Celiac Disease Support Group

Celiac disease is an auto-immune disorder of the digestive system that occurs in genetically-predisposed individuals. It is characterised by damage or flattening to all or part of the villi lining the small intestine, which interferes with the absorption of nutrients. This damage is caused by eating anything with gluten (gliadin), a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley...

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Vincent13 03/21/2009

Ive been seeing the physical side of Celiac on here with people, but I,m interested to know about how pple have felt or were mentally before getting diagnosed.What kind of stress they were experiencing, or how unbalanced and off centred due to their non G/F diet.
I was almost convinced I was the most unhappiest person alive untill I adressed a G/F diet. I once read they called Celiac 'The Tears and Tantrum Disorder' Well, that was me, totally angry one minute and coming out sideways, then passive the next, usually guilt ridden. Feeling good one day and low the next.As soon as I ate flour or gluton products that was one of the side effects. Then the paranoia and then teh feelings of being alone and afraid of everything. This got worse as I got older and progressed into what I thought was a mental health issue. (It wasnt)
The being sick, and having billious attacks ceased as i got older but were replaced with the mood swings and of course still great discomfort when going to the toilet.
So id be really interested in finally knowing, that i'm not imagining things and that celiac can have this effect on pple.
Something else just came to mind as I was typing, are there different types of celiac sufferers or celiac complaints or degrees of it.
As a boy my mum said I wasnt as bad as another sufferer she knew so that has me puzzled as well as to my above comment.
Ive never asked about this before so I await with baited breath.
Thanx heaps pple
Vincent13

deleted_user 03/30/2009

I don't know how much the gluten effected me.
I do know that one time when I did with forethought cheat at an eatery. I was frightened because I felt a sudden feeling of intense rage.

This blew my mind, scared me and made me wonder how many times that has happened.

Vincent13 03/31/2009

I recognise the different intensities now of dietary related ourbursts of anger and normal anger. I dont get a reaction to the gluten, till the following day. It just takes me by surprise and after an outburst I,m ok again. Almost as tho..... what was that all about! I even forget what i was angry about. Where as, with normal anger, I am more aware of what i need to do to allay it and disperse it as best I can. There are no set rules tho.
Usually after the tantrum, comes a few other reactions, ranging from abnormal fear about nothing, or everything, to paranoia and isolation and feelings of worthlessness. Patterns established long ago I have narrowed it down to. Old pre G/f diet days.

I,m having a hard time atm because of accidently eating a biscuit base, which was concealed in what i thought was a harmless cream n chocolate pie. ITs been over a week and still i am having a hard time stabilising my emotions. Its been a few years since ive slipped up so heres hoping i,m almost thru the worst.

Tc Vincent13

deleted_user 04/02/2009

Hi Vincent,
I am so glad you are writing about this.
I thought I would never cheat because I was soooooo sick.
Gee after being stable and well for a long time, the concerns leave too.

Recently, I started cheating and then I cheated a lot!
Then I started having a lot of trouble with my emotional state and my thinking.

I never would have guessed all of this is from GLUTEN!

I started having fears and wondering if my report was okay with my mother and thinking she's mad at me and all kinds of stuff.

I'm soooo glad you shared this.
It tells me a lot about what happens to my mind and how it is actually related to my diet.

THANK YOU!

deleted_user 09/30/2009

Thank you for posting this. I went off of gluten for a period of time (not knowing this was a bad idea if I ever wanted a confirmed diagnosis) I felt better. Then, to get a confirmed diagnosis, I ate gluten foods for 1 1/2 weeks -- along with the bloating, IBS, muscle pain, joint pain, bone pain, and severe fatique... I also experienced noticable irritability and depression. I went off of gluten again 4 days ago and the irritability and depression are gone (as well as the bone pain) -- as for the GI symptoms -- I think it will be a while...

deleted_user 11/20/2009

I too see a strong connection between gluten and my mood.
When I occasionally get some accidental cross-contamination or actually ingest some gluten, I always sleep like the dead for at least 2 days, feeling hopeless and depressed and not caring if I ever totally wake up. The mental and physical exhaustion is just unbelievable! I see now that my clinical depression is linked to what I eat.
I have IBS as well, and when I have an IBS flare-up I have a similar reaction. I feel very negative about everything, irritated, just want to sleep (when I'm not running to the toilet!).
We most definitely ARE WHAT WE EAT.

