Emotional Problems Whole Life

[dudeitseddy]

Hello I am 17 years old and I am not diagnosed with any gluten sensitivity or anything of that sort. However, I have had emotional disturbances since I was very young and have tried almost everything (therapies, medications, hypnosis, meditation, you name it). Someone suggested it could be a sensitivity to gluten. I see it as a possibility because I my sinuses closed and trouble breathing most of the time. I also have some very slight occasional burning sensations in my solar plexus area(upper abdomen). Other than that I have no gastric disturbances like are mentioned on most things ive read about gluten. I haven't been able to yawn in years and I always feel like I cant get a satisfying breath. People have told me it is my anxiety causing that but I am not sure. I remember having bout of incomplete yawning as a 4 year old. My life has barely been enjoyable and I have had many things go to waste because of this problem. Every day I feel like killing myself. I am pretty desperate and for that reason I am trying everything I possibly can. If this is gluten sensitivity or allergy how long will it take for me to feel effects? I've been gluten free for 3 days and I have not felt anything.

[Becks85]

Hello,

I'm not really sure how helpful my response will be, but I thought I should post anyway. From what you tell us about your breathing and sinus problems, it sounds like you're having a reaction to something. Whether or not it's gluten, it's hard to say (my issues with gluten are digestive). You might consider making an appointment with a general physican or an allergist and that might give some insight as to what is causing your breathing difficulties. Since my issues are mainly digestive, I'm not sure about anything specific with gluten and its relation to emotions. Just be aware that usually it takes longer than 3 days of being gluten-free to notice a lot of changes, but the time it takes varies from person to person. Hope this helps a least a little. Hang in there

Becks

[Skylark]

I had gluten-caused emotional issues. I hate to say this, but it took a long time gluten-free for them to resolve and diet alone did not do it. I take a very potent vitamin supplement designed for mood disorders and lots of fish oil to stay well.

[dudeitseddy]

I had gluten-caused emotional issues. I hate to say this, but it took a long time gluten-free for them to resolve and diet alone did not do it. I take a very potent vitamin supplement designed for mood disorders and lots of fish oil to stay well.

Thank you. About how long did it take? And what are these vitamins? Have you really improved?

[Skylark]

Thank you. About how long did it take? And what are these vitamins? Have you really improved?

I was under psychiatric care for fifteen years, first on Prozac, then Prozac and lithium when I started having manic episodes, finally lithium and Depakote. I was diagnosed as bipolar I. I still had breakthrough episodes of mania and depression, with horrible insomnia. At one point I went ten days with almost no sleep, and my doctor was considering hospitalization because I was getting so desperate that suicide looked like a pretty good way out. Fortunately Seroquel (a nasty antipsychotic) got me sleeping again.

I had chronic stomach aches, fatigue, and diarrhea and went on an allergy elimination diet because none of my doctors were any help. They told me the diarrhea was from the lithium and the stomach aches were "gastritis" and to stop drinking coffee. With the diet found I was sensitive to wheat, and then later figured it was actually all forms of gluten. I was also getting stomachaches from soy and casein at first, although that cleared up.

I ate gluten-free for probably a year (a little hazy on the timeline) although I may have been getting traces of gluten. My diarrhea and stomach aches cleared up, my canker sores went away, and the hair I lost from depakote grew back thick and strong. My borderline anemia cleared up too. I had some energy again but I was still bipolar. I didn't connect gluten/malabsorption to the psych problems at all.

I have a friend who is a psychiatrist and she was putting people onto a supplement called EMPowerPlus from Open Original Shared Link with spectacular results. I had always felt better taking high-dose vitamins or things like Emergen-C so I decided to give it a shot. I was having another breakthrough episode and at the absolute end of my rope, with an awful mix of mania, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. You can't take meds and EMPowerPlus together so I backed off all my meds (which weren't doing much anyway) and started onto EMPowerPlus with my psychiatrist watching me closely to be sure I didn't become dangerously suicidal or manic. I felt absolutely horrible for about three months, sick with candida overgrowth because my body was not used to nutrition. I had to drink protein and lecithin shakes, do a candida cleanse, and I took Threelac for a while. Finally my body got over the shock of actually having nutrition and I realized the depression had really lifted for the first time in 15 years.

After six months my psychiatrist scaled back my visits, saying maybe I was in a remission. I had one mild hypomanic episode and he suggested fish oil, which worked great. After about nine months of EMPowerPlus, he asked for a pamphlet on the stuff and told me that I didn't need to schedule another appointment unless I felt bad again. I kept seeing a therapist for another year, to make sure I didn't become manic. She finally declared me in remission as well.

