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

Brain Issues

cbrob

By cbrob
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

cbrob Newbie
cbrob
Posted

Hello Peeps,

One of my most noticeable symptoms during my time with undiagnosed celiac was memory loss. It was mostly an issue with remembering faces. I am happy to say that being gluten free has restored my memory, and removed the social anxiety that comes with not remembering people you've know for years. I'm wondering what is the root cause of the neuro issues with celiac...Is it the auto-immune response attacking the brain or is it malnutrition from malabsorption that leads to the brain issues. Anyone know?

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


rosetapper23 Explorer
rosetapper23
Posted

At the conferences I've attended, it's been pointed out that the blood flow to the frontal lobes is reduced in celiacs who eat gluten. Also, plaques can form throughout the brain. Take a look in the articles section of this site, because there are some interesting articles on neurological damage to the brain.

  • 3 weeks later...
MegRie Rookie
MegRie
Posted

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I have spent many years working with people with special needs and am continually finding links with gluten sensitivity and/or celiac disease. For example many people with Down Syndrome have Celiac Disease. I also read recently that women with Celiac Disease are more likely to have children with Autism.

I just finished reading a book, "Pretending to be Normal", about a woman who has Asperger's Syndrome but did not find out until she was an adult. It got me thinking about "weird quirks" I've had throughout my life. When I was a kid I hated wearing socks because "the seams hurt my feet" and to this day I literally can not stand the sound of people rubbing their feet on the carpet. These could be linked to Sensory Perception Disorder. My mother told me that when I was young I would throw the worst tantrums for hours over what seemed like absolutely nothing and that she could not get me to stop. It makes me wonder what link is here that we are missing, and if we could figure it out we might really be onto something. Also, a little off subject but what about scoliosis? Could this be due to celiac disease and malnourishment?

I know that is a whole lot of slightly disconnected thoughts, but it's just really been on my mind lately.

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

I think that it is auto immune and not malabsorption since the symptoms come on quickly upon accidental ingestion of gluten.

cahill Collaborator
cahill
Posted

For me gluten ( and soy) has caused "brain" issues. My neurologist stopped short of diagnosing ataxia mainly because she could not believe my issues were caused by soy ( I had only been gluten free for about 8 months at the time) :rolleyes: .

All I know is when I am glutened or ingest soy I have memory/ataxia/ brain issues .

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

I think that it is auto immune and not malabsorption since the symptoms come on quickly upon accidental ingestion of gluten.

That is the case for me also. I also have what are called UBO's, or Unidentified Bright Objects which are lesions that are diagnostic of the autoimmune attack on the brain.

megsybeth Enthusiast
megsybeth
Posted

I've been wondering about this too. My son has pretty bad motor delays and I've always been very clumsy, in addition to forgetful and flaky before my diagnosis. I know in young children fat is essential to the developing brain. So I do think the malabsorption of fats could play into it. I think the brain needs fats on an ongoing basis, so it might just shut some wings off, the way you would close rooms in a big house if you only had so much wood to burn.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Skysmom03 Newbie
Skysmom03
Posted

My son has ADHD and scored "lower" on long term memory 92 even though his full scale IQ is 118. The doctor believes that his celiac was triggered two to three years ago which was exactly when we noticed a huge drop in reading scores and reading comprehension. Math no problems at all. All other scores at or above grade level. Reading/ memory in the second to early third grade range. He is in the fourth grade. So I definitely think celiac plays a huge role in all of this( oh and I must say that the testing was done 2 weeks prior to his official celiac diagnosis.

  • 2 weeks later...
Lady Eowyn Apprentice
Lady Eowyn
Posted

Hi

A bit late coming to this, I know, but with gluten I used to have balance issues. Only a little but enough to be a nuisance and make me self conscious - comparable to getting up after a large glass of wine! Also slightly clumsy, knocking myself on things. I also do one morning a week requiring mental arithmatic and with gluten the numbers are in a thick soup in my brain. Happy to say without gluten my balance is fine and my brain agile.

I have taken this as a warning of what could happen in the future without being gluten free - gluten directly affects my brain!

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

There are many articles about neurological impairment, gluten ataxia and celiac.

I think it may be both ---autoimmunity and the complications of long term UnDXed celiac disease and malabsorption.

Many vitamin, mineral and amino acid deficiencies can cause memory issues..

