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

Reaction = Breathing/anxiety Issues


anti-soprano

Recommended Posts

anti-soprano Apprentice

Hello All-

I am a newly diagnosed Celiac who has been gluten-free for about a month. I had my first (and surely not my last) glutening a few days ago. Reading several posts, it seems as though most people experience GI symptoms; stomach pain, D, bloating, etc. I was wondering if there was anyone else out there that had a similar reaction to mine, which is difficulty breathing and an overall feeling of anxiety and just-plain-wrongness, as well as tightness in the back of my throat. My abdomen is bloated, but that's the only real GI symptom and I also wonder if it contributes to me not being able to get a full breath. The symptoms (minus the breathing thing) remind me very much of when I would have bad reactions to allergy shots as a kid- not anaphylaxis, but major swelling of my arm. Although I fully understand that everyone's reaction is personal, I'm beginning to wonder if my reaction is normal or not in the grand scheme of things.


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



LauraB0927 Apprentice

Welcome to the forum! Although I dont get anxious after a glutening, I definitely experience mood symptoms and I'm not my usual happy self. I become angry, snippy, and short with people and my fiance can tell by the look on my face that I've been glutened. Like you said, things feel "off" or "wrong" and I have an overwhelming feeling of dread and want to isolate myself until its all over. If you read more posts, you'll see that a lot of other people on here definitely experience anxiety after being glutened. Just know and remember that it will pass and you'll come out of it. Sure, it feels terrible at the time but the good thing is that with us, its not a permanent thing. Best wishes!!

Keshavdas Apprentice

I experienced this a lot when I first went gluten free. I've seen some scholarly articles about how in essence gluten molecules attach themselves to endorphins and lessen their effect on mood. It's kind of like kicking dope for a while. I had terrible depression as well. It takes time but it does get better the longer you stay off gluten. I'm not completely free of it after more than two months but I get more and more "normal" days; also more and more days with good energy. Hang in there. Someone here suggested Iron and I did find by doing a smoothie in the morning with a couple of fistfuls of frozen spinach in the mix really helped to stabilize my mood. Turns out many folks with celiac have bad iron deficiency. None of this gets better overnight - takes a bit of time and patience.

Bubba's Mom Enthusiast

Iron is the first thing that comes to my mind. A glutening can knock down the tips of the villi enough that you aren't absorbing iron and other nutrients as well as usual? It happens to me.

When my anemia is bad it's like I can't take in a good deep breath and the anxiety is so bad I can't sleep.

Have you had your iron levels tested? If they were low, you may need to increase your iron intake for a bit?

Persei V. Enthusiast

Oh, I think I know how you feel. Especially the tightness in the back of the throat. Sucks :(

But I always thought it was because I spent 9 years of life sick all the time so I basically hate feeling anything "funny" on my stomach. I also panic a bit. I didn't think it anemia related... Funny, my iron levels were cool the last time I was checked, but then again, when it happened I've been sucessfully gluten-free for some time.

So spinach it is.

kwylee Apprentice

I went through a frightening period a number of months ago, this after being strictly gluten/dairy/soy free for 2 years. I was doing fine and one day I started getting the feeling that I couldn't take in a deep enough breath. I underwent many, many tests (most of which happened during the very time I was having the symptom) to make sure there wasn't an underlying cause but all they proved was that I was healthy as a horse. That's not bad news, but I still was having the breathing symptom. Not all day, just in the first part of the day; thinking back, that should have been a clue. One day I ran out of the gluten-free/DF/SF, no nitrate bacon I had been eating for awhile. The symptom subsided. After a week I ate it again and started with the breathing problem again.

You are totally correct, that everyone is different. But for me, the feeling like I couldn't suck in enough air was a simple food intolerance. I removed that item from my diet and the symptom has stayed away since. I usually suspect cross-contamination when I react but my typical immediate symptom is dizziness and that's not what was happening. I haven't tried another bacon brand since, but my best takeaway from that experience is that just because it is gluten-free/DF/SF, it doesn't mean your particular body chemistry will tolerate it without problems. And a food intolerance can absolutely cause that breathing symptom for some.

kittty Contributor

Anxiety can cause what feels like shallow or restricted breathing and a tight feeling in the throat, so it could all be part of the anxiety kicking in. It's especially bad during an anxiety attack. Anxiety is my worst symptom, and disrupts my life more than anything else. After a recent glutening I had to get a prescription for Xanax, which I hadn't taken in well over a year. Pretty sure the anxiety gets worse, or at least feels worse, after the body is no longer used to be poisoned regularly with gluten.


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Archived

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


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,796
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Raybo
    Newest Member
    Raybo
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):




  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • nanny marley
      Oh yes I can understand the tiredness after going threw all that, must be exhausting especially on the mind I have high aniexty so I can understand that , I wish there more easier ways for people to get help , I had a MRI on my spine some years ago without anything it was really quick and no prep , I understand the need for  them to see better with the bowel ,but you think they would use something a little less traumatic  for ibd sufferers on the bowels by now ,I hope your feeling better today 🙏
    • Colleen H
      The previous post did not come through right. I wonder if tingling burning feet are part of it.. I'm not sure if it's the med reaction that people with gluten intolerance get or the food we ate  It's frustrating because a person who did not want to admit to himself I had this condition wanted me to eat this chicken sandwich and now I'm stuck with a variety of symptoms plus now I'm hungry on top of it..  I'm new to this so I forget that "one bite" of the wrong thing can hurt us.😔. Do we stop eating if someone exposed us to gluten ??  My stomach is rumbling but my joints hurt ...  It's weird because I can feel the anxiety coming on.  I get joint problems ,  I don't know if anyone ever got hot flashes?? I suppose if it affects people head to toes you can get that too.   It's weird...hard to decipher what is what.   Also how long do I have to deal with this attack??  Makes me feel like not getting up out of bed.  I get too many symptoms which  horrible.  Thank you for your response..  
    • Colleen H
      Hello  I was glutened by a person that knew it.  I'm having 
    • wellthatsfun
      as my last post stated, i was diagnosed via endoscopy on the 14th of june. i have been eating amazing home cooked meals, luckily, mainly cooked by my boyfriend who is extremely careful about contamination (and is an incredible cook at that). however, i find myself in a mental rut still. being 18, this is the time in my life where i should be exploring things, going out, having fun. yet every corner i turn i'm tortured by the amazing smell of something i can't have anymore. the wonderful sight of such yummy foods. it's near torture. if my boyfriend and his friend who lives with us buy something i can't have, they'll usually eat it outside of the house or the car or wherever we are - which is greatly appreciated - but even seeing a burger or chips or a sausage roll in their hands guts me almost beyond repair. i just wanna have it again too. i miss it. i feel left out and it makes me very sad all the time. it's not their fault. they are allowed to eat whatever they want to, whatever their intestines will allow. it just stings, bad. and i feel so ungrateful given i basically have a private chef who is doubly the love of my life. but it's just so hard. i know i'll adapt. i haven't given up hope.i just wanted to vent. thank you for reading
    • RDLiberty
      Thank you. I must have misinterpreted a study or something. Thank you for the clarification. Much appreciated. Almost three years into my celiac diagnosis and I'm still learning new things. 
×
×
  • 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.