Vincent13 11/20/2009

HI Unsinkable xox, Its almost borfer line Bi-Polar having Celiac but its not. Our bodys react to the decficient enzyme necessary for breaking down the protein in wheat. which is GLUTEN. SO It like anyother allergy our bodys go into shock and then the symptoms start. Of course the goof nes is once on a G/F diet we align ourselves and moods stabilise. I was on antidepressants for 13 years and been off them since Easter 07. The thing I found out about myown mental staes was that ide leant the depression just like a habit I couldnt control. SO yes I needed mood stabilisers for a while but hell.. not that long.
So yes, we recover very quickly physically but our memorys need sorting out. They dont call Ceilac 'The Tears and Tantrum Disorder' for nothing lol SO good luck and stay vigilant and unsinkable... Unsinkable hehe TC xoxxo Good Health xoxo

Vincent13 11/20/2009

Sorry I

Vincent13 11/20/2009

OOPs what happened to my msssage. I was correcting my typo and meant to say ...'but the good news is'. Ok tc xxx

deleted_user 11/20/2009

I now connect my Celiac to a life long emotional problem that I spent a lot of time hiding.
I was shy and very anxious especially after I ate. My heart would race and I felt sick. Always had stomach discomfort. Told I had gastritis. Lived on Mylanta from 6th grade to my early 20's.

The last 8 years of my life I have been forgetful, tired, very poor tolerance to stress and just not myself. Very irritable and would cry easily. I never feel like crying at all now. Much more calm and even tempered. Sometimes I would blow up and feel ashamed afterwards and embarrassed.

Now gluten free I have more stamina to stress and my mind is clearer.

I am amazed how my agility is improved. I play music and my playing is 100% better when gluten free. My hands and brain are more in alignment.

I am laughing more, not fretting as much, and much more social now.

My bathroom troubles only started the last 3 years and that was affecting my entire life and work...... now that is resolved I can be more social. So now I am not as reclusive.

When I eat gluten now I am just so tired and down in the dumps...I avoid it at all times. I really see a connection now with the moods and gluten.

Hope that helps......O

kalith 11/21/2009

I definitely think eating gluten can cause depression. I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It wasn't until I cut gluten out of my diet that my bouts of depression, anxiety, irritability, and mood swings diminished.

Vincent13 11/21/2009

Hi Kalith. I was recently talking with a frind who doesnt have any diagnosed Celiac wheat or gluten allgergys, and within a short space of time bein goff all of these ingredients, her whole body has dropped some weight no more bloating and no more acid. and i,m guessing her toilet trips have become more pleasant..I would love to hear of pple using G/F products.. .. the price of our products would come down. immeasurably.
I suffered colic pains that would have me stop in the street or where ever i was till they subsided as a lad. I started adressing a G/F diet around 1985 and even today I still have small slip ups, with so called harmless products because ive always 'assumed they were G/F. Now a days when I see spices added, I watch out as some do contain flour. Even Mayonaise is not free of gluten as i.d assumed, but Kraft are now making a gluten free Mayo. SO my point is watch eating imported products that contain the labels 'spices added.' THis has been my most recent discovery.
TC and Much LIght ...Light. xox

deleted_user 11/22/2009

When you don't get the nutrients you need b/c of the gluten allergy it definitely effects your brain and emotions. Irealized I have had anxiety and depression for most of my life I thought it was normal feeling that way. I take lexapro and it has really helped me with the anger,depression and anxiety. I wasdianosed in 2005 and have triedmy best to stay away from gluten. It has made a huge difference in my life.

God Bless!

Vincent13 11/22/2009

Hi Nanpad.. Yes things did get bad for me mentally, as I,m a carer for my elderly aunt, and Felt I wasnt copeing. So I tried Lexapro but after a 2 weeks, decided to go off them. For me, now anti depressants are a last resort and even then only for a short time. Antidepressants are necessary I know, but after 13 years on them, my whole life did a 180 2 years ago. No more late nights and up early each day. Quite the opposite while on anti's. I read up on Lexapro and had friends that were on it and yes its a great 're-inhibiter uptake' stabiliser, howerer it clashed with my system and so now I just use good ole Valium when needed. sorry to detract from celiac or g/f topics but i do feel that once on a gluten free diet, mental states improve outta site. Mood swings are a terrible things to live with, but now i,m coping and have far more positive days than down ones. Our g/f diet keeps us away from most junk food and thats a good thing. lolI say to people I have to prepare most meals un less its a safe g/f product from a can or package. But def No MAdonalds etc lol..They do sell g/f cakes at the one here tho, so a coffee with friends is now possible there.

Tc Nanpad
YIF Vincent xox

deleted_user 04/09/2010

I have only been gluten free for 9 days but already I feel so much more calm and happy. I have taken antidepressants in the past and they only seemed to make things worse and I also have had anxiety attacks and outbursts for no reason. My husband and I were faced with a stressful situation the other day involving a neighbor and he said to me "wow usually you are the one who gets upset and right now you are so calm and unbothered". I just feel so much less stressed and my insomnia is gone as well as my heartburn. My migraines are even improving. I really wish being gluten free was a lot easier for people because then maybe more people would do it and see a difference.

deleted_user 04/11/2010

I was refrerred to the exocercist because I would snap over the smallest thing. I was put on celexa and I hated taking it, but I took it until I stopped eating gluten. Once I stopped eating gluten my I stopped having alot of brain fog episodes, I could think more clearly, etc.

the brain and gut are connected since early development and they stay connected through the vagus nerve---this is where we get the butterfly feelilng in our stomach's before doing things that make us nervous.

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