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Gastroenterology Psychiatrist?

Celiac and Discouraged

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Celiac and Discouraged Newbie
Celiac and Discouraged
Posted

Preparing for a doctor's appointment with a Gastro Psychiatrist this coming week. I am a celiac but doctor's are convinced that there is more going on. Had a time when I quit work and wasn't very active where I started feeing a little better. So started back to work and added more jobs and other responsibilities and have progressively been getting worse.

Can anyone shed some light on their experience with the Psychological connection to Celiac and if anyone has visited with this type of doctor and what your results were? Were you placed on a type of mood enhancer or psychological med that has helped you?

Your input is greatly appreciated as I seem to be digressing in many ways and could really use some support from other Celiacs. Thanks.

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gatita Enthusiast
gatita
Posted

Dang, I did not know that such an occupation even existed! But welcome, by the way, although I am pretty much a newbie here too. :)

I'd sure like to hear if others have experience good/bad with that type of therapy.... I feel a bit skeptical because it seems "It's in your head," is the most common thing some doctors say. Not ruling it out though, but like you, I'd just like to hear from someone who went through this.

I certainly sympathize with you ((hugs)), my doctor has just more or less given up on my continuing problems after deciding gluten was the cause. And of course many people in this forum tell me that it can take 1-2 years to heal, so I'm working on being patient!

How long has it been since your diagnosis?

Celiac and Discouraged Newbie
Celiac and Discouraged
Posted
  • Author

Dang, I did not know that such an occupation even existed! But welcome, by the way, although I am pretty much a newbie here too. :)

I'd sure like to hear if others have experience good/bad with that type of therapy.... I feel a bit skeptical because it seems "It's in your head," is the most common thing some doctors say. Not ruling it out though, but like you, I'd just like to hear from someone who went through this.

I certainly sympathize with you ((hugs)), my doctor has just more or less given up on my continuing problems after deciding gluten was the cause. And of course many people in this forum tell me that it can take 1-2 years to heal, so I'm working on being patient!

How long has it been since your diagnosis?

Yes, well my Gastroenterologists recommended this doctor because she was a Gastroenterologists and then went back to school to become a Gastro Psychiatrist because she is so convinced of the connection of brain and gut and knowing that it doesn't mean it's all "in your head". She truly understands it's NOT and that's why I'm praying that she can help me steer me in a better direction. I was unofficially diagnosed a year ago, but even though my blood tests just recently came back normal it is so evident that I am a celiac. I've been gluten free for almost a year now and just can't seem to get a step forward! I will keep you posted on how it goes and whether it will be beneficial to look into for other celiacs. Thanks for your {{hugs}} - they are much appreciated right now as I need other celiacs to help me get through this really hard place right now. It's amazing to me that doctor's don't know what to do with celiac. I know Jennifer Esposito (Jennifer's Way.org) has a specialist doctor that she sees regularly in NY for her treatment for Sever Celiac. There have got to be more Celiac specialist out there and we just need to find them. I also considering a Nutritionist to help me with my eating because I'm allergic to so much and lately everything I eat makes me feel badly. Here's hoping for relief for us both!!!

New Community Member Explorer
New Community Member
Posted

What I understand regarding the nervous system and the GI system, is that they are interrelated. When one is not working, the other is not working and vice versa. Our guts produce more serotonin (the feel-good hormone) than our brains. (About 80% of the serotonin in our body is in the gut!!) So, naturally, it seems to make sense that when we are not feeling well it affects us mentally/emotionally. For me, I am much happier on days I am feeling best and symptoms are controlled. Are you still experiencing symptoms? If you are, perhaps when you have celiac is under control the psychological aspects will subside.

Celiac and Discouraged Newbie
Celiac and Discouraged
Posted
  • Author

Well, my symptoms got better after I detoxed but now they are getting worse and it seems like everything I eat has a negative effect. i am meeting with a specialist and having a colonoscopy this week as i have been having severe pain around my colon and other problems (sparing you the details). I would love to see things get back under control. Some days it is hard to keep pushing myself through my responsibilities. But I am going to keep fighting and hope for some help!

New Community Member Explorer
New Community Member
Posted

So sorry to hear :( Yes, I agree. It's worth the fight back to health. I'm still working on my own, but I can't wait to feel better again. Whatever it takes!!! Keep pressing on!!!

Well, my symptoms got better after I detoxed but now they are getting worse and it seems like everything I eat has a negative effect. i am meeting with a specialist and having a colonoscopy this week as i have been having severe pain around my colon and other problems (sparing you the details). I would love to see things get back under control. Some days it is hard to keep pushing myself through my responsibilities. But I am going to keep fighting and hope for some help!

