Gluten Was Causing Schizo Problems

[CanineGluten]

Hi,

I made some posts awhile back, which somehow turned into a debate on intermittent fasting and me trying to convert people to IF, which I never was trying to do.

Point being, around 3 months ago I found the glutenology site, and decided to go grain free. No grains, no corn syrup, no modified starches, etc.

I've never been a schizophrenic, but after using weed a few times it kinda seemed to trigger something in me. Voices of sorts, more like amplified thoughts, some other stuff.

I'm writing this post to help people.

What happened was, within 24 hours of grain free alot of my symptoms vanished. After 3 or 4 days a big schizo-ish thing completely evaporated.

I need to say that I started my grain free diet by also being very low carb. So it could have something to do with that..

But I kept this no grain thing up for over 2 months.

One interesting thing was after a few weeks or after ten days (I forgot)...could have been longer maybe... I actually found I could watch a movie. Which is just a normal thing.. but I haven't been able to really watch a movie for 15 years.

I have been slipping for kinda awhile now. I think I started getting cross contaminated, which is so easy, and I just lost some control and confidence in this way...

So I'm going back. Since symtpoms are back... going to mainly eat whole foods.. for instance a few days ago was going to eat whole foods and turns out another the almonds etc were on shared facilities of wheat. So the symptoms come back, or come back stronger, or just stay around.. when hear I am trying to fix all of it.

So.. back to whole foods. I hope I can eat grains by the glutenology site says rice and corn etc have similar proteins of wheat, and truthfully elimination of grains is what cured me, so to speak.

I might update later.

[GFinDC]

Welcome back Caninegluten and thanks for posting. Gluten is linked to spchizophrenia and also gluten ataxia. So it can affect the brain. The links below has some articles on celiac com about mental conditions and celiac. I don't know about all grains cuasing such reactions, I think it is more likely jsut wheat, rye and barley, possibly oats. But we don't know everything about such things yet, so a person might hav e a reaction to a food that is different from most celiacs. We are all unique. Another thing tha tmight have affected you is corss-contaminatino of supposedly gluten-free grains. There was a study done a while back of flours that are on grocery shelves that you would think are naturally gluten-free. Things ilke corn flour, rice flour etc. The study found fairly high levels of gluten cc in some of those not so gluten-free flours. So you could be reacting to gluten cc in corn and not corn itself.

Going completley grain free is an option of course. I didit for a month or sobut it didn't helpmy symotoms. It turned out I had other food intolerances that were making me sick. Like soy, carrots, grapes, nightshades etc. Corn doesn't bother me usually. But any of us can become sensitive to any food, so corn could bother you or someone else. We have people on the forum with a wide variety of food intoelrances, incluing corn and others. Leaky gut is what is usually blamed for the development of additional food intolerances, and gut inflamation / irritation.

https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/celiac-disease-amp-related-diseases-and-disorders/Schizophrenia-%7B47%7D-Mental-Problems-and-Celiac-Disease/

[CanineGluten]

Well after reading glutenology site I cut all grains. I also went zero Carb in the beginning and like magical every single one of the symptoms that were bothering me went away. By day 4 or 5 it was all gone but mainly most left after 24 hours but I tend to intermittent fast. I think its more candida than gluten, but I'm not sure I was completely good for over 2 months just avoiding all grains. So I don't know but I hope its just corn, or of course wheat. But according to that site corn, oats, even rice have gluten prolamines in it.

Anyways so I'm starting to feel better now since I've restricted all grains and carbs.

The real kicker was I actually started watching movies. I haven't been able to watch a movie in 10 years. So I went on a long movie spree. My life came together.

I'm thinking now that a lot of mental illness -is- related to the gut. Like how studies show prozac has antifungal properties. And the original antipyschotics I believe were derived from insecticides or herbacides did find some information on that.

Probably why I have done the warrior diet for the past many years because I always felt better because I wasn't feeding the bad bacteria. Well it just helps me function.

Thanks for the post I at least can feel good about what to do when things go bad. It's just sometimes its so hard not eating gluten or this or that.. I just can't afford not to eat very low Carb at least for now.

Maybe ill update my thread here when I can come to better understanding because idk, there is probably so much unneeded suffering out there.

Strange though when I take a benzo it almost stops it all. At one point I also thought it was caffeine toxicity. But that experiment didn't prove itself.

Wish everyone luck with their gluten issues!

[GFinDC]

That's great you are feeling better CG! Some of us do go completely grain free and find it helps. Others don't notice any difference though, so we are all each walking our own road there. One low carb diet is the Paleo diet, and there are web sites with Paleo recipes online. Corn intolerance is something that affects people too. It is not a gluten intolerance but a corn thing. Doesn't really matter a lot what its called though, if it makes you sick, don't eat it is always a good plan. Usually the big trick is finding out what makes a person sick, and it sounds like you have found some answers there.

Our bodies can be kind of picky at times. I can eat black beans with little problem, but other kinds of beans don't work so well. Have you tried eliminating diary? Just curios, lots of people new to the gluten-free diet have problems with dairy.

