Ridiculously Depressed

[Walter S]

I have not been online in a long time, but I miss and think of everyone on this site. Unfortunatley I am suffering from severe depression and cannot get past it. I am taking meds and going to extensive therapy, but nothing helps! I don't know what else to do I am even taking high dosages of antidepressants. I am still having a lot of diarrhea and upset stomach (vomiting at times even both ends at once ! UGH!) I'm sure depression is adding to that problem. Anyhow I wanted to say hello to everyone here and I hope I can find a way to get better. This is very painful emotionally and I have no family support in coping with this!

[evie]

I have not been online in a long time, but I miss and think of everyone on this site. Unfortunatley I am suffering from severe depression and cannot get past it. I am taking meds and going to extensive therapy, but nothing helps! I don't know what else to do I am even taking high dosages of antidepressants. I am still having a lot of diarrhea and upset stomach (vomiting at times even both ends at once ! UGH!) I'm sure depression is adding to that problem. Anyhow I wanted to say hello to everyone here and I hope I can find a way to get better. This is very painful emotionally and I have no family support in coping with this!

I just recently read that going off gluten can cause deperession and related problems..like we are addicted to gluten..I have been thru that too..also does take time for the diarrhea and etc problems to get under control since people who have had this problem for some time take longer to heal their gut of the damage made by gluten...fiber is helpful for some since it thickens and slows the colon movement...sorry you do not have family support, some just do not understand and think we are weird!! Hoping for your improvement soon... evie

[ravenwoodglass]

Hi Walter, I am glad you checked back with us but sorry you are having to live under this cloud. Depression is often a very prominent feature of celiac and for those of us who suffer from it can be one of the most debilitating issues to do with the disease. There are a couple things you need to do ASAP, first check every med you are on for gluten, also be aware that the kind of depression we suffer from can lead to some of the meds actually making it worse. There are ones that can help but we are all so individual. If you have not let your doctor know what is going on please do so as soon as you can.

If you are having suicidal thoughts or you are cutting or feel extremely aggressive please go to an ER immediately. My family members have reacted in all three ways to antidepressant meds and the hospital can help if it is happening.

In addition many of those with neuro features of celiac are extremely sensitive to cross contamination and are more likely to react to gluten grain derived alcohols and vinagers. If you are not already very strict with your gluten-free diet you really could benefit a lot from going with as pure of a diet as you can. Fruits, veggies, meats and cheeses, beans, rice. It does not have to be obring but it can take a bit of getting used to.

Make sure you are also getting some good gluten free vitamins and most importantly for you, Sublingual B12.

I know from my and my families experience how debilitating this type of depression can be, I still suffer when I get glutened but other than that it has lifted for me completely. Some others have to struggle with it to some degree for a lifetime. I hope you are not one of the latter group.

Please feel better soon, we are all here for you. I am sure others will post more encouragement and advice, you certainly are not alone in your suffering.

(((((((HUGS))))))))

[elye]

Wow, Walter...I'm really sorry to hear about this heavy load you're carrying. My only experience with depression was post-partum stuff that (thank god) only lasted about six months. Very horrible...at times I thought I was dying, and wished it, as well. I was nursing and type one diabetic, so I had to try to get through it without meds. A nightmare. Were you suffering with depression before going gluten-free?

I'll mention something that I always mention haltingly, as for many it really appears to be snake-oil, but my mother had her depression lifted (she's been on effexor for years, and it has made things bearable, but not until she tried this technique did the real blackness lift): it is an accupressure technique that made even the greatest skeptic, me, take notice. Just google "EFT and depression". I'll be thinking of you, and hope you find your way out soon!

[miles2go]

Hi Walter, I remember your posts, you're the teacher, right?

Are you exercising? Going on healthy walks at lunchtime instead of something else? Endorphins can be a wonderful thing.

Your subject header tells me that you're maybe on the upside...

You have family, you've just got to recognize us.

{{{hugs}}}

Margaret

[geeze]

Hi Walter: I feel for you and wish I had some sort of magic wand to make your problems go away. I don't know anything about the suggestion previously made about an acupuncture technique but I am currently seeing an acupuncturist and have a confidence in him which I have never had in any medical doctor. I am relatively new to this group but have also found an information site and an understanding which I think is virtually impossible elsewhere. I do think communication helps in most every thing and I am certainly willing to help with that. Good luck to you. You are not alone. Geeze

[Guest kivmom3]

Hang in there Walter. I was severly depressed as well a few weeks before I found out I had celiac and up to 4 weeks post diagnosis. THere is a light at the end. Hang in there and keep checking this site if it helps you. It is great for support so you don't feel all alone.

