Less Anxious, More Depressed

[jackay]

I am finally sleeping now after figuring out my calcium supplement was causing my insomnia. That was not a gluten related issue. Now I am sleeping 8-9 hours a night. My anxiety is not so bad but the depression sure is.

I am pretty sure I am gluten free now. Pretty sure, yet not 100% positive. The D isn't as bad as it was. I am still getting some headaches and muscle pain although they are not nearly as in the past. I realize it takes a while for all the symptoms to go away. I'm just getting awful impatient.

I am getting by now just knowing that I will finally sleep at night. The days are still very long and tedious. I don't see much hope for the future if this depression doesn't lift.

I hope others out there have had improvements with depression and can give me some encouragement.

[JillianLindsay]

This may not seem like helpful advice, but these are the best tx we have for depression right now:

-antidepressants coupled with counselling

-regular exercise

-eating well (balanced, healthy diet)

-avoiding alcohol as it is a depressant

I suffer from very severe depression during the winter months and the only things that keep me going are playing indoor soccer, ice hockey and walking my dogs (my husband sometimes has to coerce me into going because my motivation is so low, but I do feel better afterwards).

It's very hard, but we have to keep pushing ourselves to do the things we usually enjoy, even though we don't feel like doing them.

The winter months tend to be more difficult for people who do suffer from depressive symptoms, mainly because of the reduced number of hours of sunlight during this season. Getting outside as much as possible and getting exposed to natural sunlight not only helps your mood, it also helps your quality of sleep at night.

The good news is that the days will slowly start to get longer now (hours of sunlight) and the more you are proactive and get yourself out of the house and doing as much as possible, the better you will feel. This does not take away from what you are going through and how hard it is, so use your friends and family to support you through this difficult time.

It does get better. How long have you been gluten-free? For me it was a roller coaster at first. I felt amazing within a week, then went through gluten withdrawal and felt lousy for a month or so, then started feeling better again. The amount of time it takes is different for everyone, but be patient and I'm sure you will start to see improvement.

Try and make plans for things you will look forward to, whatever your interests are, get out there and do things you enjoy as much as possible (even when you don't feel like it) and utilize your support system. Good luck & I hope you start to feel better soon.

Take care,

Jillian

[jackay]

Jillian,

Thanks for all the helpful advise.

I felt so much better the first week after I really cracked down on cross contamination. I expected it to continue and get even better. It was such a let down that I started feeling worse. I know I need to keep strong and take any little improvement as a good sign.

Sleep is such a blessing and I have been waiting for it for so long. I think I just expected that I would be feeling so much better now that I am sleeping. At least now I do have sleep to look forward to.

I am having a hard time motivating myself to get fresh air and exercise. I will push myself more.

I get no where with counseling and have tried several different counselors. I know they have gotten quite exasperated that I didn't get better. One even said she felt so bad because I was one of those people who was slipping between the cracks.

I have not had good luck with antidepressants either. Some antidepressants have made me much worse. I am currently taking mirtazapine and hope it doesn not contain gluten. I called the pharmacy and was told it contains cornstarch. I may be reacting to that, too. I will wait to see what my food test results show to see if I react to corn before I discontinue it. I see my doctor in four weeks to go over my results for nutritional deficiencies and food intolerances. That may shed more light into what else is all going on with me.

I haven't had a drink in over a year. I feel I am eating quite healthy as I am eating mostly whole foods. I think I am on the right track just getting impatient with the time it takes to heal.

[freeatlast]

I totally agree with what Jillian said about the winter months. They are the worst for some people. For me, I go out to the mall and walk around sometimes at night just to get out of the house and get exercise. It really does help the body and the mind. Hope you feel better soon.

[JillianLindsay]

It sounds like you are doing a lot to try and feel better -- keep that up & you will start to reap the rewards

I find it helps me (and it's different for everyone) to have plans set up in advance that I can look forward to (i.e. coffee with a friend, my sports, etc). That helps me feel a little more optimistic about my day and gives me a bit more energy. Whatever it is you enjoy, perhaps try planning activities ahead of time, and don't forget to try & get some time in the sunlight.

Good luck & take care!

  jackay said:

I am having a hard time motivating myself to get fresh air and exercise. I will push myself more.

