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

Experienced/ Educated Advice Needed.


GAD.. AKA unsure....

Recommended Posts

GAD.. AKA unsure.... Newbie

My first post - and bordering a plea.

I will spare you the details - I just hope some people have similar symptoms and are feeling good now!

2002 - At university - noticed I had much worse hangovers than friends, would last 2 days (now 3!) - aged 20

2002 - First Anxiety attack - strong physical pain, confused, disorientated. Continued almost daily for 3 months.

2002 - spent 6 months being tested for cluster migraines, tumours, stress, neurological diseases

2003 - Self diagnosed with Anxiety and began citalopram (anti depressant) - helped reduce physical pains

2003 - 2008 - coped with daily physical symptoms - sharp head pains, numbness, pins and needles, bad stomach, joint ached, muscle spasms endless list that supported anxiety. - Still on anti depressant but changed to Sertraline - 100mg daily now for 7 years! - Thinning hair = MORE anxiety!

2008 - broke arm whilst lifting weights in gym - humourous snapped doing a bench press - unheard of. Aged 26

2008 - contact with mother after 18 years and discovered she was a celiac - no further thoughts.

2009 - Mother gave 'Eat right for your blood type' - Blood group O avoid wheat.

2010 - Still taking daily 100mg of sertraline - still battle feeling crap most days. Aged 28

Past two months - past blood in stool. Decided to alter diet and loose some wheat. Last week went on cabbage diet and after 3 days felt great! Although hungry. Ate a chinese curry - FELT Crap!

Now - Back on wheat free diet and after 4 days I find myself in A&E last night for the first time in 4 years with an almighty panick attack. I have become an expert at controlling these but this was BIG and didn't want to be surpressed. Needless to say vitals were fine.

Today - tired, weak and confused - with muscle spasms going crazy between my eyes!

My doctors have been crap. Every diagnostic I have made and have NEVER in 8 years of every 2 months been given anything apart from medication and advice to see a councellor. Hence my Generalised Anxiety Disorder AKA unsure name tag.

I have had enough and just want to feel free from back aches, head aches, cruddy feelings, anger and mood swings.

I read somewhere about withdrawal from gluten - could this be it?

Has anyone else been diagnosed with Anxiety, given meds and then to find that they have an intolerance to wheat and then recovered?

Not so short but please if you are knowledgable and have an opinion please share.

Kind regards


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



sb2178 Enthusiast

non-traumatic fracture in your twenties?? other symptoms are also possible celiac/gluten intolerance possibilities

1) get testing prior to gluten-free diet. A GP/PCP can do a blood panel and should. You can find tests listed here but basically:

IgA total

IgA AGA or DGP

IgG AGA or DGP

IgA TTG

EMA

2) if you are already gluten free and unwilling to consume gluten, get the genetics and follow-ups based on a celiac diagnosis. i.e. nutrient status, bone density, thyroid testing

3) stick faithfully to the diet.

txplowgirl Enthusiast

Hi Gad, Welcome to the forums.

There are a lot of us on here who have a lot of your symptoms and more and recovered. I had social anxiety disorder and clinical depression since I was 8 years old. Like a lot of us, I went through dozens of dr's who thought I was trying to get attention, all in my head, hypchondriach, etc. Been on so many different meds, not even funny. Skylark on here has recovered from almost life long bi polar symptoms.

It wasn't until the age of 44 that I found out about celiac. 6 months in AFTER I took out gluten, dairy AND soy, I am no longer in depression and my anxiety disorder is gone. No meds whatsoever. It can be done. When I get any of these 3 everything comes back and lasts anywhwere from 2 hours to 4 days depending how much I ingested.

Yes, you definetly can be going through withdrawals.

Hang in there and give it time, unless you want the tests. Then you have to be eating a full gluten diet and even then the tests are notorious for giving false negatives.

Read, read read, you will be amazed at the caring people here and all the information. Good luck and I hope you get to felling better.

GAD.. AKA unsure.... Newbie

Thanks both - really appreciate.

Just waiting for the brain fog to clear and muscle spasms to calm down.

Really hoping to find some balance and have decided to remove dairy also - Is there any cheese I can eat? I know just from life experience that my gut reacts badly to milk so will exclude that as of today.

I hope that this is just an issue of changing parts of my diet - would be amazing if I could feel good for Christmas!

Best wishes

psawyer Proficient

There are two things in milk that can cause problems: lactose and casein. If you are reacting to casein (milk protein), then you must avoid all dairy. If you are reacting to lactose (milk sugar), then you may be able to eat some products, such as hard cheeses, where the process removes the lactose.

Many newly diagnosed celiacs who are lactose intolerant find that, once the villi heal, they can again tolerate lactose. The enzyme required to digest lactose is produced in the tips of the villi.

