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

Missed Periods, Anxiety, Milk Of Magnesia...

India

Recommended Posts

India Contributor
India
Posted

Oh, it all seems such a mess.

I've been gluten-free since January. I posted messages recently when I tried an elimination diet. After two weeks, I abandoned the diet as I was becoming very weak and losing too much weight. Since then, I've been excluding FODMAPs from my diet and keeping a very detailed food diary. However, a couple of new problems have arisen:

Anxiety: I've recently had three night-time anxiety attacks. I had terrible anxiety for four years until giving up gluten and soy and I don't want to go back there. The attacks make my nerve/muscle pain go crazy too. Two attacks happened on nights I'd taken Milk of Magnesia. I can't find any other clues in my food diary, though I only have two weeks of notes so far. Can anyone tell me if Milk of Magnesia causes them anxiety or suggest other foods that do? I have been taking sublingual B12 supplements by the way. Also, life is quite stressful at present, but the attacks when I took Milk of Magnesia didn't seem to have any real trigger.

Missed period: one of my few signs of improvement after going gluten-free was the immediate return of my periods, every single month - except this month. I'm worried the elimination diet or the weight loss has caused this and it's really bothering me the way I'm messing my body around. Any thoughts?

Allie

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Chakra2 Contributor
Chakra2
Posted

I don't have any real ideas but just wanted to send encouragement. I've been gluten-free since January too and my health is definitely still a work in progress. Anxiety is one of my gluten symptoms. I don't know much about Milk of Magnesia but gluten contamination could be affecting your mental state. Corn causes serious neuro problems for me too. Not sure if that's a possibility for you? I hope you find some peace on this issue soon!

India Contributor
India
Posted
  • Author

Hi and thank you for your reply. I've already given up corn too, plus dairy and some other things. I'll keep going with the food diary I guess. On the plus side, despite the sleepless night, yesterday was the most energetic I've felt in ages - not as good today, but hooray for the good days!

Good health to you :)

Marz Enthusiast
Marz
Posted

Two attacks happened on nights I'd taken Milk of Magnesia.

No idea if milk of magnesia contains gluten. Maybe as a thickener? But then it should state that... Googling "Milk of magnesia panic attack" didn't really bring anything up, one person had bad panic attacks after consuming "Maximun Strength Pepto-Bismol". I know certain medications do bring out bad panic attacks in me - namely Maxolon (Evil, evil stuff...)

Are you taking any other medication that's might be the problem, or the milk of magnesia is reacting with something else you're taking that's making side effects more potent?

Instead of milk of magnesia, try a gluten-free osmotic laxative like Fleet, or Miralax? Not sure if they're specifically gluten free, but they'll have the same effect as milk of magnesia.

Hmmm... Maybe you can post examples what foods you're eating ? Are you cooking whole foods you're preparing yourself - no commercial pre-packaged food? Is your kitchen completely gluten free, new gluten-untouched utensils? :P

Are you eating gluten-free flours like rice flour, tapioca, potato etc? Commercially produced gluten-free foods like pastas, crackers, biscuits made with gluten-free flours? I react to these for some reason, I suspect not as "gluten-free" as they claim, but I really don't know at this point. Maybe I'm intolerant to grains full stop.

Keep us posted on your progress :)

India Contributor
India
Posted
  • Author

Hi Marz,

Thanks for your reply. Milk Of Magnesia is apparently gluten-free and was um, highly effective - so maybe I'll give it one more go and see if it happens again. I'm in the UK and don't know the other brands you mention unfortunately. I'm not taking any other medications though; also, I'm very careful about gluten and my house is gluten-free. I'm eating almost entirely whole foods, with no corn, soy, gluten or FODMAPs. I definitely react to millet and teff and, somehow, pretty much any gluten-free cake mix. I've not had any kind of baked goods for months, sadly... though I think about them a lot! Rice seems ok but I think, like you, most grains disagree with me.

I realised in the last couple of days how stressed I'm getting lately for various reasons, so maybe old anxiety habits die hard even once the evil gluten and soy are gone. I'm keeping an eye on it with my super-neurotic food diary though :)

The good news is that I'm having fewer drained-of-energy days so maybe I've cut out something that's bad for me... I just have to figure out what it is!

Marz Enthusiast
Marz
Posted

Sounds like you've got all your bases well covered. :) I'd say just keep it up, it sounds like you're still healing? Take it easy and keep the stress down. Even with being gluten intolerant we may have further issues like Chrons, "IBS" with a stress trigger etc.

By the way, if you're still struggling with anxiety/panic attacks, I highly recommend "The Linden Method", it really helped for my panic attacks. It's based on lowering your base anxiety level, distraction by immersing yourself in a new hobby (for coping with panic attacks/OCD) and has a lot of other good common sense techniques for coping. The focus is on getting back to living life normally, not focusing on symptoms and anxiety which ends up in a vicious circle. Just google it and you'll find the main site. A bit pricey but I found it worth it (Better than the psychologist I paid the same amount for).

