Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Add/adhd Medication & Gluten-free Diet

lucy-Q

By lucy-Q
in Related Issues & Disorders

Recommended Posts

lucy-Q Newbie
lucy-Q
Posted

I'm new to this whole "gluten-free" living situation. I'm currently waiting to hear back on my blood test results to find out what my IgA & IgG levels are later this week. After I find out my test results and find out if I'm to do any further testing, I'm going on a gluten-free diet.

I was diagnosed in my late 20's with ADD. Finding out that diagnosis was a huge helpful revelation in my life as it explained a lot of my behaviors and thought patterns. It also allowed me to seek help for my "all over the place" thinking and start to get my life more organized. I have found ADD meds to be very helpful for me... though I had to go through a few that weren't so helpful to get to a good one.

As I have been reading up on gluten intolerance, several sources have talked about a relationship to ADD (though most of them talk about children with ADD). I'm curious to know several things:

1) Do lots of people with Celiac have ADD?

2) Do people (adults!) with ADD who go gluten-free experience relief from their ADD symptoms/behaviors?

3) Has anyone with ADD who has gone gluten-free been able to reduce their use of ADD meds?

If anyone who has ADD (or "brain fog") wants to chime in with their experience in going gluten-free... I would love to hear your experiences and input. I'm absolutely facinated to hear more about how these two conditions are related or interact....

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


AliB Enthusiast
AliB
Posted

Although I have not had a major problem with 'brain-fog', my husband did. When I went gluten-free after my digestion collapsed last Jan, he (not wanting to be left out! :D ) decided to do it with me.

After a few weeks it was quite clear to me that the gluten-free diet was having a quite radical effect not only on his brain-fog but also his Fibromyalgia. He didn't think it was making much difference and had a couple episodes where he had gluten only to wake up three days later in a lot of pain and in the blackest pit of brain-fog and depression all over again.

He didn't think it was such a bad idea after that! It has been like having a different husband. He is happier, he plays with, and enjoys the company of our grandsons rather than being shut away in his room in pain and in fear of being touched. He now remembers the right routes to take when we are out in the car (which saves me from having to give him directions all the time - and means less arguments and frustration for me!).

He doesn't generally have to have the days in bed like he did - usually at least 3 or 4 days every fortnight, and he is able to join in with us all and participate in our outings as a family.

I didn't think that he is now as reactive to gluten as he was, but about 4 weeks ago he went down with a bad chesty cough, verging on bronchitis. He just can't seem to shake it. He is very headachey, has little energy or motivation, is still coughing a bit and just can't seem to get out of it. Interestingly he has had some gluten over the last 2 weeks or so.

Not to say that the gluten caused it, but I am now wondering whether the gluten has knocked his immune system off course and is distracting it from getting him better!

Although I have been around him all the time I did not go down with it at all, which is amazing as I always caught everything going, but I am sure that being not only gluten-free but, unlike my husband, dairy-free and on the SCD along with the probiotic backup may well have given my immune system enough boost to fight it off.

I really wish I could get our son and daughter to do gluten-free and SCD. Our daughter who is 30 suffers with depression verging on Bipolar only held at bay by St Johns Wort, and our son was very bad with ADD, brain-fog and tics, all of which have improved somewhat as he has grown (28) but I am sure could be very much improved on on the diet if my husbands' experience is anything to go by.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,549
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Blough
    Newest Member
    Blough
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Taken Seriously

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Your post demonstrates the profound frustration and isolation that so many in the Celiac community feel, and I want to thank you for channeling that experience into advocacy. The medical gaslighting you endured for decades is an unacceptable and, sadly, a common story, and the fact that you now have to "school" your own GI specialist speaks volumes about the critical lack of consistent and updated education. Your idea to make Celiac Disease a reportable condition to public health authorities is a compelling and strategic one. This single action would force the system to formally acknowledge the prevalence and seriousness of the disease, creating a concrete dataset that could drive better research funding, shape medical school curricula, and validate the patient experience in a way that individual stories alone often cannot. It is an uphill battle, but contacting representatives, as you have done with Adam Gray, is exactly how change begins. By framing it as a public health necessity—a matter of patient safety and protection from misdiagnosis and neglect—you are building a powerful case. Your voice and your perseverance, forged through thirty years of struggle, are exactly what this community needs to ensure that no one else has to fight so hard just to be believed and properly cared for.
    • Scott Adams
      Looking for a gluten-free roomie in Denver CO