I had so many of them myself for 3 horrible years and suffered what I call "gluten head" (and they come back if glutened accidentally)

One says:

"patients who develop neurological dysfunction should be carefully screened for these. However, malabsorption does not satisfactorily explain the pathophysiology and clinical course of many of the associated neurological disorders. Other mechanisms proposed include altered autoimmunity, heredity, and gluten toxicity"

That citation is found here:

Open Original Shared Link

Here are some other articles:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

and

Open Original Shared Link

1desperateladysaved Proficient
1desperateladysaved
Posted

I have been thinking when my body picks up gluten, or something else it doesn't like, it just shuts off getting nutrients.

Diana

Lady Eowyn Apprentice
Lady Eowyn
Posted

"Gluten Head" - that's what it is !!! New medical term, I think :P .

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

"Gluten Head" - that's what it is !!! New medical term, I think :P .

Copyrighted by IrishHeart 2011

first used in a conversation with EatMeat4Good.

(she'll vouch for me) :D

I call what I lived in Gluten Head Hell

(will probably be the title of my book.)

Cracked up my GI doc with that one. He asked if he "could use it". I said "Go for it dude"

but give me props when you do.

.

(not really funny back then "during it" --not funny at all)

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

The Op hasn't been back since "he" posted this. Wonder if the "gluten head" caused him to forget his password? :)

This happened to me. I made a Facebook page and promptly forgot the password. Then realized I had entered the email wrong, too!

Lady Eowyn Apprentice
Lady Eowyn
Posted

Another aspect of Gluten Head - when glutened on waking in morning I have to go through the days of the week to work out what day it is! Had no idea this was caused by gluten until gluten free!

anabananakins Explorer
anabananakins
Posted

I'd have conversations with my colleague, turn to my computer to start working on whatever we'd discussed (literally seconds late), and then have to ask her what we were talking about. Happily, 2 + years gluten free and I am now *much* better at remembering.

Hi

A bit late coming to this, I know, but with gluten I used to have balance issues. Only a little but enough to be a nuisance and make me self conscious - comparable to getting up after a large glass of wine! Also slightly clumsy, knocking myself on things. I also do one morning a week requiring mental arithmatic and with gluten the numbers are in a thick soup in my brain. Happy to say without gluten my balance is fine and my brain agile.

I have taken this as a warning of what could happen in the future without being gluten free - gluten directly affects my brain!

Me too. I used to crash into everything, I couldn't handle walking in crowds because I had so much trouble not walking into people who were walking towards me. It was really scary reading about gluten ataxia and how bad some people had it and it was what made me so dedicated to going strictly gluten free even without a diagnosis. It took about 6 months to resolve. Scary how it can affect the brain.

megsybeth Enthusiast
megsybeth
Posted

My motor issues have improved a lot in just a few weeks. The other day I was wearing shorts and I asked my husband if he noticed anything different. He looked down and immediately said, "There aren't any bruises on your legs"!

  • 4 years later...
cbrob Newbie
cbrob
Posted
  • Author

HA, just following up :)

Still feeling groovy and remember faces.

 

  • 3 weeks later...
ch88 Collaborator
ch88
Posted

I don't think anyone knows for sure. It is thought that there are lots of different ways gluten can effect the brain. Some of these are nutritional related and other are autoimmune related. The brain is super super complex. 

Interesting that you say you couldn't remember faces in particular.

I could remember faces before I went gluten free. Autism is a very wide spectrum and there is a lot of variation. Not being able to remember faces is a very common autistic trait. I could remember faces but I had tons of other autistic traits before I went gluten free. Memory was the only things that wasn't very effected in my brain by gluten. I still had some problems remembering things though. 

When I went gluten free people appeared a lot different visually to me. This included how peoples faces looked to me visually. I could tell at a glance what "style" or "look" people were going for. I couldn't do this before. The styles that people wore also seemed very exaggerated and extreme to me. 

Could you read facial expressions?

ch88 Collaborator
ch88
Posted

Ooops. I didn't see that this was a (newly updated) ancient thread. 

knitty kitty Grand Master
knitty kitty
Posted

Here's one of my favorite articles on gluten's effects on the brain:

Open Original Shared Link

Do start a new topic if you would like to further discuss this.

Kitty

knitty kitty Grand Master
knitty kitty
Posted
3 hours ago, ch88 said:

Ooops. I didn't see that this was a (newly updated) ancient thread. 

