ADD

[windee]

On top of depression and anxity, I have now found out I also have ADD. I am not responding to meds for depression. Do other Celiacs find they also have ADD? Is this common? I just want my head back. I have been gluten free since January and diagnosed the day after Thanksgiving by biopsy.

[ravenwoodglass]

It is not unusual for us not to respond to meds for depression. Some recent research says that if folks don't respond to the meds they should be checked for celiac as celiac can cause depression and anxiety. Are you being very strict with the diet and taking the needed precautions in the home like getting a new dedicated toaster, changeing scratched pans, replacing colanders and wooden utensils and not baking with wheat flour for others? Have you checked to be certain that the meds you are on are gluten free? Doctors won't know so we need to check with the maker. It often takes some time to heal and we do have to be very strict with the diet. I don't know if the ADD is celiac related or not but if they give you meds for it be sure to check those and also check any supplements you take. Wheat and barley grass can be in the ingredients and the label will still say gluten free so be sure to read the whole label.

I hope you are feeling better soon.

[Pyro]

I'm going to check out GAPS to help combat ADD.

The lady behind GAPS associates stomach problems with ADD and I've felt the same way. Going on Adderall has made a big difference in my quality of life, but I think now is the time to switch to XR because the instant releases seem to be contributing to my ups and downs in energy sometimes mood, or even might be the cause since this new generic seems to wear off so quick. I've struggled with depression in the past too, sometimes VERY severe, but never went on meds until now. Though psychedelic stimulants (not recommending them, just saying) and now the adderall have helped me keep focused.

Sometimes I do get sad again but starting a career has been a big boost. Though I suspect using GAPS do reestablish my gut flora is going to best course of action long term. If my digestive issues remain, even though I might not hit such deep lows with my mood, my energy or ambition might still dip and make me feel crappy. Getting in balance should help this not be so random and/or tedious (want to be just tired not half dead!), and give a lot more vibrancy to pull from.

BTW don't just jump into adderall because I like it.

[windee]

I have bought everything new for myself kitchen wise. I do not eat out. I have checked all the meds and vitamins I take. I feel like my next issue will be OCD! I am feeling better body wise and allot has cleared up and gone away. It is just the depression, anxiety, and now ADD. I am really struggling with these. I go to therapy once a week and a psychiatric DR. to get the meds right. The meds do not help much so far. I would not even be on here if it were not for spell check. It is a daily struggle for me right now. I have applied for disability as I cannot get through an interview with my memory or anything. My Dr's are all encouraging this. I really feel stupid. I can see celiac all the back to school and the ADD also. So I am going through the anger stage of being 57 and finding all these things out now. I feel I missed out on allot. I just want it fixed. Sorry to ramble on in my self pity trip.

[cap6]

I have bought everything new for myself kitchen wise. I do not eat out. I have checked all the meds and vitamins I take. I feel like my next issue will be OCD! I am feeling better body wise and allot has cleared up and gone away. It is just the depression, anxiety, and now ADD. I am really struggling with these. I go to therapy once a week and a psychiatric DR. to get the meds right. The meds do not help much so far. I would not even be on here if it were not for spell check. It is a daily struggle for me right now. I have applied for disability as I cannot get through an interview with my memory or anything. My Dr's are all encouraging this. I really feel stupid. I can see celiac all the back to school and the ADD also. So I am going through the anger stage of being 57 and finding all these things out now. I feel I missed out on allot. I just want it fixed. Sorry to ramble on in my self pity trip.

I understand what you are saying! Seems like it takes nothing to distract me from what I am doing. I have trouble focusing on one thing and completing the task. I too was older when diagnosed - 59 - and it makes me angry too. Angry to be this old, finally retired and don't have the energy to do what we wanted to do. The energy is coming back.... but too slowly for my liking. Guess I want it all fixed now!

[T.H.]

Don't know if this might be the issue, but I'll share my own stuff in case it helps!

I had depression, big-time, and my daughter had the huge anxiety issues. Likely we would have been diagnosed with ADD if I'd gone to the doc - we had lots of the symptoms.

