Psychological Symptoms In Kids With celiac disease

[AlicesMom]

hi all,

My six year old daughter was recently diagnosed with celiac disease, by overwhelmingly positive blood tests. Increasingly severe diarrhea, which she experienced for the first time in her life this winter, led us to the test and the diagnosis.

I've been looking back, as mothers often do, reviewing her health & history in light of celiac disease.

At four years old she developed psoriasis, and also eczema - which we now understand to be Dermatitis Herpetiformis.

At this same age, she reported to me on a few occasions that she heard voices. First, she couldn't hear what they were saying but later on, perhaps by my anxious prompting, told me they said how much they hated some kid (always someone who was bothering her).

My husband and her ped. both said it was either her vivid imagination or her way of coping with very negative thoughts, but now I am curious if it was/is related to the effects of nutritional deficiencies on her developing brain, brought on by her Celiac.

If anyone out there knows about any associated auditory hallucinations or weird symptoms like these in kids with celiac disease, I would love to hear about it.

Thank you.

[starlet]

Hi, I am relatively new to this, but thought I would reply. I have known for a couple of years that my kids might have a problem with gluten, but was unable to do anything because of a bad pediatrician and my ex-husband. But finally, I got blessed with at least his ok on the gluten free diet after the recent bout with health problems. So both of my kids have been gluten free for about 2 months. It made a BIG difference. They are not formally diagnosed as celiacs, but have had many symptoms since they were born.

I just wanted to share that in my older daughter, who has an LD, the behavioral and emotional difference is huge. She has never had hallucinations per se, but had frequent anxiety attacks, emotional shutdowns, as well as attention deficit and some hyperactivity. I can tell you that most of these improved tremendously. She has not had anxiety or shutdowns at all. Her LD has improved quite a bit too, as she was able to complete specialized summer school with intense work in her weak areas, which would have normally made her hysterical from frustration (she would try so hard and get so upset that she could not do it right).

So I guess in our case, I can definitely see a connection between gluten and emotional/behavioral/LD issues. Hope this helps

[momxyz]

hi, my 17 year old daughter is currently suffering fom depression, to which gluten sensitivity is at least a contributing factor.

I also have a friend with confirmed celiac disease. Two of her daughters are affected, in slightly different ways. with one girl the effects are more intestinal; with the other the effects are more mental; if she eats something with gluten she can take a mental down turn. My friend also talked about hallucinations the kids have had. Although she keeps a gluten free home, the kids have busy lives and sometimes can't resist temptation outside the home.

[AlicesMom]

Thank you both for the posts, and the validation!

It makes sense to me that if my daughter was significantly deficient in the nutrients needed to feed the most important organ - her brain - she would suffer a range of affects of that deficiency. She is absolutely in a better mood upon waking now (4 weeks into the diet) than she has been in months, and is already less likely to have complete meltdowns at night.

I continue to be grateful that her classmate's mother recognized the symptoms in my child as possible Celiac's - her daughter was diagnosed at age 2 - and pointed us in the right direction.

God knows how much more my gal could have suffered.

[elle's mom]

I continue to be grateful that her classmate's mother recognized the symptoms in my child as possible Celiac's - her daughter was diagnosed at age 2 - and pointed us in the right direction.

God knows how much more my gal could have suffered.