If I eat even a little gluten, I get depressed, tired, tearful and anxious. I'm pretty sure gluten and celiac malabsorption were at the root of my psych problems. The fatigue and depression were probably from celiac, and while the Prozac helped I would have been much better off with a celiac diagnosis 18 years ago. The bipolar illness most likely was a result of long-term treatment with Prozac, as SSRIs are known to make some people manic.

I still don't seem to get all of what my mind needs from food. If I back off the fish oil or a fairly high dose of EMPowerPlus, I get insomnia and depression. I haven't taken a psychiatric drug in four years now, and four years of remission from bipolar illness is almost unheard of, so yes I have improved dramatically.

[dudeitseddy]

I was under psychiatric care for fifteen years, first on Prozac, then Prozac and lithium when I started having manic episodes, finally lithium and Depakote. I was diagnosed as bipolar I. I still had breakthrough episodes of mania and depression, with horrible insomnia. At one point I went ten days with almost no sleep, and my doctor was considering hospitalization because I was getting so desperate that suicide looked like a pretty good way out. Fortunately Seroquel (a nasty antipsychotic) got me sleeping again.

I had chronic stomach aches, fatigue, and diarrhea and went on an allergy elimination diet because none of my doctors were any help. They told me the diarrhea was from the lithium and the stomach aches were "gastritis" and to stop drinking coffee. With the diet found I was sensitive to wheat, and then later figured it was actually all forms of gluten. I was also getting stomachaches from soy and casein at first, although that cleared up.

I ate gluten-free for probably a year (a little hazy on the timeline) although I may have been getting traces of gluten. My diarrhea and stomach aches cleared up, my canker sores went away, and the hair I lost from depakote grew back thick and strong. My borderline anemia cleared up too. I had some energy again but I was still bipolar. I didn't connect gluten/malabsorption to the psych problems at all.

I have a friend who is a psychiatrist and she was putting people onto a supplement called EMPowerPlus from Open Original Shared Link with spectacular results. I had always felt better taking high-dose vitamins or things like Emergen-C so I decided to give it a shot. I was having another breakthrough episode and at the absolute end of my rope, with an awful mix of mania, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. You can't take meds and EMPowerPlus together so I backed off all my meds (which weren't doing much anyway) and started onto EMPowerPlus with my psychiatrist watching me closely to be sure I didn't become dangerously suicidal or manic. I felt absolutely horrible for about three months, sick with candida overgrowth because my body was not used to nutrition. I had to drink protein and lecithin shakes, do a candida cleanse, and I took Threelac for a while. Finally my body got over the shock of actually having nutrition and I realized the depression had really lifted for the first time in 15 years.

After six months my psychiatrist scaled back my visits, saying maybe I was in a remission. I had one mild hypomanic episode and he suggested fish oil, which worked great. After about nine months of EMPowerPlus, he asked for a pamphlet on the stuff and told me that I didn't need to schedule another appointment unless I felt bad again. I kept seeing a therapist for another year, to make sure I didn't become manic. She finally declared me in remission as well.

If I eat even a little gluten, I get depressed, tired, tearful and anxious. I'm pretty sure gluten and celiac malabsorption were at the root of my psych problems. The fatigue and depression were probably from celiac, and while the Prozac helped I would have been much better off with a celiac diagnosis 18 years ago. The bipolar illness most likely was a result of long-term treatment with Prozac, as SSRIs are known to make some people manic.

I still don't seem to get all of what my mind needs from food. If I back off the fish oil or a fairly high dose of EMPowerPlus, I get insomnia and depression. I haven't taken a psychiatric drug in four years now, and four years of remission from bipolar illness is almost unheard of, so yes I have improved dramatically.

Thank you for the information. This could change my life! I read the ingredients from of the EMPower Plus and saw that they were very similar to those of certain Multi Vitamins ive seen so I might try that with a multivitamin. So if I start a gluten free diet tomorrow and the multivitamin/fish oil too, when do you estimate I should begin to see a difference? Also should I give up dairy and soy? I usually drink soymilk and avoid dairy. Thank you very much. Your post has been very helpful

[Skylark]

Thank you for the information. This could change my life! I read the ingredients from of the EMPower Plus and saw that they were very similar to those of certain Multi Vitamins ive seen so I might try that with a multivitamin. So if I start a gluten free diet tomorrow and the multivitamin/fish oil too, when do you estimate I should begin to see a difference? Also should I give up dairy and soy? I usually drink soymilk and avoid dairy. Thank you very much. Your post has been very helpful

I'm so glad my story might help someone else. I'd shout from the mountaintops if I could save even one other person from the nightmare I went through.

