Second Day

[chip]

Never been on this diet before and this is the second day going into it. I've been so far eating nothing but udi's bread, with margarine, with an egg, tomatoes and dark chocolate. I have anxiety disorder and I believe it's from magnesium deficiency. All of this started last year when I kept drinking caffeine like crazy and using caffeine as a laxative to make me lose weight> Very big mistake. Since last year, I've had suicidal thoughts, thoughts of being scared of dying, doom feelings, paranoid, the whole nine. I am not depressed. I am highly anxious and it's for NO reason! Are the symptoms suppose to get worse before they get better?

[mushroom]

Hi Chip, and welcome to the board.

I am assuming you are diagnosed celiac since you are eating gluten free. Unexplained anxiety is one of the big symptoms of celiac that not too many doctors know about. Does your doctor know about it? Oftentimes they can give you something for it to get you over the hump, but you don't want to get reliant on those things either if you think you can manage without. Just know that it is a symptom and that it will get better Of course the coffee / caffeine was a pretty dumb way to try to lose weight because it messes up your whole metabolism, not just the weight part But then you know that now Drink plenty of pure clean water to flush your body and eat a really clean diet. Is your diet so restricted because you cannot handle other foods, or just what you have started out with? Can you try some meat or fish protein and some green vegetables, some rice, mashed potatoes? I think you need a little more bulk passing through your digestive tract and even though you may not be absorbing them well, a greater variety of nutrients. Speaking of which, did your doctor test you for vitamin and mineral deficiencies, because some of these deficiencies if you have them could really be affecting your mood also. However, if you have been eating a lot of gluten, you may be going through gluten withdrawal and your body may be craving it. This is not at all unusual - it can be almost as bad as nicotine (and coffee!! - you might be withdrawing from that too, if you haven't already.

Good luck with the gluten free way of life and ask for anything you need help with. That's what we are here for.

[cavernio]

I've been gluten free for 7 months and still suffer mental issues, albeit anxiety isn't really an issue for me, possibly because I avoid doing pretty much anything that gives me the slightest anxiety.

You're taking magnesium supplements, right? For how long? Has it helped? Why do you suspect magnesium deficiency? Have you considered that you may be deficient in other vitamins from your year of purging?

I think for you though, you're still consuming caffeine if you eat dark chocolate. If I eat a bar of dark chocolate, it's very similar to the effect a cup of coffee will have on me. I dunno if you were having coffee before either, but I find something particular about caffeine from coffee to have an extra kick, and an extra crash, than if I drink lots of tea. And chocolate is part of that same family of bean that has theobromine, which you might react poorly to. I would definitely nix ALL caffeine, even slight amounts from milk chocolate or a barely steeped green tea or a can of coke, for at least a month. Overdosing on caffeine can definitely cause anxiety. I was never under the impression that it could be permament, but you definitely did a number on your endocrine system.

I would strongly suggest you get tested for celiac disease properly, BEFORE you try a gluten free diet. If you do start to feel better, then you'll want to know if you actually have celiac disease, and going back to eating gluten might make you feel far worse (you can't get tested without eating gluten, results won't be accurate). If you don't feel better being gluten free, you may not be gluten free long enough to know. For me, it's been 7 months and I'm still waiting for that 'good' feeling, and I clearly have celiac disease. You probably wouldn't stay gluten free 7 months if you barely noticed a difference and didn't have a diagnosis.

No matter what the test results will be, you can try going gluten free after biopsy and bloodwork are taken. If you're not a celiac, you may still be intolerant which is still very serious, and going a gluten free is the only way you can (currently) know.

To finally answer your question, yes, you can feel worse before feeling better if you're sensitive or celiac once you start your gluten-free diet.