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Newly Gluten Free And Depression

Coinkey

By Coinkey
in Related Issues & Disorders

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Coinkey Apprentice
Coinkey
Posted

I have been gluten free for a month now. I have not gone for testing but I have felt so much better since being gluten free. Some of my issues I never knew I existed until they disappeared with the gluten. Yesterday, I made the mistake of ordering chicken wings while out in a bar. I'm assuming the fryer is used frequently for gluteny items. About an hour after eating them I started feeling melancholic and by the time I went to bed (4 hrs later) I was completely depressed and a whispering voice in my head said "You wouldn't feel this depressed if you ended it all...." I have NEVER had suicidal thoughts before nor felt that depressed in all my life. During depressing times in my life in the past I've been able to deal with and there was a clear reason for why I felt that depressed (terrible work conditions, moving, relationships). Last night I was surrounded by loads of people having a great time, good music, people who care about me etc- so no logical reason why I should feel that depressed.

Is this due to being glutened after 4 weeks of gluten free? Is there a way to combat such horrendous depression if I accidentally eat gluten again? Is it worth me eating gluten again just to get a diagnosis? I was going to go to the doctor after my final exams next week to talk to them about the gluten problem and I know they'll say i have to eat it so they can diagnose me (my sister is currently being diagnosed). What if the suicidal thoughts return?

Any advice/ stories would be greatly appreciated.

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ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

The first symptom to appear for me after a glutening is an overwhelming suicial depression. The rest of the stuff hits later but the day after a glutening is very hard to get through. My symptoms include strong neuro ones, it sounds like your may also. I get through it because I know it will pass, for me the depression lifts in about 24 hours.

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

Depression has been a big sign of glutening for me too. If it weren't for my kids, I don't know if I'd even be here anymore. But, you have something to look forward to. After three years I haven't felt that way for a long long time. I'm not sure if it is that I have gotten better with the diet, or that I don't react as badly anymore. The good thing is that my glutenings are barely noticeable now.

knittingmonkey Newbie
knittingmonkey
Posted

I have been gluten free for a month now. I have not gone for testing but I have felt so much better since being gluten free. Some of my issues I never knew I existed until they disappeared with the gluten. Yesterday, I made the mistake of ordering chicken wings while out in a bar. I'm assuming the fryer is used frequently for gluteny items. About an hour after eating them I started feeling melancholic and by the time I went to bed (4 hrs later) I was completely depressed and a whispering voice in my head said "You wouldn't feel this depressed if you ended it all...." I have NEVER had suicidal thoughts before nor felt that depressed in all my life. During depressing times in my life in the past I've been able to deal with and there was a clear reason for why I felt that depressed (terrible work conditions, moving, relationships). Last night I was surrounded by loads of people having a great time, good music, people who care about me etc- so no logical reason why I should feel that depressed.

Is this due to being glutened after 4 weeks of gluten free? Is there a way to combat such horrendous depression if I accidentally eat gluten again? Is it worth me eating gluten again just to get a diagnosis? I was going to go to the doctor after my final exams next week to talk to them about the gluten problem and I know they'll say i have to eat it so they can diagnose me (my sister is currently being diagnosed). What if the suicidal thoughts return?

Any advice/ stories would be greatly appreciated.

While I read this, things started to make sense for me.

Years ago, I went on a diet prescribed by my doctor in order to lose weight. Looking back, the diet was gluten-free and very simple: Yogurt and fruit for breakfast, green salad with tuna or salmon and oil-free vinegrette dressing

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

I get either depression or anxiety (or both) when I am glutened. I have to keep reminding myself that it's the gluten and I'll feel fine in a few days. I do get transient thoughts of suicide sometimes, but nothing I would act on.

If you and your doctor agree that celiac testing is valuable, you need to make it very clear that you believe you were suicidally depressed from gluten. This has only happened to you once, so it's hard to be sure exactly what happened and your doctor will probably be skeptical. You may want to ask for a referral to a therapist who can help you if you get suicidally depressed again, no matter what the reason. Then, whether or not you decide to do a gluten challenge, you have more of a safety net for mistakes.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

Is it worth me eating gluten again just to get a diagnosis? I was going to go to the doctor after my final exams next week to talk to them about the gluten problem and I know they'll say i have to eat it so they can diagnose me (my sister is currently being diagnosed). What if the suicidal thoughts return?

Any advice/ stories would be greatly appreciated.

I am sorry I didn't address this question in my first reply.

Only you can decide if it is worth it. It seems you had a clear reaction to your inadvertant gluten challenge, don't be surprised if you have some nasty stomach issues within a couple of days. One thing to consider is that celiac has a strong genetic link. If your sister is diagnosed the chances that you are also celiac is pretty good. Celiac is much more common than a lot of doctors think.

Did you get any testing at all before you went gluten free? Sometimes routine blood work will show anemia, liver panels that are off, and other things that are off but not at 'critical' levels.

If you become very ill from a challenge that is also pretty diagnostic IMHO. You don't need a formal diagnosis to be gluten free.

You also have the choice of going with Enterolab. Some don't 'trust' their testing methods but for others they are a blessing. You would not have to go back to eating gluten as it takes some time for the antibodies to leave your system. Enterolab looks for them with stool testing and can also do genetic testing. They do test for more than just the 2 genes that are commonly tested for which in my families case was very valuable as we don't carry the usual genes. I should note that Enterolab did NOT diagnose me, I used their testing 5 years after diagnosis when my DD, who was positive with both blood and biopsy was told a few years after diagnosis that she would never be celiac and never was based on the fact that she doesn't have either DQ2 or DQ8.

Coinkey Apprentice
Coinkey
Posted
  • Author

Thank you all for your responses. The depression slowly lifted over Friday and I was my cheery gluten free self by saturday night. And yes, Ravenwoodglass, today I'm having great fun with GI issues like never before. I'll decide after my finals if I should bother getting tested but until then, I'm staying happily gluten free.

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ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

Thank you all for your responses. The depression slowly lifted over Friday and I was my cheery gluten free self by saturday night. And yes, Ravenwoodglass, today I'm having great fun with GI issues like never before. I'll decide after my finals if I should bother getting tested but until then, I'm staying happily gluten free.

If your going to get tested by conventional blood tests and biopsy you will need to spend at least 2 months back on gluten. Not a great way to spend your summer. Looks like your challenge was definately positive. How sick you want to be to possibly get a doctor derived 'official' diagnosis is up to you but do be aware that even with the challenge you could end up with a false negative on blood test and biopsy.

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