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I originally posted about experiencing horrid mood swings & whacky behavioral while under the "influence of gluten" and asking if anyone else had experiences like this.  I got quite a few affirmative responses & experiences, most of which I posted in a earlier summary.  A few more have trickled in so I've included them here.  I got one interesting response from someone who said she doesn't get mood/behavioral reactions from gluten & suggests that it's not the gluten that causing my problems but rather a hormone problem.  It's always difficult for people to understand something they've never experienced. Apparently this person has experienced mood swings from hormonal changes so she naturally projects that into my experience.  I liken this to MY own tendency to assume any symptoms similar to mine must be caused by gluten!  ha ha ha!  Human nature is a funny thing!  [As usual, my obnoxious comments are in brackets.]  Valerie in Tacoma
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In my job, I'm in a position to spot a lot of likely celiacs and talk with them about it. I have one coming in today with Crohn's disease. She tries to avoid wheat, then cheats, and can't tell the difference, but her mother can tell. Between the two of us we might get her permanently better. I feel lucky that I can try to help others this way. I had "fibromyalgia" and was really grouchy for 7 years before I quit gluten. When I first quit it 8 years ago, I did it for terrible chronic diarrhea, which resolved in 4 days. I had a tremendous improvement in energy and clarity of thought after the first 3 days. At first I reacted to acidental exposure with gut trouble, my stomach would seize up like there was a large rock in there. I think that was an irritated pyloric valve not letting the harmful meal into the rest of the body...After 5 years I would react to gluten about 36 hours later like I was coming down with the flu, aches, headaches, hurting everywhere, and it would last about 12 hours. I don't know if the murderous attitude toward my husband used to surface then or not. The last few years I have no idea when I have encountered gluten, I try to make sure it doesn't happen, but now and then I go nuts. I have told my husband to move out, and then the next day thought, "What came over me? What have I been eating??!!" Poor guy, he wakes up in the morning and I'm embroiled in angry thoughts, rehashing the past, including the years before I ever met him. He refers to the Jekyll and Hyde transition too. Maybe it was gluten in that potion Dr. Jekyll brewed up? Donna
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Valerie, I believe you . . . After reading all three long e-mails from you about psychiatric symptoms of gluten ingestion, I forwarded the whole lot to a niece whose mother, my sister, suffered terribly from depression, and I have always been convinced it was gluten that caused her problems. I mentioned this to a new friend a few weeks ago. He is a retired endocrinologist, and we were talking about my sister's death from pancreatic cancer. His brother had also died from pancreatic cancer. He said that one of the early symptoms of pancreatic poblems is depression. All these things seem to fit on a continuum, as the pancreas is definitely involved in celiac disease, yet no medical research seems to be moving along that line yet. Like many who wrote to you, I finally self-diagnosed at age 52. I realize the doctor was so annoyed that he had missed the diagnosis, and also so brain-washed by his medical training, he insisted that I should immediately return to a gluten-containing diet (I had by then been gluten -free for three months and feeling wonderful) because then he could do his internal scoping process. I said, as I may have already written to you, that my reply to him was, "Like hell I will!" That was the end of our professional relationship. I later became friends with his wife and then learned that she had celiac disease. He had diagnosed her while they were on their honeymoon. Go figure. I'd like to add one symptom that goes along with accidental ingestion of gluten in my case. I'll start the day relatively peacefully, but then need to write something. If I am in a really healthy state, my handwriting is really quite legible and relatively pleasant to look at. But if I have eaten gluten, my hand writing is like hen scratching. Do you know anyone else with that symptom? It must have to do with small muscle coordination. It was interesting to read of many women (it seems always to be women) who were not diagnosed until they were in their 50's. Yet I, at least, have gone on to a very healthy and happy and even-tempered life (with some exceptional days after accidental gluten in my diet) and am now almost 78 and going strong. I'm sure my father was an undiagnosed celiac and he lived to be 89...But he had a lousy temper most of the time!!! He solved the problem by working alone in his garden, or in his basement work room whenever the nasty disposition came on him. Thanks for bringing this up. I think we who have contacted you should have a little sub group that shares ideas. I have found, for instance, that Alka Selzer Gold really helps when things are out of whack.  Gayle Kennedy 
 
[I too sent the summary of psychiatric symptoms people exprience on gluten to my two sisters, who have both been on psychotrophic medications for 20 years.  I was hoping it may inspire them to look into the gluten issue to help manage their depression & mood swings.  So what was their response?  "Very interesting."  Oh well!]-----------------
I spent Thanksgiving week away from my GF environment and since returning home, just can't seem to get with it. It's been two weeks and I am still tired and listless, no appetite, etc. Can't seem to get enough sleep. I have to remind myself that I am really getting old, but can usually occupy myself with a sit down project to recoup some energy. I go to a gym 2 to 3 times a week, sew, knit and am working on a family history project, but since I haven't been able to get back to my unfinished chores. If I were glutenized in my daughter's home, this could be a reason for all those symptoms. Because of my age, limit my driving to daylight and only necessary errands, so haven't done anything stupid that way. Just wish I could get some energy and positive thinking back.  Thank you for bringing up this subject, I don't feel so quite alone knowing others have similar problems.   Phebe in NC-----------------
Thank you so much for this.  I have been telling my therapist (note-having a therapist this should tell you something!) that when I (accidentally) eat gluten, I have mood swings and I know there is a physiological basis for this but I don't think she really believes me.  I think she thinks I'm in denial and that it really is psychological.  Being gluten free and now and then getting exposed to gluten, I realize that it does have a huge impact on me.  I tend toward really bad moods, anger and when I'm really sick, rage.  In fact, when I feel sick, I get this furious feeling and have a really difficult time dealing with it.  While I'm laying in bed stewing about it I definitely feel like this reaction is from my body.  It's like my system is so totally sensitive and irritated that all my insides feel like sandpaper is rubbing against them.   Or maybe my brain tissue is swollen or a little inflamed or something.  Look at diabetes.  Blood sugar changes can definitely impact behavior and mental processing.  In fact, I think it has been successfully used as a defense for some.
 
Now, when I have these reactions I start trying to figure out what I ate that might have triggered this.  I've been planning on keeping a "mood and food" diary so I could figure out what's going on.  It's my understanding that we have the same receptors in our guts that are in our brain.  I read somewhere that we have opiate receptors in both places and that is why one can get constipated when taking any pain medication.  I also read somewhere that the brain and intestines are made from the same kind of tissue.  Maybe we're wired this way for survival (the gut and brain being linked together.)  I think of all those sayings, like "gut reaction" or "having the guts to do something" etc. . . . Being gluten free and now and then getting exposed to gluten, I realize that it does have a huge impact on me but I know only other celiacs really get this.  I also believe that my other food sensitivities impact me psychologically. It's my understanding that we have the same receptors in our guts that are in our brain.  I read somewhere that we have opiate receptors in both places and that is why one can get constipated when taking any pain medication.  I also read somewhere that the brain and intestines are made from the same kind of tissue.  Maren
 
[When I first went GF, 8 years ago, I had a terrible dark mood come over me w/i minutes of ingesting whole cow's milk.  I gave up all dairy products for several years.  I gradually introduced goat milk kefir/yogurt to my routine & found I could tolerate it w/o symptoms.  I now find that I can tolerate small & limited quantities of cow's milk products w/o any changes in mood.  I do have urinary tract symptoms from cow's milk products, but not goat's milk products.]


 
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