Medications Not Working As Well With Untreated Celiac?

[costellosfriend]

My adult son may or may not have a gluten sensitivity. We're trying him on a gluten-free diet. It's early days but it seems to be helping.

He doesn't have any GI symptoms I don't think. He is dx'd with schizophrenia. He's on a fairly high dose of an antipsychotic (almost twice what the manufacturer recommends). We tried switching him to a disc melt version of the same med at the same dose. This version melts when it hits the saliva in your mouth. It's designed to prevent the patient from cheeking the pill and spitting it out.

We found that my son seems to have anxiety attacks on the disc melt version of the same med. This doesn't make sense to me. Then someone pointed out on a different forum that the disc melt is absorbed in the mouth rather than the intestines. Now I'm wondering if he absorbs a higher percentage of the drug when it's the disc melt version and the anxiety is a sign that he's getting too much.

Is it possible that he has villi damage which is interfering with the absorption of his meds even though he doesn't have GI symptoms? Has anyone else found they had to adjust the dosages for their medications downward after going on a gluten-free diet?

Thanks.

[Gemini]

My adult son may or may not have a gluten sensitivity. We're trying him on a gluten-free diet. It's early days but it seems to be helping.

He doesn't have any GI symptoms I don't think. He is dx'd with schizophrenia. He's on a fairly high dose of an antipsychotic (almost twice what the manufacturer recommends). We tried switching him to a disc melt version of the same med at the same dose. This version melts when it hits the saliva in your mouth. It's designed to prevent the patient from cheeking the pill and spitting it out.

We found that my son seems to have anxiety attacks on the disc melt version of the same med. This doesn't make sense to me. Then someone pointed out on a different forum that the disc melt is absorbed in the mouth rather than the intestines. Now I'm wondering if he absorbs a higher percentage of the drug when it's the disc melt version and the anxiety is a sign that he's getting too much.

Is it possible that he has villi damage which is interfering with the absorption of his meds even though he doesn't have GI symptoms? Has anyone else found they had to adjust the dosages for their medications downward after going on a gluten-free diet?

Thanks.

Absolutely! I went seriously hyperthyroid 4 years after starting the gluten-free diet and it was all due to increased absorption after healing. I now take a smaller dose of thyroid hormone.

Anything which melts in the mouth will get into your system via the bloodstream so it does indeed pretty much by-pass the gut. This could be your son's problem. The doctor may want to adjust his dosage.

[costellosfriend]

Thanks, Gemini!