Mood Affected By Gluten?

[mommyto3]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here. I was recently diagnosed as gluten intolerant. To tell you the truth, I don't really understand the difference between "gluten intolerant" and Celiac, but I'm not sure that the title makes any difference. I was "diagnosed" through stool and genetic testing by Enterolab. Boy, I'm just completely overwhelmed by the reaches of this disease....I look back now and wonder just how much of my bad health has been caused by gluten. About 10 years ago I underwent back surgery for two severly blown disks in my lower back. I was 25 at the time. The surgeon said I was very very young to show this type of damage. I just attributed it to bad luck on my part. After the surgery is when all the weird stuff started. My back felt much much better but then I started having really strange neurological symptoms. I had twitching all over my body that would come and go. Sometimes it would progress to shooting nerve pains all over and often I would feel a "buzzing" all over like fire was coursing through my veins. I was tested for all sorts of stuff (ALS, MLS, blood etc etc). The Neurologist's answer was "overactive nervous system" which translated to me into "I have no idea what this is". I just lived with it and stopped caffeine etc. The symptoms never went away but they would come and go so I lived with it. After being pregnant with my first baby I realized these symptoms completely stopped during pregnancy. This was confirmed with my pregnancies for baby #2 and baby #3. Unfortunately, once I had the baby it all started again. So this went on for 10 years but it wasn't until about 6 months ago when I started having severe stomach pain that I got really concerned. The pain was so bad, I had terrible fatigue, brain fog, bladder problems etc. I was convinced that I had ovarian cancer because of the abdominal pain or even uterine cancer which my mother had a few years back. My GP referred me for tests, focusing on IBS and suggested I try going gluten free while waiting for my tests. I decided to give it a try and OMG, what a difference! I can't believe how much better I felt. I actually felt like a normal human being again! After doing some reasearch I decided to get tested by Enterolab because I refuse to go back on gluten and I don't want the scope test. Sure enough the test came back saying I have elevated everything (Iga, Ige? can't remember all the stuff). They also said I have two copies of a gluten sensitivity gene (although not the Celiac Sprue gene) which means I might actually react more severely (?). Anyways, sorry for the terribly long post.....just wanted to give some background.....

My question is, when I ingest gluten (it's not often but I know I haven't been 100% diligent) is it possible that it affects my mood? I find that after eating even miniscule amounts of gluten my whole demeanor changes. I get really really down, agitated, moody and just overall negative. It's so hard to snap out of it and this usually lasts for about 3 days then I'm back to myself. It's kind of scary to slip into such a downward spiral emotinally that you can't pull out of. This is new for me as I haven't reacted to gluten like this before. I figure gluten causes so many other things, why not this? At least if gluten is at the heart of it I can pull my socks up and really make sure I'm 100% gluten-free. Just looking for some advice as I'm totally new to this whole brutal disease.

Thanks for listening.

[ravenwoodglass]

Oh yea gluten can definately cause mood changes. You not an oddball at all it happens to a lot of us, me included. For me it is even a greater incentive to stay strict with the diet than the GI issues.

[lucia]

  On 7/5/2010 at 9:41 PM, ravenwoodglass said:

Oh yea gluten can definately cause mood changes. You not an oddball at all it happens to a lot of us, me included. For me it is even a greater incentive to stay strict with the diet than the GI issues.

Same thing for me. And the life-cycle for the depressed mood is also about 3 days.

[rdunbar]

After being off of gluten , even the slightest trace amount, and dairy, other grains, and nightshades for @4 months my mood has improved amazingly, I am starting to feel like an entirely new person. I had stopped eating wheat @3 years ago, but because I wasn't sufficiently informed about celiac, how an auto immune 'reaction' works, ect... I thought I could get away with eating in resturants (and getting cross contamination ), using a little dairy in my tea, and being sloppy about protecting myself from gluten exposure,

until I learned to accept the fact that to get better I would need to cook all of my meals, and always be planning ahead , some things got better, like my sense of balance got better, but until I took this step of really taking charge and saying " I'm so done with being sick, I really believe having a totally gluten free life is my last resort and it will work when nothing else has" and just doing it, I hadn't experienced what I have with my mood disorders and how much they have improved. It's unreal when I think about it, I really felt like I was just going to be like that forever, always getting upset about everything, even trivial things, all the mental suffering over things you have no control over, just seemed like who I was, I never dreamt there was a way out my whole life being an emotional mess. I thought that just the way I was. Going through the "withdrawl" process after I cleaned up my act and started on a strict elimination diet, i experienced some moments of feeling unusually calm and having a feeling of well being, even though physically I felt like crap and was super fatigued, I started to realize that this must be what " normal" people feel like!?! Originally I learned I had a problem with gluten because of my dermatitas herpetiformis rash, and alieviating the huge suffering from it was my motivation for getting free of gluten, but the improvement in my mood has been an unexpected and most welcome effect.