I don't think you'll get the same effects from typical multivitamins. EMPowerPlus is an amino acid chelate. The amino acids used to chelate EMPowerPlus are ones the nervous system uses, so the supplement gets into the brain well. As far as I know, typical health food store vitamins are not chelated this way because they're too expensive and bulky for most folks to be willing to take. (I take 10-15 capsules of EMPowerPlus a day! It gets tedious.) There was also a lot of research into the specific mix of micronutrients, and the ratios of minerals in the supplement. The only vitamin supplements that my psychiatrist friend has found with similar effects are made by Metagenics, but I don't know which specific supplements she gives her patients.

The typical response time for EMPowerPlus is about three months. This assumes you have no malabsoprtion and have taken a decent probiotic. If you're not on meds, it's typical to ramp up the EMPowerPlus gradually. Some people have uncomfortable reactions as their bodies get used to the supplement. TrueHope has an amazing call center and they can answer questions and tell you how to get started.

[dudeitseddy]

I'm so glad my story might help someone else. I'd shout from the mountaintops if I could save even one other person from the nightmare I went through.

I don't think you'll get the same effects from typical multivitamins. EMPowerPlus is an amino acid chelate. The amino acids used to chelate EMPowerPlus are ones the nervous system uses, so the supplement gets into the brain well. As far as I know, typical health food store vitamins are not chelated this way because they're too expensive and bulky for most folks to be willing to take. (I take 10-15 capsules of EMPowerPlus a day! It gets tedious.) There was also a lot of research into the specific mix of micronutrients, and the ratios of minerals in the supplement. The only vitamin supplements that my psychiatrist friend has found with similar effects are made by Metagenics, but I don't know which specific supplements she gives her patients.

The typical response time for EMPowerPlus is about three months. This assumes you have no malabsoprtion and have taken a decent probiotic. If you're not on meds, it's typical to ramp up the EMPowerPlus gradually. Some people have uncomfortable reactions as their bodies get used to the supplement. TrueHope has an amazing call center and they can answer questions and tell you how to get started.

Thanks. Now I'm a little worried though.. I already ordered a multivitamin. My dad (a doctor) said that I could take it and though that the Empower was a bit pricy, especially if I'm going to be taking 8 tablets a day.

[Skylark]

Thanks. Now I'm a little worried though.. I already ordered a multivitamin. My dad (a doctor) said that I could take it and though that the Empower was a bit pricy, especially if I'm going to be taking 8 tablets a day.

The loading dose for EMPowerPlus is actually 15 capsules a day, so the cost is $150 a month. It's definitely expensive and even trying it out is a pretty serious commitment. For me, it was a no-brainer because I was spending at least that much on psych care and meds that weren't working very well and making me sick. Besides, when you're at the end of your rope the way I was, $500 on a credit card is not a big deal. (After all, if you suicide who cares about the credit cards? Yes, I was that sick!) Once I got well, I was able to finish school and get a good job so the cost stopped being an issue.

Maybe you'll feel better from normal multivitamins and a gluten-free diet. I certainly hope so! Celiacs seem to be particularly short on B12 and a lot of folks around here take it sublingually. If not, you've got the link and info for TrueHope.

[dudeitseddy]

The loading dose for EMPowerPlus is actually 15 capsules a day, so the cost is $150 a month. It's definitely expensive and even trying it out is a pretty serious commitment. For me, it was a no-brainer because I was spending at least that much on psych care and meds that weren't working very well and making me sick. Besides, when you're at the end of your rope the way I was, $500 on a credit card is not a big deal. (After all, if you suicide who cares about the credit cards? Yes, I was that sick!) Once I got well, I was able to finish school and get a good job so the cost stopped being an issue.

Maybe you'll feel better from normal multivitamins and a gluten-free diet. I certainly hope so! Celiacs seem to be particularly short on B12 and a lot of folks around here take it sublingually. If not, you've got the link and info for TrueHope.

Thanks a lot. Yesterday I went to an acupuncturist and he said I have a severe "digestive disturbance" which affects my emotions. Seems like its not as unlikely as what I thought. I'm going to do all three (diet, supplements, and acupuncture). Unfortunately my parents want me on psychiatric meds and I'm under 18 so I don't have much of a choice. I hope it doesn't interfere with my healing process.

[Skylark]

Thanks a lot. Yesterday I went to an acupuncturist and he said I have a severe "digestive disturbance" which affects my emotions. Seems like its not as unlikely as what I thought. I'm going to do all three (diet, supplements, and acupuncture). Unfortunately my parents want me on psychiatric meds and I'm under 18 so I don't have much of a choice. I hope it doesn't interfere with my healing process.

Well, I wish you the absolute best of luck finding something that works to give you peace of mind. Keep at it! I'm living proof that you can get profoundly mentally ill from digestive issues and malabsorption. The brain/body connection is powerful and still poorly understood.