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I had no idea there is a "Louisville" in Colorado!😉 I thought it was a typo because I always think of the Kentucky city--but good luck!
    • Scott Adams
      Allergy medication: cetirizine by the HealthA2Z is it gluten free?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Navigating medication safety with Celiac disease can be incredibly stressful, especially when dealing with asthma and severe allergies on top of it. While I don't have personal experience with the HealthA2Z brand of cetirizine, your caution is absolutely warranted. The inactive ingredients in pills, known as excipients, are often where gluten can be hidden, and since the FDA does not require gluten-free labeling for prescription or over-the-counter drugs, the manufacturer's word is essential. The fact that you cannot get a clear answer from Allegiant Health is a significant red flag; a company that is confident its product is gluten-free will typically have a customer service protocol to answer that exact question. In situations like this, the safest course of action is to consider this product "guilty until proven innocent" and avoid it. A better alternative would be to ask your pharmacist or doctor to help you identify a major national brand of cetirizine (like Zyrtec) whose manufacturer has a verified, publicly stated gluten-free policy for that specific medication. It's not worth the risk to your health when reliable, verifiable options are almost certainly available to you. You can search this site for USA prescriptions medications, but will need to know the manufacturer/maker if there is more than one, especially if you use a generic version of the medication: To see the ingredients you will need to click on the correct version of the medication and maker in the results, then scroll down to "Ingredients and Appearance" and click it, and then look at "Inactive Ingredients," as any gluten ingredients would likely appear there, rather than in the Active Ingredients area. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/   
    • Scott Adams
      Protein or fat?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      What you're describing is indeed familiar to many in the Celiac community, especially in the early stages of healing. When the intestinal villi are damaged from Celiac disease, they struggle to properly digest and absorb fats, a condition known as bile acid malabsorption. This can cause exactly the kind of cramping and spasms you're seeing, as undigested fats can irritate the sensitive gut lining. It is highly plausible that her reactions to dairy and eggs are linked to their higher fat content rather than the proteins, especially since she tolerates lean chicken breast. The great news is that for many, this does improve with time. As her gut continues to heal on a strict gluten-free diet, her ability to produce the necessary enzymes and bile to break down fats should gradually return, allowing her to slowly tolerate a wider variety of foods. It's a slow process of healing, but your careful approach of focusing on low-fat, nutrient-dense foods like seeds and avocado is providing her system the best possible environment to recover. Many people with celiac disease, especially those who are in the 0-2 year range of their recovery, have additional food intolerance issues which could be temporary. To figure this out you may need to keep a food diary and do an elimination diet over a few months. Some common food intolerance issues are dairy/casein, eggs, corn, oats, and soy. The good news is that after your gut heals (for most people who are 100% gluten-free this will take several months to two years) you may be able to slowly add some these items back into your diet after the damaged villi heal. This article may be helpful: Thank you for sharing your story—it's a valuable insight for other parents navigating similar challenges.
    • Beverage
      Diagnosed celiac for 1-2 months ago and everything makes me bloated.

      By Beverage · Posted

      I had a very rough month after diagnosis. No exaggeration, lost so much inflammatory weight, I looked like a bag of bones, underneath i had been literally starving to death. I did start feeling noticeably better after a month of very strict control of my kitchen and home. What are you eating for breakfast and lunch? I ignored my doc and ate oats, yes they were gluten free, but some brands are at the higher end of gluten free. Lots of celics can eat Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats, but not me. I can now eat them, but they have to be grown and processed according to the "purity protocol" methods. I mail order them, Montana Gluten-Free brand. A food and symptoms and activities log can be helpful in tracking down issues. You might be totally aware, but I have to mention about the risk of airborne gluten. As the doc that diagnosed me warned . . Remember eyes, ears, nose, and mouth all lead to your stomach and intestines.  Are you getting any cross contamination? Airborne gluten? Any pets eating gluten (they eat it, lick themselves, you pet them...)? Any house remodeling? We live in an older home, always fixing something. I've gotten glutened from the dust from cutting into plaster walls, possibly also plywood (glues). The suggestions by many here on vitamin supplements also really helped me. I had some lingering allergies and asthma, which are now 99% gone. I was taking Albuterol inhaler every hour just to breathe, but thiamine in form of benfotiamine kicked that down to 1-2 times a day within a few days of starting it. Also, since cutting out inflammatory seed oils (canola, sunflower, grapeseed, etc) and cooking with real olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, and coconut oil, I have noticed even greater improvement overall and haven't used the inhaler in months! It takes time to weed out everything in your life that contains gluten, and it takes awhile to heal and rebuild your health. At first it's mentally exhausting, overwhelming, even obsessive, but it gets better and second nature.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.