try to make absolutely sure you were not accidentally still eating foods containing gluten or are getting the brain fog from cross-contamination. It took me a few months to really understand what I could and could not eat. There is a great book called "The Gluten Free Bible" which goes into great detail regarding what you can eat at fast food restaurants as well as providing lots of helpful insight into Celiac disease in general.

Hope that helps!

[heathen]

from a strictly physiological point of view, brain processes take a while to adjust. for instance, anti-depressants take a week to a month to take effect even after they change the neurotransmitter concentrations. i had major brain fog as well. it took about 3-6 months of gluten-free eating to clear it--and i know that it comes back with a vengeance when i'm glutened. my suggestion: get as much sleep/rest as you can. that gives your body more time to heal. i know with your job, that sounds like an impossiblity, but try to find the time. and really make sure you are not still contaminating. it'll catch up to you the longer you are mostly gluten-free.

good luck. it does get better.

heather

[Moscow]

Thanks Heather,

I was wondering could it be deodorant, shampoo and soap? If I am not ingesting it, then i shouldn't be getting glutened, right? I find it really difficult to tell when i've been glutened because other than not absorbing iron, I had no other symptoms! Well feeling a little confused - the brain fog was another symptom.

Moscow

from a strictly physiological point of view, brain processes take a while to adjust. for instance, anti-depressants take a week to a month to take effect even after they change the neurotransmitter concentrations. i had major brain fog as well. it took about 3-6 months of gluten-free eating to clear it--and i know that it comes back with a vengeance when i'm glutened. my suggestion: get as much sleep/rest as you can. that gives your body more time to heal. i know with your job, that sounds like an impossiblity, but try to find the time. and really make sure you are not still contaminating. it'll catch up to you the longer you are mostly gluten-free.

good luck. it does get better.

heather

[faegan]

I've been on a gluten-free diet for almost a year now, and once in a while still get the brain fog, even when I know I'm only eating whole fresh foods that can't have gluten contamination. Some here have said the brain fog was the last thing to go for them... perhaps as long as two years. I know that it's not what you want to hear, but I just accept the fact that I wasn't diagnosed until I was 34 - and probably had it for most of my life, if not all. It takes time to heal!

[Moscow]

I've been on a gluten-free diet for almost a year now, and once in a while still get the brain fog, even when I know I'm only eating whole fresh foods that can't have gluten contamination. Some here have said the brain fog was the last thing to go for them... perhaps as long as two years. I know that it's not what you want to hear, but I just accept the fact that I wasn't diagnosed until I was 34 - and probably had it for most of my life, if not all. It takes time to heal!

What a pain in the neck. Really. A year. Crikey. Any idea about shampoo and so on. Could that stuff really get you when you're not ingesting it?

[VioletBlue]

from a strictly physiological point of view, brain processes take a while to adjust. for instance, anti-depressants take a week to a month to take effect even after they change the neurotransmitter concentrations. i had major brain fog as well. it took about 3-6 months of gluten-free eating to clear it--and i know that it comes back with a vengeance when i'm glutened. my suggestion: get as much sleep/rest as you can. that gives your body more time to heal. i know with your job, that sounds like an impossiblity, but try to find the time. and really make sure you are not still contaminating. it'll catch up to you the longer you are mostly gluten-free.

good luck. it does get better.

heather

You hit on something Heather that just occurred to me this morning. The last couple days I've been so spacey and tired. I've been gluten free about three months. This morning I was sitting here at the computer contemplating the distance between my brain and my fingers - hard to explain - when it hit me that I'd felt this way once before. Several years ago I took an SSRi anti-depressant for about a year. The first two weeks were tough because I was so spacey and nauseous and tired all the time. Once my body and brain adjusted the world was a wonderful place. But that is how I feel right now. It's not exactly brain fog, but just this tendency to wander off in my head. I think if someone had never experienced what happens when serotonin levels change there's a change they'd mistake it for the same old gluten brain fog. I look forward to what's on the other side of this.

violet

[Lisa]

Moscow:

You must check you shampoos, lotions, toothpaste or anything that can get into your mouth. That often is an overlooked gluten source.