What our problem has turned out to be:

1. Some food allergies and sensitivities (some tested, some found through food journals). These affected some of our symptoms because they were causing gut inflammation and that was inhibiting our absorption of tryptophan, which affected our bodies' ability to make seratonin and melatonin. Big impact on the brain. I have also heard that fructose malabsorption can cause this problem.

2. Oats. About 10-15% of celiacs react to oats, even gluten-free ones, just like wheat, rye, and barley. It's called Avenin-sensitive enteropathy. The problem here is that practically NO companies view gluten-free oats as an issue when it comes to gluten and cross contamination. So many of the major gluten-free companies do not use the same cc prevention practices with their gluten-free oats as they do with wheat, rye, and barley. Bob's Red Mill, for example, makes gluten-free oats in their gluten-free facility, and I know a number of oat sensitive celiacs who cannot have their flours and mixtures. Lundberg rice grows oats as a cover crop, and again, I have known oat sensitive celiacs who always get a little sick when they eat this rice, too, even though some other rices are just fine. With this issue, only CSA certified gluten-free products will be totally safe (companies are not allowed to have oat cc along with WRB, to get this certification).

3. The more significant issue (for us) has been that we are more sensitive to gluten than what is considered 'legally' gluten free (<20ppm of gluten). There are a number celiacs in my family and 2 of us seem to have this issue.

I and my daughter were unable to improve on foods that are <20ppm. Depression was still bad, anxiety was still bad. We have had to significantly change our diet - fresh veggies, fruits, meats. Beans and nuts are often problematic because of processing cross-contamination, so we have to source those carefully. No dairy.

Honestly, for us, the majority of processed gluten-free foods are no good. We've been on our 'good' diet for months now, and then I started trying to see if my daughter could have a little bit of gluten-free stuff. A gluten-free cookie one day, a gluten-free cracker another day, and slowly the anxiety started ramping back up again until we stopped and went back to whole foods. For myself, I don't have to get gut symptoms to have trouble with the mental stuff.

One other issue with this is that the majority of meds have been problematic. Something to check on with your meds? Call up the company, see if they actually test for gluten. In my experience, drugs are often called 'gluten free' because no gluten was added, but they can be cc'd like mad and you'd never know it because they aren't tested. At least if they've tested, you'll know.

And if they say 'our product has absolutely ZERO/NO gluten,' then you know they have no clue - because no one in the industry uses a test that can test down that low (doesn't exist, is what I've heard). Often you will have to ask what the ppm(parts per million) detection cut-off was for the test, to really get them to go look. :-(

Just as an aside - more people may have this issue than the medical community is aware of. Studies done on safe levels of gluten have been taking healed celiacs only. And of course, celiacs that are healed had to heal while eating a diet of 20ppm or less, since that was the legal requirement in the countries where the studies were done. So...they did studies on people who healed while eating 20ppm of gluten or less, and then discovered that 20ppm of gluten or less will not damage the gut! Kind of like saying you have to have blue eyes to be in a study, and then concluding that all humans have blue eyes, ya know?

Oh! One last thought - have you been tested for vitamin deficiencies? I only ask because my GI doc had once mentioned that he's had patients who had to take almost 50 times the normal dosage for some vitamins, because they were absorbing that vitamin so poorly. It had to be monitored by the doctor, and tested repeatedly, so that as the absorption improved, the vitamin dosage would be lowered. But without a test, it can be difficult to know if you are properly absorbing the vitamins you're taking. :-)

Shauna

[windee]

Thank you every one for your help. I saw my gastroenterologest yesterday and all of my blood work is GREAT. He said it is very unusual to get this far so fast. I have worked hard for it! I am still having all the head issues but getting help with counseling and a psychiatric to try to get the meds right for me with depression. Then on to the ADD. This is a great community and has been a huge help for me. It helped to give me hope and deal all of this. Thank you again.

[windee]

I understand what you are saying! Seems like it takes nothing to distract me from what I am doing. I have trouble focusing on one thing and completing the task. I too was older when diagnosed - 59 - and it makes me angry too. Angry to be this old, finally retired and don't have the energy to do what we wanted to do. The energy is coming back.... but too slowly for my liking. Guess I want it all fixed now!

That is a problem with me also! I want it fixed now.