 

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. Rogol72
      - Rogol72 replied to HAUS's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      8

      Sainsbury's Free From White Sliced Bread - Now Egg Free - Completely Ruined It

      @HAUS, I was at an event in the UK a few years back. I remember ringing the restaurant ahead to inquire about the gluten free options. All I wanted was a few gluten free sandwiches, which they provided and they were delicious. The gluten-free bread they used was Warbutons white bread and I remember mentioning it on this site before. No harm in trying...
    2. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to HAUS's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      8

      Sainsbury's Free From White Sliced Bread - Now Egg Free - Completely Ruined It

      In the U.S., most regular wheat breads are required to be enriched with certain B-vitamins and iron, but gluten-free breads are not required to be. Since many gluten-free products are not enriched, we usually encourage people with celiac disease to consider a multivitamin. In the early 1900s, refined white flour replaced whole grains, and people began...
    3. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to deanna1ynne's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      13

      Inconclusive results

      Keep in mind that there are drawbacks to a formal diagnosis, for example more expensive life and private health insurance, as well as possibly needing to disclose it on job applications. Normally I am in favor of the formal diagnosis process, but if you've already figured out that you can't tolerate gluten and will likely stay gluten-free anyway, I wanted...
    4. JoJo0611
      - JoJo0611 replied to JoJo0611's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      6

      CT with contrast.

      Thank you.
    5. deanna1ynne
      - deanna1ynne replied to deanna1ynne's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      13

      Inconclusive results

      Thank you all so much for your advice and thoughts. We ended up having another scope and more bloodwork last week. All serological markers continue to increase, and the doc who did the scope said there villous atrophy visible on the scope — but we just got the biopsy pathology report back, and all it says is, “Duodenal mucosa with patchy increased int...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,441
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Linda Boxdorfer
    Newest Member
    Linda Boxdorfer
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Rogol72
      Sainsbury's Free From White Sliced Bread - Now Egg Free - Completely Ruined It

      By Rogol72 · Posted

      @HAUS, I was at an event in the UK a few years back. I remember ringing the restaurant ahead to inquire about the gluten free options. All I wanted was a few gluten free sandwiches, which they provided and they were delicious. The gluten-free bread they used was Warbutons white bread and I remember mentioning it on this site before. No harm in trying it once. It's fortified with Calcium and Iron. https://www.warburtonsglutenfree.com/warbs_products/white-loaf/ The only other gluten-free bread that I've come across that is fortified is Schar with Iodized salt, nothing else.
    • Scott Adams
      Sainsbury's Free From White Sliced Bread - Now Egg Free - Completely Ruined It

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      In the U.S., most regular wheat breads are required to be enriched with certain B-vitamins and iron, but gluten-free breads are not required to be. Since many gluten-free products are not enriched, we usually encourage people with celiac disease to consider a multivitamin.  In the early 1900s, refined white flour replaced whole grains, and people began developing serious vitamin-deficiency diseases: Beriberi → caused by a lack of thiamin (vitamin B1) Pellagra → caused by a lack of niacin (vitamin B3) Anemia → linked to low iron and lack of folate By the 1930s–40s, these problems were common in the U.S., especially in poorer regions. Public-health officials responded by requiring wheat flour and the breads made from it to be “enriched” with thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron. Folic acid was added later (1998) to prevent neural-tube birth defects. Why gluten-free bread isn’t required to be enriched? The U.S. enrichment standards were written specifically for wheat flour. Gluten-free breads use rice, tapioca, corn, sorghum, etc.—so they fall outside that rule—but they probably should be for the same reason wheat products are.
    • Scott Adams
      Inconclusive results

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Keep in mind that there are drawbacks to a formal diagnosis, for example more expensive life and private health insurance, as well as possibly needing to disclose it on job applications. Normally I am in favor of the formal diagnosis process, but if you've already figured out that you can't tolerate gluten and will likely stay gluten-free anyway, I wanted to at least mention the possible negative sides of having a formal diagnosis. While I understand wanting a formal diagnosis, it sounds like she will likely remain gluten-free either way, even if she should test negative for celiac disease (Approximately 10x more people have non-celiac gluten sensitivity than have celiac disease, but there isn’t yet a test for NCGS. If her symptoms go away on a gluten-free diet, it would likely signal NCGS).        
    • JoJo0611
      CT with contrast.

      By JoJo0611 · Posted

      Thank you. 
    • deanna1ynne
      Inconclusive results

      By deanna1ynne · Posted

      Thank you all so much for your advice and thoughts. We ended up having another scope and more bloodwork last week. All serological markers continue to increase, and the doc who did the scope said there villous atrophy visible on the scope — but we just got the biopsy pathology report back, and all it says is, “Duodenal mucosa with patchy increased intraepithelial lymphocytes, preserved villous architecture, and patchy foveolar metaplasia,” which we are told is still inconclusive…  We will have her go gluten free again anyway, but how soon would you all test again, if at all? How valuable is an official dx in a situation like this?
×
×
  • 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.