GAD.. AKA unsure.... Newbie

Thanks Psawyer

I plan to cut out Gluten, dairy and Soy for 2-3months and see how I feel.

I am excited and hope that this is a new chapter for me.

Best wishes

A

zeta-lilly Apprentice

This of it this way, you've suffered through hell (like most of us have), and found out that you have the power to cure yourself. It's a very empowering way to look at things!

Yes, it does sound like gluten could be the key. You said wheat free, but make sure you're taking out all forms of gluten, not just wheat. Also, things like MSG and artificial sweeteners can really do a number on people too, so watch the chemicals in your food as well.

Personally, I suggest removing one thing from your diet at a time to see what is doing what. If you take several things out at once, you won't really be able to separate them out. I suggest first gluten, then dairy, etc.

And yes, I struggled with anxiety for years, was on a TON of meds and everyone just kept telling me to snap out of it. People really don't have an understanding of anxiety. They think you can just talk yourself out of being anxious. After a year and a half of being off anxiety medications and not displaying any symptoms of anxiety, I think my parents FINALLY believe that I have gluten intolerance and that it was causing it in the first place. Lol, oh the journeys we take!


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



GAD.. AKA unsure.... Newbie

Hi Zeta_lilly

Really great to hear from you - and really encouraging to hear that you have come off the meds, really well done! This is my ultimate goal. My anxiety has come through almost completely physical symptoms and I pray that these subside and I can reduce the meds gradually.

If this works for me I will be the happiest man alive! To live a good healthy life is all I can wish for.

Peace and love.

divine1 Newbie

Have been gluten free for about 7 weeks now after 10 years of being told I had IBS. Was hospitalized a few times with digestive problems and have ALWAYS known where every bathroom in every store, restaurant, etc was. Even had emergency keys for several houses in town. After seeing a nateuropath in October, I went gluten free, dairy free and yeast free and felt almost instantly better. After being dizzy for 3 years and developing a panic disorder I find that all of these symptoms are subsiding. I no longer feel like I am looking through someome elses eyes, my mind has cleared and my confidence is starting to come back. Yippee! So, after all of this, my Drs still look at me like I have two heads, cannot get in to see a gastroenterologist till May 2011 (have been waiting since March 2010), and have never had any scopes done. I know for a fact I don't have two heads. Lol. The clincher: was in the city on Friday for christmas shopping and appointments. Had NO time for any special food (I usually order a burger and eat it without the bun with a knife and fork) so ordered and ate a big Mac. Well, let me tell ya, lesson learned. Have been down and out for 3 days now with major cramping, gas, nausea, and diarhea, and the symptoms didn't start until 24 hours later. I will now look at my Drs as if they have two heads, because nobody knows my body like I do, I have have known for years things weren't right.

India Contributor

Hi there,

My anxiety used to be much worse than it is now. I've been gluten free for a year and it did take some time. I think giving up soy also helped. I'm certainly better than I was.

From your email, you sound as if you're in the UK. Have you been tested or asked for testing for coeliac disease? I don't think a GP could refuse as you seem to have several symptoms which suggest you may have the condition, plus a genetic link. This document by the UK's National Institute of Clinical Excellence on the recognition and assessment of coeliac disease may be useful. It includes flowcharts of who should be tested for coeliac disease - Open Original Shared Link

To be tested, you'd need to be eating gluten again for several weeks first. For me, this was definitely worth it, as I now have the satisfaction of pointing out to my doctor that I am not just a crazy lady :)

T.H. Community Regular

Hoping it is continuing to improve for you!

My anxiety is raised when I get gluten, but not so severely, but my daughters sounds on par with yours. Here's almost always hits 1-2 days after she gets gluten (sometimes the day of, if she gets it early in the day) and it's bad, and takes a few days to recover from. I very much hope that the same can be found for you.

So sorry the doctors have not been helpful. That looks to be far too common among our group of folks. My daughter and I were diagnosed, but not my son. However, he's had issues since birth, and when we took him off of gluten anyway, they've gone away. Makes me angry that such a simple thing could have helped him out, and yet it was never looked at.

At least there's the internet, thank goodness!