I know you have been here before, but you may not have seen some of these threads of interest. Thanks for coming back and giving us an update!

Some starting the gluten-free diet tips for the first 6 months:

Get tested before starting the gluten-free diet.

Get your vitamin/mineral levels tested also.

Don't eat in restaurants

Eat only whole foods not processed foods.

Eat only food you cook yourself, think simple foods, not gourmet meals.

Take probiotics.

Take gluten-free vitamins.

Take digestive enzymes.

Avoid dairy.

Avoid sugars and starchy foods.

Avoid alcohol.

Helpful threads:

FAQ Celiac com

http://www.celiac.co...celiac-disease/

Newbie Info 101

http://www.celiac.co...ewbie-info-101/

What's For Breakfast Today?

http://www.celiac.co...reakfast-today/

What Did You Have For Lunch Today?

http://www.celiac.co...or-lunch-today/

What Are You Cooking Tonight?

http://www.celiac.co...ooking-tonight/

Dessert thread

http://www.celiac.co...399#entry802399

Easy yummy bread in minutes

http://www.celiac.co...ead-in-minutes/

How bad is cheating?

http://www.celiac.co...t-periodically/

Short temper thread

http://www.celiac.co...per-depression/

Non-celiac wheat sensitivity article

http://www.celiac.co...ists/Page1.html

Thread For gluten-free, Dairy, Soy, Corn And Nightshade Free Recipes

http://www.celiac.co...e-free-recipes/

Super Easy Meal Ideas Anyone?

http://www.celiac.co...l-ideas-anyone/

[mommyto2kids]

I enjoyed this post. Thanks to all who contributed.

[GottaSki]

Hi CG- missed your original post.

I'm glad you are finding improvement from the right combo of foods for you. Just thought I'd mention that during my elimination diet I discovered I not only had to remove grains and dairy -- I had serious mood problems with legumes. Be cautious - as you remove groups of foods you often replace or increase others that can cause new and different reactions.

Hang in there -- glad you came back

[CanineGluten]

Hi,

Im kinda in the burst of coming out of eating carbs but I'm sure ill post later

[GottaSki]

Hi,

Im kinda in the burst of coming out of eating carbs but I'm sure ill post later

Come back anytime

[CanineGluten]

Well after I was having the best mental health of my life I started eating all sorts of carbs because my job required lots of exercise. Combined with this time of year basically I can't remember feeling crazier.

Doing some reading but ill be going scd legal carbs. Fruit veg nuts. No dairy unless kefir I make myself. Sorry no yogurt I mean. I could tolerate before but not until I was 5 days with zero Carb..

Basically cheese eggs meats fish fruit nuts greens.

As I'm sure everyone knows eating this way is extremely addictive because it feeds you on such a deep level.

I fully expect to reach a Zen state which happens when I stop carbs but with fruit idk. Its when the thoughts just stop.

I'm on medication now and probably will take it for a long time thing is though before I discovered the diet the other medication helped but definitely didn't cure.

Also have been taking benzos which this diet pretty much eliminates my need for.

After posting on here recently I was trying the diet but wasn't having complete success because I believe now the yogurt and half n half I was using.

I'll definitely post back.

[CanineGluten]

The time has come to go grain free again.

Ive successfully been treating my "schizo" symptoms with an antipsychotic and a benzo.

But, i want to be able to watch movies again which i cannot and am not interested in, when eating grains.

Anyways I know i made a post last about doing it but i got lazy. This time im serious and will probably keep it up and so a lil experimentation with dairy and high low carb/starch variations.

Ill post updates. Seems silly if indeed grains are causing my problems.

[GFinDC]

Sounds good to me CG.  Sometimes it takes a while for our bodies to adjust and heal.  One study suggested 18 months for some gut changes to happen, possibly longer.  So some changes just need time to happen.  I think slowly getting better is better than slowly getting worse though.  Even if it takes some time, an improvement is worthwhile.

[GottaSki]

Welcome Back CG!

 

Listen to Paul - he is very wise -- it can take time - but healing does happen when the correct diet for your body is maintained.

 

Hang in there

[CanineGluten]

Well for me the mental side of things (which is the main one, since i dont get stomach problems), go away within days.

I got started on it but then fell back into grains because of situational things but im going to try a 4 day spurt no grains

[CanineGluten]

2nd day no grains other than a beer and handful of corn chips. Going to keep up with it, those muffins were tempting me

[GFinDC]

Hmm, well CG, a beer is made from gluten containing grains normally.  so that is not something you should do, unless you are drinking gluten-free beer of course.  They do make several kinds of gluten-free beers.  So you can have beer, just get the right kind and no problem.  they also make gluten-free donuts, bread, pretzels, cookies, cereal, pizza, etc.  So there isn't really any big reason to not stick with a gluten-free diet, since the foods are available that people normally like to eat.  You can also buy gluten-free cake, bread, and brownie mixes to make your own to save money.  I suggest not eating a lot of the gluten-free baked goods at first though.  IMHO it is better to start with a clean, simple diet of whole foods that you know are safe.  Then after you get used to eating a whole foods diet, add baked gluten-free foods slowly to your diet.  You can eat as much meat, fruit, nut, and veggies as you like though, no need to starve yourself.  Another option besides beer is cider or wine or rum. vodka etc.  Changing your diet may seem hard at first, but after a while you get used to eating differently and it is not hard anymore.  That may take a couple months to happen, but all that time you will be learning to eat healthier too.  So at the end of a couple months you will be a way ahead of the game compared to most people who eat factory produced foods all day every week.   You will have learned to eat real food!   And I suspect you will find you enjoy it much more than you do factory food.  If you do want to eat something processed that's fine.  Try to find things that are GMO free, organic etc.  And the fewer the ingredients (chemical free) the easier it is for your liver to cleanse the toxins from your body.  All good stuff for your body to heal and recover.

