Chemical Depression After Being Glutened

[mhansen]

My depression has gotten so much better after I became gluten free I have even lowered my medicine to 25mg instead of 100mg(over a period of time under MD supervision) But it seems each time I get glutened I feel chemically depressed for a few days until it slowly clears up. Does this seem like a common symptom?

I am getting better about cross contamination and I think that major milk products like gluten-free ice cream, gluten-free cheesecake and too much cheese get my gut in trouble.

But I was just so excited that my depressed crazy thoughts were gone that I was really disappointed that they were coming back with gluten. Doctors always told me Depression is just in your genes. I want to tell them no its in my food!

thanks for listening

[Guest Happynwgal2]

  mhansen said:

My depression has gotten so much better after I became gluten free I have even lowered my medicine to 25mg instead of 100mg(over a period of time under MD supervision) But it seems each time I get glutened I feel chemically depressed for a few days until it slowly clears up. Does this seem like a common symptom?

I am getting better about cross contamination and I think that major milk products like gluten-free ice cream, gluten-free cheesecake and too much cheese get my gut in trouble.

But I was just so excited that my depressed crazy thoughts were gone that I was really disappointed that they were coming back with gluten. Doctors always told me Depression is just in your genes. I want to tell them no its in my food!

thanks for listening

Good Morning, MHansen,

You have only discovered what a lot of us have: depression can be caused by gluten. I have had problems with depression and anxiety since I was a teenager - I am now in my mid 50's and I finally diagnosed myself with Celiac which was confirmed by a test in December last year. My depression and anxiety *magically* disappeared and have never come back again. I get low when I am tired, but that is a much different feeling than the constant depression I lived with for decades.

What was frustrating about my depression was that it NEVER responded to medications. I tried several different anti-depressants, but nothing helped. When I told doctors the medications did not help much, if at all, I was told I was not following their instructions!!! Incompetent doctors who were told about my digestive problems ignored the possibility that I could be a Celiac. Depression is one of the most common symptoms of Celiac. It took two decades of trying to get help from medical doctors until I finally figured it out myself.

So I understand so very well what you are feeling, and I am so happy for you that you feel so much better when you are off gluten.

This whole Celiac thing and going undiagnosed for so many years when I tried to get help to understand why I got so sick when I ate "normal" food, has made me feel a disrespect for the whole conventional medical community that I am trying to overcome. They do, after all, do at least a few things right. Too much trust is being put in medications that often have worse side effects than the symptoms they are supposed to treat.

But that is a topic best left for some other time...

Again, stay gluten free, and look forward; the years ahead are going to be much better than the previous years have been for you! I hate it when I get glutened , but sometimes it just happens, so I live and learn!

Have a great Sunday!

[aikiducky]

Gluten-caused depression has been discussed here quite a lot. You're not the only one!

When you do get glutened, remember that it's not you, it's a chemical reaction, and that it will pass. I find that taking a vit. b supplement helps me, don't know if that would help or if it's just me.

Oh, and when I know I have been glutened I don't make any important decisions for a few days. I don't make good decisions when I've been glutened.

Pauliina

[tom]

First, I *totally* agree w/ *everything* Happynwgal2 wrote.

I had a similar experience, including many anti-depressants failing to do the job. (Sometimes they'd seem to work ok for 2-5 wks maybe)

  mhansen said:

. . . But it seems each time I get glutened I feel chemically depressed for a few days until it slowly clears up. Does this seem like a common symptom?

Yes . . . . . .very.

  mhansen said:

. . .I think that major milk products like gluten-free ice cream, gluten-free cheesecake and too much cheese get my gut in trouble.

The protein in milk, casein, affects many celiacs. You may have seen the phrase "Gluten-free Casein-free diet" - it's gluten & casein.

Seems the casein molecule looks enough like gluten/gliadin that the term 'molecular mimickry' is bandied about - meaning that our immune system can't always tell the difference.

I'd go casein-free if I were you.

Immediately.

  mhansen said:

. . . Doctors always told me Depression is just in your genes. I want to tell them no its in my food!

They're wrong.

You're right.

I've NEVER been happier since eliminating ALL food intolerances.

A typical day for me now is as happy as a kid pulling into Disneyland.

If you don't already, you should start a food/symptom diary. When not feeling well, look at what you've eaten over the last few days.

After some time doing this, you'll see where the problems lie, and what other foods deserve an elimination test.

Best of Luck, m, and may your future overflow w/ happy days!!

[elye]

Great post, Tom...and M, I've been lucky enough to have never had any neurological symptoms after glutening, but my mother's clinical depression has pretty well disappeared after going gluten-free. I'm thinking if she also eliminated dairy, she'd be the passenger in Tom's car at Disneyland!

[Guest thatchickali]

Yessssssss, I feel like dying when I get glutened and not just physically. I get thoughts like "I don't want to live the rest of my life like this" but I have also learned that it's a symptom so I don't let it really get the best of me. It's a little easier when you know it is a symptom. Before I had no idea, and I got glutened and I felt like I was hit by a truck and I wanted to kill myself and I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on in my mind because it hit so suddenly. But now I just tell myself it will be over soon and it passes.

Sometimes I have to get on this board and rant a litte bit first though.

[buffettbride]

Short Answer: Yes

Long Answer: YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

My daughter is Celiac and while the GI symptoms only last a day or so, for about a week she is just an emotional train wreck who feels like the world is crashing down around her. In fact, it's one of the primary symptoms that concerned me before she was dxd because she has a very stable family life but was just so sad and so upset much of the time. It seemed so unusual that she would feel depressed, but she was. Turns out it 'cause her mama (me) was feeding her Malt O Meal and chicken noodle soup every day--you know--comfort food.