Archived

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


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,549
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Blough
    Newest Member
    Blough
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Your post demonstrates the profound frustration and isolation that so many in the Celiac community feel, and I want to thank you for channeling that experience into advocacy. The medical gaslighting you endured for decades is an unacceptable and, sadly, a common story, and the fact that you now have to "school" your own GI specialist speaks volumes about the critical lack of consistent and updated education. Your idea to make Celiac Disease a reportable condition to public health authorities is a compelling and strategic one. This single action would force the system to formally acknowledge the prevalence and seriousness of the disease, creating a concrete dataset that could drive better research funding, shape medical school curricula, and validate the patient experience in a way that individual stories alone often cannot. It is an uphill battle, but contacting representatives, as you have done with Adam Gray, is exactly how change begins. By framing it as a public health necessity—a matter of patient safety and protection from misdiagnosis and neglect—you are building a powerful case. Your voice and your perseverance, forged through thirty years of struggle, are exactly what this community needs to ensure that no one else has to fight so hard just to be believed and properly cared for.
    • Scott Adams
      I had no idea there is a "Louisville" in Colorado!😉 I thought it was a typo because I always think of the Kentucky city--but good luck!
    • Scott Adams
      Navigating medication safety with Celiac disease can be incredibly stressful, especially when dealing with asthma and severe allergies on top of it. While I don't have personal experience with the HealthA2Z brand of cetirizine, your caution is absolutely warranted. The inactive ingredients in pills, known as excipients, are often where gluten can be hidden, and since the FDA does not require gluten-free labeling for prescription or over-the-counter drugs, the manufacturer's word is essential. The fact that you cannot get a clear answer from Allegiant Health is a significant red flag; a company that is confident its product is gluten-free will typically have a customer service protocol to answer that exact question. In situations like this, the safest course of action is to consider this product "guilty until proven innocent" and avoid it. A better alternative would be to ask your pharmacist or doctor to help you identify a major national brand of cetirizine (like Zyrtec) whose manufacturer has a verified, publicly stated gluten-free policy for that specific medication. It's not worth the risk to your health when reliable, verifiable options are almost certainly available to you. You can search this site for USA prescriptions medications, but will need to know the manufacturer/maker if there is more than one, especially if you use a generic version of the medication: To see the ingredients you will need to click on the correct version of the medication and maker in the results, then scroll down to "Ingredients and Appearance" and click it, and then look at "Inactive Ingredients," as any gluten ingredients would likely appear there, rather than in the Active Ingredients area. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/   
    • Scott Adams
      What you're describing is indeed familiar to many in the Celiac community, especially in the early stages of healing. When the intestinal villi are damaged from Celiac disease, they struggle to properly digest and absorb fats, a condition known as bile acid malabsorption. This can cause exactly the kind of cramping and spasms you're seeing, as undigested fats can irritate the sensitive gut lining. It is highly plausible that her reactions to dairy and eggs are linked to their higher fat content rather than the proteins, especially since she tolerates lean chicken breast. The great news is that for many, this does improve with time. As her gut continues to heal on a strict gluten-free diet, her ability to produce the necessary enzymes and bile to break down fats should gradually return, allowing her to slowly tolerate a wider variety of foods. It's a slow process of healing, but your careful approach of focusing on low-fat, nutrient-dense foods like seeds and avocado is providing her system the best possible environment to recover. Many people with celiac disease, especially those who are in the 0-2 year range of their recovery, have additional food intolerance issues which could be temporary. To figure this out you may need to keep a food diary and do an elimination diet over a few months. Some common food intolerance issues are dairy/casein, eggs, corn, oats, and soy. The good news is that after your gut heals (for most people who are 100% gluten-free this will take several months to two years) you may be able to slowly add some these items back into your diet after the damaged villi heal. This article may be helpful: Thank you for sharing your story—it's a valuable insight for other parents navigating similar challenges.
    • Beverage
      I had a very rough month after diagnosis. No exaggeration, lost so much inflammatory weight, I looked like a bag of bones, underneath i had been literally starving to death. I did start feeling noticeably better after a month of very strict control of my kitchen and home. What are you eating for breakfast and lunch? I ignored my doc and ate oats, yes they were gluten free, but some brands are at the higher end of gluten free. Lots of celics can eat Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats, but not me. I can now eat them, but they have to be grown and processed according to the "purity protocol" methods. I mail order them, Montana Gluten-Free brand. A food and symptoms and activities log can be helpful in tracking down issues. You might be totally aware, but I have to mention about the risk of airborne gluten. As the doc that diagnosed me warned . . Remember eyes, ears, nose, and mouth all lead to your stomach and intestines.  Are you getting any cross contamination? Airborne gluten? Any pets eating gluten (they eat it, lick themselves, you pet them...)? Any house remodeling? We live in an older home, always fixing something. I've gotten glutened from the dust from cutting into plaster walls, possibly also plywood (glues). The suggestions by many here on vitamin supplements also really helped me. I had some lingering allergies and asthma, which are now 99% gone. I was taking Albuterol inhaler every hour just to breathe, but thiamine in form of benfotiamine kicked that down to 1-2 times a day within a few days of starting it. Also, since cutting out inflammatory seed oils (canola, sunflower, grapeseed, etc) and cooking with real olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, and coconut oil, I have noticed even greater improvement overall and haven't used the inhaler in months! It takes time to weed out everything in your life that contains gluten, and it takes awhile to heal and rebuild your health. At first it's mentally exhausting, overwhelming, even obsessive, but it gets better and second nature.
×
×
  • 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.