Celiac And Depression

[DrMom]

Celiac disease linked to depression but not bipolar disorder19 March 2007J Affect Disord 2007; 99: 117

[Flor]

Hi Dr. Mom,

It sounds like your looking at some of the same stuff I am -- I am really curious about this celiac/depression connection. My gut and head and joint symptoms all started at exactly the same time last spring.

I was interested to see the scandanavian study that showed that depression didn't always respond to the gluten-free diet as quickly as the actual celiac gut symptoms AND that Vit B6 might make a difference.

I've found in the last year that the SSRIs (anti-depressants) I have tried (and frankly I think they all suck, though some do work) do NOT improve the gut symtoms for me and conversely that the gluten-free diet does NOT help the head symptoms, at least for me.

So I feel like I'm missing something and I'd like to find a way to treat the whole syndrome together. I've just started acupuncture along these lines.

The gluten-free diet, by the way, is also not doing it entirely for me. Any kind of processed starch or sugar seems problematic (and I'm long off of cow dairy) -- the packaged gluten-free Foods are full of starch and sugar and make me sick too, though not as much. But this no-starch (or paleo) diet is very hard to stick to and frankly it feels like there's more going on here than just food intolerances -- like I wonder if the body gets to a state of such depletion that it can't find its way back even with diet. I've only been on the gluten-free etc diet since last November, but progress is agonizingly slow (I'm 42 and have otherwise been healthy in my life).

Anyway, I'd love to know if anyone's had good experience either with Vit B6 supplements (that study said 80mg) or acupuncture?

[Sweetfudge]

Hm, maybe I'm abnormal, but mine happened backwards...I was dx w/ depression, and then celiac disease several years later. Not sure when the celiac disease developed, but the depression was definitely first.

I have been taking a B supplement, and have noticed a difference (I think). More energy, better time sleeping/waking up. Could be that, could also just be getting out of a bad cycle and into a good one. lol don't know...

[mn farm gal]

I had the depression just shortly before my diagnosis of Celiac. What has helped me the most is, I take a liquide Vit-B complex. I just put it in a little juice or water. I know it helps with my mood swings, food cravings and alot more. I was so low at my last apptment that I will just stay on this so my body doesn't go under what my body needs. Your body will only absorb so much so you cant get to much.

[ravenwoodglass]

"The team concludes: "Diagnosis and treatment of depression in individuals with celiac disease is important since depression may itself result in lower dietary compliance.""

This statement really bothers me. What they are basically saying is that we need drugs. What we really need is to be gluten free. For my whole family the corelation between getting glutened and depression is obvious. In addition when given antidepressant meds one of my children became suicidal and began cutting behavior that disappeared when the meds were stopped and another became psychotic. Noone in my family now suffers from depression unless glutened.

They really don't want to see us med free do they.

[ravenwoodglass]

Hm, maybe I'm abnormal, but mine happened backwards...I was dx w/ depression, and then celiac disease several years later. Not sure when the celiac disease developed, but the depression was definitely first.

The depression may have been the first unrecognized presentation of your celiac disease. Just because full blown celiac didn't show up for many more years does not mean the inflammatory and antibody processes were not acting on your brain. Many celiacs with strong neuro features first present with depression in childhood or early adolesence.

[gfp]

Hm, maybe I'm abnormal, but mine happened backwards...I was dx w/ depression, and then celiac disease several years later. Not sure when the celiac disease developed, but the depression was definitely first.

I have been taking a B supplement, and have noticed a difference (I think). More energy, better time sleeping/waking up. Could be that, could also just be getting out of a bad cycle and into a good one. lol don't know...

In reality you probably had celiac disease for a long time before it started expressing itself in other ways ... and the depression might just have been the forst warning shot?

[flowergirl]

I'm no expert but when I make sure I get regular exposure to direct sunlight my depression fades away. I've always thought it was because of Vit D def... I also take kefir to supplement Vit B's naturally.