[dawn w]

I was reading your post and I'm really glad of it iv been told IV got mental health problems.witch I never believed I had .and only had signs when I had sickness with Loose stools .then last year gp told me im a celiac. Thay are still treating me for mental health.dose any body think the mental health now or can they be wrong.they are great but I need to know.

[GFinDC]

I was reading your post and I'm really glad of it iv been told IV got mental health problems.witch I never believed I had .and only had signs when I had sickness with Loose stools .then last year gp told me im a celiac. Thay are still treating me for mental health.dose any body think the mental health now or can they be wrong.they are great but I need to know.

Hi Dawn,

 

The thread on short temper might be interesting to you.  You can do a search on gluten ataxia and find information about how gluten can affect the brain.  Also there is the theory that gluten can interact like opium with some brain recepters.  And pshizophrenia seems to be related in some people also.  So, gluten seems to be able to affect people's brains in multiple ways.  Malabsorption of nutrients critical to brain function is another possible problem.  The nice things is, there is a chance of relief from symptoms by switching to and following the gluten-free diet.  Nueral symptoms may take longer to clear up than gut symptoms though.  Nerves are slow to grow and heal.  It's important with the nueral symptoms to stay 100% gluten-free if possible.

 

Some possible ways gluten can affect the brain, in no particular order:

 

- Neural damage due to malabsorption of nutrients.

- Gluten ataxia, antibody damage to Purkinje cells in the brain.

- Interacting with opiate recepters in the brain.

 

Short temper thread

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/34917-anger-quick-temper-depression/

 

[Analog6]

I'm not surprised to read this.  Have a look at Open Original Shared Link, it is very interesting.

 

 

[GFinDC]

I'm not surprised to read this.  Have a look at Open Original Shared Link, it is very interesting.

 

Thanks for the link Analog.  That's good she finally got help.  Too bad it took so long for someone to try gluten-free on her though.

[CanineGluten]

I havent been back to this forum since my last posted "experiment" i was going to, but never made it.

But Im going to do it again, i have to, im out of options.

Ill try to throw in some updates over the months.

Im going "grass-family"-free. The sugar plant comes from the same taxinomical family as grains, so im avoiding that whole family.

Its dumb, i dont need to eat grasses/grains, so why hurt myself.

All i remember is i was on ZERO medications. Life wasnt "easy", but I got through some hurdles.. then when I decided to give up 2 months later because i was sick of restricting my diet, well,

Anyways..

I used to be a raw foodist once. Its very amazing the power of foods.

The great thing is we can exert some control, simply by avoiding certain foods.

[CanineGluten]

Thanks GGinDC for your help.

And analog that has been my true experience.

I think for me, not eating grains stops the mind from racing, and i achieve an inner calm that feels zen-like. I remember thinking that to myself.

I think it could be more related to what that lady eats, which is ketogenic. It calms the mind way down.

For me i exercise a lot so i need some carbs.

I think schizophrenia is an overactive mental state surrounded by constant stimulation all around you and you basically just go crazy.

Personally, i feel sane if im in a quiet forest.

This diet calms my mind down so i achieve a "focus" at all times.

[CanineGluten]

Actually yeah i may just try to do more of a ketogenic primal-like diet.

[CanineGluten]

Nm tried deleting my post. Im not sure im going to be able to eat this way, and i wasnt always schizo eating grains, so i dont know whats up. :/

[CanineGluten]

I tried posting that i am in fact doing this way of eating again. Just not going to be a nazi about it thats all. Like if im going to eat a slice of pizza, just have it etc then go back to grain free for awhile.

[GFinDC]

Hi CG,

 

You can cheat on your diet if you want.  It is only hurting you.  Many people do that of course, cheat on their diets.  The immune process isn't going  to stop and start on a dime though.  It starts quickly and tapers off very slowly.  So the affect of cheating once may be a few months or more of increased sensitivity to gluten.  If a few months of affects are not a problem, I can see where it might not seem important if you cheat once in a awhile..  Many of us have gastro symptoms or other symptoms that are very unpleasant though.  And that makes cheating less attractive.  Besides that, some people have no symptoms from gluten at all (silent celiac).  For those people they can't even tell for sure when they are damaging their bodies.  So judging how much damage is being done to our bodies by our symptoms we get is kind of useless.

 

It is safer not to cheat, and that is really the only way to know if you will get better over a period of time.