Now im feeling a real significant change for the better, and I'm so excited about how it's going to give me so many oppurtunities to have a more productive and rewarding life. Now when I do get unhinged emotionally it lasts a much shorter time, is way less intense, and the feeling of toxicity in my body from it is reduced to say the least.

Check out the recent thread "personality changes" added recently to the board!

[glutenfr3309]

gluten made me verrrrry irritable!! (poor bf put up with a lot)

i was always in a horrible mood and felt depressed all the time.

[i-geek]

  On 7/5/2010 at 8:01 PM, mommyto3 said:

My question is, when I ingest gluten (it's not often but I know I haven't been 100% diligent) is it possible that it affects my mood? I find that after eating even miniscule amounts of gluten my whole demeanor changes. I get really really down, agitated, moody and just overall negative. It's so hard to snap out of it and this usually lasts for about 3 days then I'm back to myself. It's kind of scary to slip into such a downward spiral emotinally that you can't pull out of. This is new for me as I haven't reacted to gluten like this before. I figure gluten causes so many other things, why not this? At least if gluten is at the heart of it I can pull my socks up and really make sure I'm 100% gluten-free. Just looking for some advice as I'm totally new to this whole brutal disease.

Thanks for listening.

Yep, mood swings are one of my biggest early symptoms. Usually if I've been glutened the night before, I'll wake up in the morning in an absolutely foul mood and pick fights with my husband for no reason. I know I'm being irrational but I feel like I can't do anything about it. That usually passes by the 24 hour point and then I'm depressed for a few days. I'm generally an upbeat person but when I've been glutened I start feeling like I want to crawl in a hole and stop existing. I know it's the gluten and not really me, but it's still scary.

[Skylark]

Yes, absolutely. Read my profile if you want to see how bad it gets. I had bipolar illness from the Prozac the damn doctors used to treat my gluten-induced depression.

[CeliacMom2008]

Yep, without a doubt. Pre-diagnosis extreme mood swings/irritability was one of my son's worst symptoms. He's only been glutened a couple times since being diagnosed 2.5 years ago, but each time his first symptom is a mood change. He becomes very down and irrationally upset by things. Lasts a couple days and then his intestinal symptoms kick in. Toss in extreme fatigue for a week, and we have no problem doing everything we can to avoid gluten!

A quick, down and dirty explanation of Celiac vs. gluten intolerance: Celiac causes an immune response in your body. The gluten causes a battle in your body that can't be won and your intestines end up damaged. This damage can take months or even years to recover. Gluten intolerance doesn't cause the immune response. It just messes up your body on its own. Either way you have to avoid gluten, but with intolerance your body's recovery time should be shorter (shorter in reference to your intestines - the outward symptoms from the glutening could still last just as long as with Celiac). Hope that helps.

[elle's mom]

First of all, welcome:) I could have just about written this post myself from the Enterolab testing/results, to the moodiness, to the way better during pregnancy thing. I keep hoping that someday my moods will subside completely, for the sake of those around me if nothing else. I've been gluten free for over a year now and still get them on occasion, although it is definately much better. I do have good days now. I am ULTRA, SUPER, DUPER careful when it comes to gluten......I do not eat out at all, too much risk for cc. Also, check all your hygiene products; my hairspray, shampoo and conditioner all contained wheat. In addition, I have gone through a laundry list of additional food intolerances which I am hoping will eventually quit popping up, but that doesn't happen to everyone. It's taking me quite awhile to iron everything out, but I wish you well!

[sandsurfgirl]

Read my thread about personality changes.

It affects more than your mood. I'm a different person on gluten.

[Sayuri]

So i have been celiac all of my life but did not start on the diet until about 2 years ago because no one rely knew anything about it, or what to do even the doctors didnt know poop all. Before i was on the gluten free diet i was very depressed. Now i was put on a pill called celexa (co-citalopram) for this depression it did get better and im still on the pill i take two a day but i do notice that i am still very irritable and have bad mood swings (bf points it out alot to) and i cant control them it makes me feel so horrable esspecaily for my bf im amazed hes been around for 4 years. I have jjust joined this site and noticed that alot of the food ive been eating could still have gluten in it even though the ingredients doesnt list it...same with my makeup and hari products..and i do notice i get other symptoms like bloating and cramps. So im trying to figure out places to find PROPER gluten free food, its hard...but ne who so could my mood swings rely be from gluten? Because i rely hate them and they can be very bad and im tired of doctors and there misdiagnosing..im afraid theyre gonna end up saying im bi polar...even though my bf's mom is bi polar and sais that he doesnt think i am.. i just need help because im so confused and i want to be as healthy as possible.