Hang in there, I hope you are on the upswing soon

Gg

[cyberprof]

Have you tried Fish Oil?

I also second the lunchtime walks...sunlight and exercise are both helpful and will help you sleep better too.

Let us know if we can help more.

I have not been online in a long time, but I miss and think of everyone on this site. Unfortunatley I am suffering from severe depression and cannot get past it. I am taking meds and going to extensive therapy, but nothing helps! I don't know what else to do I am even taking high dosages of antidepressants. I am still having a lot of diarrhea and upset stomach (vomiting at times even both ends at once ! UGH!) I'm sure depression is adding to that problem. Anyhow I wanted to say hello to everyone here and I hope I can find a way to get better. This is very painful emotionally and I have no family support in coping with this!

[gfpaperdoll]

Dear Walter, yes, take a sublingual B12, & make sure all your meds are gluten-free

This is what I am doing at the moment, I am eating more Paleo, that is no grains, no dairy, no beans, no white potaotes. Supposed to be no sweet potatoes, but I am keeping those. BUT, on the diet you can have a meal here & there where you can have some rice or a couple of corn tortillas that kind of thing, but not all the time & not everyday. I cannot eat grains anyway & I am feeling much better. OH, you are supposed to eat lean meats every meal & you can also have it for a snack with fruit or veggies & you can have nuts, walnuts being the best. It also stresses the good fats, hence bacon is not a good meat choice. You can also have eggs...

I highly recommend that you go more with the whole foods & throw out all the gluten-free grain stuff that you have. It is really not good for you.

Also, I work out at the gym (& I am 60). I feel for people like you that are having problems as I feel that a large part of it is your diet. I do not know how you eat, but I also do not recommend, coffee, tea, or colas & definitely no artificial sugar or corn syrup in the diet. I know that once you are depressed it is so hard to get out of the slump, but if you could just make yourself do one tiny little thing at a time. maybe write down some things & tick it off when you do it. & get a chalk board or a huge note pad & write down the things that you want to do the next day & prop it by your bed. I do that, because if I wake up & think now why do I even want to get up today, I look at the board & see the exciting things that I have laid out for myself.

I know how it is not to have family, I have no close family & spend all my time alone. I see my son & grandchildren occasionally, but the older you get the less interested your family is in you or so it seems to me & all the people that I know. & I know some very wealthy people & their kids treat them the same way... But, I go to the movies, take drives, go to the museums, take photos, have some hobbies, & a great job that pays me!!!!

[CarlaB]

Hi Walter, it's good to see you back, but I'm sorry it's because you're depressed.

Have you been checked for bacterial dysbiosis? I'm just wondering because you've been gluten-free for quite a long time to be having vomiting and diarrhea. I think that would make anyone depressed!

I ended up having an overgrowth of Citrobacter and Klebsiella ... Now I'm taking probiotics, Oregano Oil, Uva Ursi, and Plant Tannins. They've REALLY helped a lot.

The test for bacterial dysbiosis is a three day random stool collection.

[Guest thatchickali]

I don't really have anything smart to say to make things better, but I definately know how you feel. I've been gluten free for 1 month and have never felt more like just crawling in a hole and dying.

[blueeyedmanda]

Hi Walter,

It is nice to see you again. I am sorry things and not that good right now in your life. I hope you stay with us this time, maybe we can help you out. If you need to talk feel free to pm.

Amanda

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Hey, Walter, I'm so glad you checked back in here, I've been wondering how you were doing!

I'm sorry things have been so rough. Everyone has posted great advice already. Like Elye, my only bout with depression was post-partum (maybe you're suffering from gluten post-partum?), and the only thing that helped me out of that was major exercise outdoors (2 mile walks)--it made a HUGE difference, within 24 hours. It actually got to be very addictive, and I now get very cranky when I go more than a day without exercise and/or fresh air.

What does your physician say about the continued vomiting/diarrhea? That wouldn't be caused by the meds, would it?