Archived

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

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens. I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium. I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells. When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly. This is safe...
    2. Jane02
      - Jane02 replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency. I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Hello, @Jane02, I take Naturewise D 3. It contains olive oil. Some Vitamin D supplements, like D Drops, are made with fractionated coconut oil which can cause digestive upsets. Fractionated coconut oil is not the same as coconut oil used for cooking. Fractionated coconut oil has been treated for longer shelf life, so it won't go bad in the...
    4. Scott Adams
      0

      Penobscot Bay, Maine: Nurturing Gluten-Free Wellness Retreat with expert celiac dietitian, Melinda Dennis

      until
      Hello! Join me and treat yourself to a four-day, three-night restorative gluten-free retreat in a peaceful, private coastal retreat setting near Penobscot Bay in Maine. Dates: April 10-13, 2026 Enjoy engaging classes...
    5. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      I do not know this, but since they are labelled gluten-free, and are not really a product that could easily be contaminated when making them (there would be not flour in the air of such a facility, for example), I don't really see contamination as something to be concerned about for this type of product.
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,333
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Donna Chem
    Newest Member
    Donna Chem
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens.  I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium.  I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells.  When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly.  This is safe and nontoxic.  Vitamin D level should be above 70 nmol/L.  Lifeguards and indigenous Pacific Islanders typically have levels between 80-100 nmol/L.   Levels lower than this are based on amount needed to prevent disease like rickets and osteomalacia. We need more thiamine when we're physically ill, emotionally and mentally stressed, and if we exercise like an athlete or laborer.  We need more thiamine if we eat a diet high in simple carbohydrates.  For every 500 kcal of carbohydrates, we need 500-1000 mg more of thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  If there's insufficient thiamine the carbs get stored as fat.  Again, recommended levels set for thiamine are based on minimum amounts needed to prevent disease.  This is often not adequate for optimum health, nor sufficient for people with absorption problems such as Celiac disease.  Gluten free processed foods are not enriched with vitamins like their gluten containing counterparts.  Adding a B Complex and additional thiamine improves health for Celiacs.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine helps the mitochondria in cells to function.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins.  They are all water soluble and easily excreted if not needed. Interesting Reading: Clinical trial: B vitamins improve health in patients with coeliac disease living on a gluten-free diet https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19154566/ Safety and effectiveness of vitamin D mega-dose: A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34857184/ High dose dietary vitamin D allocates surplus calories to muscle and growth instead of fat via modulation of myostatin and leptin signaling https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38766160/ Safety of High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31746327/ Vitamins and Celiac Disease: Beyond Vitamin D https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11857425/ Investigating the therapeutic potential of tryptophan and vitamin A in modulating immune responses in celiac disease: an experimental study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40178602/ Investigating the Impact of Vitamin A and Amino Acids on Immune Responses in Celiac Disease Patients https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10814138/
    • Jane02
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Jane02 · Posted

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency.  I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently meet from my diet is vitamin D. Calcium is a hit and miss as I rely on vegetables, dark leafy greens as a major source, for my calcium intake. I'm able to meet it when I either eat or juice a bundle of kale or collard greens daily haha. My thiamine intake is roughly 120% of my needs, although I do recognize that I may not be absorbing all of these nutrients consistently with intermittent unintentional exposures to gluten.  My vitamin A intake is roughly 900% (~6400 mcg/d) of my needs as I eat a lot of sweet potato, although since it's plant-derived vitamin A (beta-carotene) apparently it's not likely to cause toxicity.  Thanks again! 
    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @Jane02,  I take Naturewise D 3.  It contains olive oil.   Some Vitamin D supplements, like D Drops, are made with fractionated coconut oil which can cause digestive upsets.  Fractionated coconut oil is not the same as coconut oil used for cooking.  Fractionated coconut oil has been treated for longer shelf life, so it won't go bad in the jar, and thus may be irritating to the digestive system. I avoid supplements made with soy because many people with Celiac Disease also react to soy.  Mixed tocopherols, an ingredient in Thornes Vitamin D, may be sourced from soy oil.  Kirkland's has soy on its ingredient list. I avoid things that might contain or be exposed to crustaceans, like Metagenics says on its label.  I have a crustacean/shellfish/fish allergy.  I like Life Extension Bioactive Complete B Complex.  I take additional Thiamine B 1 in the form Benfotiamine which helps the intestines heal, Life Extension MegaBenfotiamine. Thiamine is needed to activate Vitamin D.   Low thiamine can make one feel like they are getting glutened after a meal containing lots of simple carbohydrates like white rice, or processed gluten free foods like cookies and pasta.   It's rare to have a single vitamin deficiency.  The water soluble B Complex vitamins should be supplemented together with additional Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine and Thiamine TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) to correct subclinical deficiencies that don't show up on blood tests.  These are subclinical deficiencies within organs and tissues.  Blood is a transportation system.  The body will deplete tissues and organs in order to keep a supply of thiamine in the bloodstream going to the brain and heart.   If you're low in Vitamin D, you may well be low in other fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A and Vitamin K. Have you seen a dietician?
    • Scott Adams
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I do not know this, but since they are labelled gluten-free, and are not really a product that could easily be contaminated when making them (there would be not flour in the air of such a facility, for example), I don't really see contamination as something to be concerned about for this type of product. 
    • trents
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By trents · Posted

      Contact them.
×
×
  • 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.