Madagascar Rookie
Madagascar
Posted

we have a local nurse who is a celiac - she left her position as an emergency room doc and started a job educating people about gluten and helping people get through it. she speaks internationally on the topic, so i think she really knows her stuff. i went to her talk last week and have talked to her on the phone. she says that the antibody that a body forms in response to gluten is one of the few things that can cross the blood-brain barrier.

i have a cousin with schizophrenia so talked to her for quite a while about the mental health connection. she said she has seen people improve mentally - dramatically - when they went gluten-free (if they are celiacs.) so i went looking online and found a number of articles on the national institute of health's med library on the connection between mental health and gluten antibodies.

not sure if that helps you, but i hope it lets you know that it's not "just in your head" but might be coming from your small intestine. no idea, but i wonder if it says that you still have gluten coming from somewhere. another thing the nurse told me is that there are quality problems in having labs read tests - enough that she had me send my blood sample to Prometheus labs. The univ of chicago celiac center site recommends the prometheus labs and the mayo clinic. makes me wonder if your labs came back negative, i wonder if it was read by someone who knew what to look for. i hope you get some help from the doc!

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GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

If you were gluten-free for a year your tests should have come back as normal, ie not celiac. The antibodies drop off when you stop eating gluten.

GF Lover Rising Star
GF Lover
Posted

I have never heard of this type of Doc but I think it's an Excellent idea. I would go if I knew of one in my area.

Not only are gluten issues related to depression but just having a disease can cause depression.

Wishing you well,

Colleen

  • 5 years later...
emontgomery Newbie
emontgomery
Posted

Can anyone recommend any Gastroenterology Psychiatrist?

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

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      - Rejoicephd replied to Rejoicephd's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
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      Thankfully those are normal. B12 was on the low end of the normal range when I first got diagnosed. When I last got it checked, it had come up a lot (455 last time checked).
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    • Rejoicephd
      Struggling to get into a good pattern

      By Rejoicephd · Posted

      Thank you @cristiana.  Its really helpful to hear your experience, thanks for sharing.  8 years is a long time!  And its also good to know that others have experienced worsening before it gets better.  I've just started doing the food diary recently, and I'll keep that going. It's at least helping me try to get a handle on this, and also helps increase my overall awareness of what I'm putting in my body. I will also message my GI doc in the meantime too.  Thanks, it's really helpful to talk through this.  
    • trents
      Help!

      By trents · Posted

      Yes, the development of additional food intolerances is a common spinoff of celiac disease. To ensure valid testing after beginning a "gluten challenge" you would need to be consuming at least 10g of gluten daily (about the amount in 4-6 slices of wheat bread) for at least two weeks. Many cannot follow through with this regimen, however, as their intolerance reactions are just too strong and present too much health risk.
    • junell
      Help!

      By junell · Posted

      I've been gluten free for 5 years, as well as being intolerant to gluten, my list of intolerances is growing.. from dairy, eggs, soya, yeast, to mushroom, garlic, onion, spinach and quite a few in-between, basically my diet is gluten-free cornflakes, rice, banana, almond milk and fish anything else causes bloating, severe abdominal pain, mucousy diarrhoea, lethargy, muscle and joint pain, kidney pain, headaches, and mouth ulcers. I've been told it's IBS, I think it's more than that... I've been sent to a gastroenterologist who tested for coeliac, if course it came back negative because, as I told him, I haven't eaten gluten for 5 years, he's asked me to eat gluten for 4 weeks and redo the blood test, so I've tried small amounts of crispbread for 3 days and am in agony, I can't do this for 4 weeks and then however long it'll take to recover. Has anyone got any suggestions, and is multiple food intolerances a common side effect of coeliac? I'm struggling! And struggling to be taken seriously 😒 
    • cristiana
      Struggling to get into a good pattern

      By cristiana · Posted

      I think going back to your GI isn't a bad idea - my visits to the GI did not stop following my diagnosis as I had annoying issues on and off for some time.  Thankfully he is a fantastic GI, with  a great sense of humour, so it wasn't a chore to see him again although I'd rather not have had to, obviously!  But I needed my mind to be put at rest as my symptoms didn't seem to go away overnight as I'd hoped they would.  Initially I recall he recommended I went Dairy Free for three weeks, and he told me it would take that time to see an effect.  At that time, even lactose free milk went straight through me, so it is important, I would say, to even avoid that during a Dairy Free trial. My ongoing symptoms were bloating which did respond a bit to that trial.   However, within about 18 months there was a return to a very sore stomach, plus various aches and pains.   It turned out some gluten was sneaking in with my iron supplement (I was buying Floradix instead of Floravital), but I also think the dishwasher, the oven and eating out were contributors, too. Before my numbers normalised (from memory, about eight years!) I had several follow up appointments and a few more tests, but things gradually did get better.  Having read many accounts on this forum over the years, I don't think it is uncommon for symptoms to get a bit worse before getting better, that was certainly the case with me.  Your gut is damaged so you may well have issues digesting other food in the short term. But do try to be as scrupulously gluten free as you can possibly be as a first step, and I'd definitely try a three week Dairy Free trial.   Your villi because they are damaged are not able to create the lactase required to digest dairy at this time so you may well see some improvement if you come off dairy for a while.  Perhaps keeping a food diary of what you eat, where you eat it, whilst a bit onerous to do, will help identify foods that are causing issues.  For a while, apart from oats, I found peas, lentils and soya products hugely aggravating.  Things should calm down.
    • Rejoicephd
      Struggling to get into a good pattern

      By Rejoicephd · Posted

      Thankfully those are normal. B12 was on the low end of the normal range when I first got diagnosed. When I last got it checked, it had come up a lot (455 last time checked).
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