I think that there certainly is a place for depression meds; I know that they have helped a lot of people, and sometimes a chemical imbalance might be caused by something transient, but the person needs the jump-start of a medication to get back to normal. But I do worry that antidepressants are often prescribed without the doctor's being certain what chemical imbalance might actually exist, so it ends up being a lot of guesswork as to what med will actually work. And as Ravenwoodglass mentioned, there are an awful lot of serious, even deadly side effects.

You might try pm-ing Ursa Major (I hope she doesn't mind my suggesting it)--she has researched a lot of other food intolerances and the symptoms they cause. The OMG thread and the Lyme thread also discuss some other problems that seem alarmingly common here: Lyme disease, mercury poisoning (did you recently have some dental work???? or vaccines, like a flu shot?), yeast infection, bacterial infections, etc.

Please keep us posted--and hang in there, okay?

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I don't really have anything smart to say to make things better, but I definately know how you feel. I've been gluten free for 1 month and have never felt more like just crawling in a hole and dying.

I hope things improve for you very soon!!! Hang in there! If there is any comfort food that would really make you feel better, post what it is you miss, and one of us (or a dozen of us!!) will immediately post gluten-free recipes for it!

It does get better. Really. Much better!

[CMCM]

Walter....Your signature doesn't indicate your history. Have you been diagnosed properly? If so, are you truly eating a gluten free diet? What other sorts of things are you eating?

My mom had a terrible time with depression until she got 100% gluten free. After a time gluten free, she was like a different person. If you are either celiac or highly gluten sensitive, and if you aren't totally serious with your diet, you can still be affected by a little bit here and there. It's probably not just gluten that bothers you. Most of us have multiple sensitivities.

When I first went gluten free I was busy trying to find non-gluten substitutes for all the goodies I liked to eat. I continued to be sick, and I didn't improve until I pared my diet down to a very limited and simple universe of foods.....I eliminated all grains (that includes rice), I stopped eating the various gluten free cookies etc. because of all the weird ingredients AND high levels of sugar in them. I eliminated dairy, nightshades, and basically ate an Atkins-like diet for awhile. My system calmed down, my head got clear, and boy did I feel better. Later on, I found I could re-introduce into my diet many of the items I'd eliminated, but would eat them only on an occasional basis. I guess my point is that if you have never simplified and allowed your system to recover for awhile, you might not be improving.

Being very proactive and taking control over your diet and your life can be very empowering, and as your system calms down you will feel it mentally and your depression is much more likely to lift. Feeling alone and helpless can really affect you negatively, and you really can control a lot of this. And there are tons of people here to help you!

[sansglutengrl]

Hi Walter!

It's good to see you again, I hope you can be around more often. Your stomach issues worry me - if I were you I would cut your diet down to the bare minimum for a couple of weeks to see if you can get your strength back. I bet that will help your depression as well. I found when I went gluten free that it was incredibly comforting to eat the EXACT same thing every single day for breakfast lunch and dinner. It may sound crazy and boring, but it really helped make me feel better because I knew that I wouldn't get sick. Can we help you make a menu?

The other thing I would suggest is to make sure that your medicines are not the generic brands but the actual brand names (have your doctor write DAW on the prescription - it means dispense as written). Oftentimes, the generic brands have fillers that are sometimes wheat derived. You can always call the company or check with your pharmacist for either the brand name or the generic, but I always get the brand name just in case.

Stay with it Walter, I promise it'll get better.

[rsm]

Hey Walter, almost 6 months gluten free here. I am going through depression as a by product. The doc put me on meds that give me the big "D" as well but it does get better. The anti-depressants really mess with your digestion, like we need that!

[ravenwoodglass]

Hey Walter, almost 6 months gluten free here. I am going through depression as a by product. The doc put me on meds that give me the big "D" as well but it does get better. The anti-depressants really mess with your digestion, like we need that!

RSM, Those meds should NOT be giving you D!!!!! You need to check with your pharmacey asap to make sure they are gluten free.

[rsm]

RSM, Those meds should NOT be giving you D!!!!! You need to check with your pharmacey asap to make sure they are gluten free.

Yes they are gluten free, it's Effexor XR. It is getting better as I get used to it. The "D" is one of it's side effects. I have only been on it for 5 weeks, not fully acclimated yet.

[320 days]

Jeez, totally understand. 20 grand of Rx expenses. No family. Ouch. Don't know what to do other than in my case I just work every day. It is mostly that is all of my life.