Cognitive Impairment in Celiac Disease is Real, Gluten-Free Diet Seems to Help

One woman's story:
I always had some food allergies, and I knew that wheat germ was not good for me. However, in 1984, after 5 years of working at a manufacturing job with lots of chemical exposure, my asthma got really bad...and it seemed that I was losing my mind. That year I stopped being able to balance my checkbook; I couldn't add or subtract correctly. My work suffered and that was bad overall, but I had been on the committee that determined how we moved to computers and which was then training our people on the machines.

I had read somewhere that allergies could affect cognition, so I found an DIY elimination diet that allowed me to work as I eliminated and tested different foods. I kept detailed by-the-hour charts on what I ate and my physical state. I was suspicious of wheat before the week I tested it. First, about 5 days in, I was at work when, suddenly, I "woke up." I felt like I had been asleep for a long time and just then remembered my life. My co-workers noticed my reaction and, the next day, when I had a sandwich for lunch, I asked them to keep an eye on me. Two hours later, one gent tapped on the shoulder and said, Go home now, while you can. The next day, when I tested wheat again, while reading the Sunday papers, I ended up under the couch cushions in a full panic attack, unable to believe that I could move.

My reactions to eating wheat products have all been mental/psychological: serious panic attacks; losing my ability to speak a foreign language I had been studying for 2 years; temper tantrums; inexplicable weepiness and depression. I have been 35 years w/o gluten in my diet and every time I have challenged it, well, my wife says it's like suddenly being with a petulant 4-yr old.

And no, people/doctors ("What drugs are you taking, dear?) haven't believed me, except my closest friends, my wife, and the people I worked with who knew me as person A and witnessed my becoming person B. I was elated to finally see articles coming out about psycho-active reactions to gluten; finally, some support from the research community!

I believe you.  You're not alone.  I have horrible reactions like that, too.  You're in good company here!  Glad you found us!  Welcome to the forum!

The loss of cognitive function was and still is one of my main symptoms. I honestly never had that severe of a digestive issue with gluten, but in 2005 I developed what my family doctor termed clinical MS. I loss control of my right side with numbness and tingling. My hand and fingers would curl up, and I would stumble. But the worst symptom was losing several of my mental abilities. I found I couldn't remember complete conversations I had with other people. I also couldn't sequence any of my activities. If I had a task to perform at work I was well aware of the task, but couldn't figure out what my 1st step might be to accomplish it. I also loss the ability to concentrate enough to read a book or document  of any length. While I could see the individual words and knew what they meant I couldn't follow a story line. An alternative medical doctor suggested I go gluten free. She did a test with a computer and metal bars (that to this day I still don't understand) and said I had Celiac. The symptoms began to clear. Prior to this I was administered the blood test but it always came back with a false negative. It wasn't until 9 years later that I was formally diagnosed through endoscopy and genetic testing (I carry both genes for it.) To this day if I get glutened I can still exhibit these symptoms. It was a scary time in my life. I'm glad someone is now starting to figure out that Celiac can cause these kinds of severe symptoms.

15 hours ago, Guest 1984-my life got strange said:

One woman's story:
I always had some food allergies, and I knew that wheat germ was not good for me. However, in 1984, after 5 years of working at a manufacturing job with lots of chemical exposure, my asthma got really bad...and it seemed that I was losing my mind. That year I stopped being able to balance my checkbook; I couldn't add or subtract correctly. My work suffered and that was bad overall, but I had been on the committee that determined how we moved to computers and which was then training our people on the machines.

I had read somewhere that allergies could affect cognition, so I found an DIY elimination diet that allowed me to work as I eliminated and tested different foods. I kept detailed by-the-hour charts on what I ate and my physical state. I was suspicious of wheat before the week I tested it. First, about 5 days in, I was at work when, suddenly, I "woke up." I felt like I had been asleep for a long time and just then remembered my life. My co-workers noticed my reaction and, the next day, when I had a sandwich for lunch, I asked them to keep an eye on me. Two hours later, one gent tapped on the shoulder and said, Go home now, while you can. The next day, when I tested wheat again, while reading the Sunday papers, I ended up under the couch cushions in a full panic attack, unable to believe that I could move.

My reactions to eating wheat products have all been mental/psychological: serious panic attacks; losing my ability to speak a foreign language I had been studying for 2 years; temper tantrums; inexplicable weepiness and depression. I have been 35 years w/o gluten in my diet and every time I have challenged it, well, my wife says it's like suddenly being with a petulant 4-yr old.

And no, people/doctors ("What drugs are you taking, dear?) haven't believed me, except my closest friends, my wife, and the people I worked with who knew me as person A and witnessed my becoming person B. I was elated to finally see articles coming out about psycho-active reactions to gluten; finally, some support from the research community!

I have long said if my issues were only digestive, I might cheat occasionally; but the cognitive aspects are too great to ever cheat. Memory becomes almost extinct. I can’t remember what I’ve read - it’s like my processor stops working! I also have dermatitis herpetiformis which doubly makes me stay on track. Otherwise I can’t remember and I’m scratching all the time!! 

Before my diagnosis I had gotten to the point I had a hard time remembering in the evening what I did that very morning. I was also living in a foreign country since years, and trying to learn the language. Though I understood a lot of it and had a good vocabulary, I could not put a sentence together. I simply could not remember words when I needed them or string them together. 

It took a month on the GFD to feel awake again. I started learning so much faster... and I was finally able to relate to the world around me, because I could speak with everyone. Years wasted...

Cognitive is needed so much in todays time.  You actually notice the cognitive decline little by little.  Don't enter into multitask jobs or professions.