I haven't had a drink in over a year. I feel I am eating quite healthy as I am eating mostly whole foods. I think I am on the right track just getting impatient with the time it takes to heal.

[txplowgirl]

Hi Jackay,

When I eat soy it will give me depression symptoms and headaches, Dairy also will give me a headache. The nightshades have been known to cause a lot of pain. Those are potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and all peppers. Maybe try cutting those out for a couple of weeks and see how you do? Just a thought. Hope you feel better.

[Melodee]

Coping with the depression that can accompany celiacs is certainly concerning. I agree with Jillian that anti-depressants combined with counseling tend to produce the longest lasting benefits. Forcing yourself to get out and around during the day to maximize your vitamin D intake is also important.

[jackay]

  On 2/27/2010 at 3:31 AM, Melodee said:

Coping with the depression that can accompany celiacs is certainly concerning. I agree with Jillian that anti-depressants combined with counseling tend to produce the longest lasting benefits. Forcing yourself to get out and around during the day to maximize your vitamin D intake is also important.

My two month update:

My depression is much better but insomnia is a problem. I started taking Vitamin B12 drops at bedtime as I tested low on that. Was hoping for sleep improvement but so far I'm still not getting consistant sleep. Maybe it will just take more time to really get the B12 in my system.

I'm going to an exercise class four days a week and walking at least one day. It is taking very long for winter to end so am not getting much fresh air. Once it finally warms up, there is tons of snow to melt so that is going to make it messy for outdoor walks. I'm looking forward to bike rides once it dries up outdoors.

I'm staying away from antidepressants as have tried way too many with adverse or no effect. I am intolerant to corn and there is cornstarch in mirtazapine. Since I've gone off it, I haven't slid backwards. I really didn't think it was helping me any. My psych nurse wanted me on a low dose since only the low dose helps with sleep. In my case it didn't help at all as I had many nights with little or no sleep.

I've gotten no where with counseling but know if I could find a gluten intolerant counselor that I'd do much better. For now, this forum is my counselor as only others that suffer from food intolerances can really relate to the health issues.

[Bobbijo6681]

  On 2/27/2010 at 3:11 PM, jackay said:

My two month update:

My depression is much better but insomnia is a problem. I started taking Vitamin B12 drops at bedtime as I tested low on that. Was hoping for sleep improvement but so far I'm still not getting consistant sleep. Maybe it will just take more time to really get the B12 in my system.

I'm going to an exercise class four days a week and walking at least one day. It is taking very long for winter to end so am not getting much fresh air. Once it finally warms up, there is tons of snow to melt so that is going to make it messy for outdoor walks. I'm looking forward to bike rides once it dries up outdoors.

I'm staying away from antidepressants as have tried way too many with adverse or no effect. I am intolerant to corn and there is cornstarch in mirtazapine. Since I've gone off it, I haven't slid backwards. I really didn't think it was helping me any. My psych nurse wanted me on a low dose since only the low dose helps with sleep. In my case it didn't help at all as I had many nights with little or no sleep.

I've gotten no where with counseling but know if I could find a gluten intolerant counselor that I'd do much better. For now, this forum is my counselor as only others that suffer from food intolerances can really relate to the health issues.

I would recommend taking the B12 in the morning instead of at night before bed. B12 is a vitamin that is included in many if not all energy drinks and may be causing the insomnia. I am no expert, but I take a B12 suppliment and always take it in the morning.

Don't know if that will help, but thought I would throw it out there.

[jackay]

  On 3/3/2010 at 11:14 PM, Bobbijo6681 said:

I would recommend taking the B12 in the morning instead of at night before bed. B12 is a vitamin that is included in many if not all energy drinks and may be causing the insomnia. I am no expert, but I take a B12 suppliment and always take it in the morning.

Don't know if that will help, but thought I would throw it out there.

I'm going to work with the Vitamin B12 more by trying in in the morning for a while. If that doesn't help, I'll try taking it three times a day which is what my doctor suggested.

I did start the mirtazipine again because of the depression and it seems to help. I really want to get off it so will try again in a while.

I've gotten outside hour long walks the past four days. It has been sunny here and about 30 degrees. Looks like snow is on it's way so won't be getting the sunshine for a while. Can't wait for spring to get here!