[Skylark]

  On 7/6/2010 at 3:15 AM, CeliacMom2008 said:

A quick, down and dirty explanation of Celiac vs. gluten intolerance: Celiac causes an immune response in your body. The gluten causes a battle in your body that can't be won and your intestines end up damaged. This damage can take months or even years to recover. Gluten intolerance doesn't cause the immune response. It just messes up your body on its own. Either way you have to avoid gluten, but with intolerance your body's recovery time should be shorter (shorter in reference to your intestines - the outward symptoms from the glutening could still last just as long as with Celiac). Hope that helps.

Gluten intolerance almost certainly involves the immune system in some way. It's just probably not happening in the intestinal mucosa. Have you read any of the recent and rather interesting research on the mechanisms of gluten ataxia, or the immunologic effects of gliadin peptide?

[missceliac2010]

Wow. Thank you so much for starting this thread! I am also newly diagnosed with Celiac, and the disease is explaining A LOT of medical issues in my life, both mental and physical. I honestly thought I was going crazy at times. My health was failing, I was so depressed I was contemplating ways to commit suicide on a weekly basis, and doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me! I lost faith in the all doctors and was sabotaging my relationship with my boyfriend. Now I realize that my primary physician is a wonderful man who was only trying to help, and my boyfriend is eligible for sainthood as far as I'm concerned. The fact that my boyfriend has stuck around though the h*ll we've been through proves that he is my soul mate. I am so thankful that I have gotten a diagnosis, and I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead as I adjust to my new life.

Knowing that others have experienced the mental symptoms of celiac disease comforts me in so many ways. Once again, thanks for starting this thread, and thanks to all the people who have responded! I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of time here on celiac.com, getting advice, suggestions, and comfort from my new friends who are in the trenches right along with me!

((Hugs))

Heather

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 7/6/2010 at 6:24 AM, Skylark said:

Gluten intolerance almost certainly involves the immune system in some way. It's just probably not happening in the intestinal mucosa. Have you read any of the recent and rather interesting research on the mechanisms of gluten ataxia, or the immunologic effects of gliadin peptide?

Exactly. DH is another example of the autoimmune antibody reaction that doesn't always affect the gut. Both are autoimmune disease. That is why I consider gluten intolerance and celiac to be the same disease.

[mommyto3]

Wow everyone....thanks for the words of wisdom! I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one to be affected like this. Kinda thought I was going crazy there for a bit. Once you get diagnosed it's funny how many things in the past you run through your mind and wonder "was that gluten?" For me I think that many (if not all) of my health problems resulted from gluten. There's gotta be a reason that I felt 60 at the age of 30, right? I'm thankful I was finally able to connect the dots.....

Just looking forward to the healing. I hope it's fast in my case and I already feel so much better. I just have to work on completely eliminating gluten from my diet (sometimes I don't mean to eat it but then find out it was buried under some weird ingredient I ate). This is definitely a struggle as I LOVE to eat! In the grand scheme of things though, the food just isn't worth the suffering.

Thanks again everybody! This is a great forum!!!

[VioletBlue]

Yes, I can relate. Unfortunately for me, it's not just gluten I react to that way. Other food allergies have the same effect on me. I'm thinking part of it may be a histamine response and my reaction to that but I don't know. But the downward spiral is exactly how I describe it as well. I know what I'm feeling is not how the world really is but I can't talk myself out of it. There is literally a physiological effect going on there and no amount of talking seems to matter. I wonder if some of us just aren't more prone to neurological reactions to foods we're intolerant or allergic too.

  On 7/5/2010 at 8:01 PM, mommyto3 said:

My question is, when I ingest gluten (it's not often but I know I haven't been 100% diligent) is it possible that it affects my mood? I find that after eating even miniscule amounts of gluten my whole demeanor changes. I get really really down, agitated, moody and just overall negative. It's so hard to snap out of it and this usually lasts for about 3 days then I'm back to myself. It's kind of scary to slip into such a downward spiral emotinally that you can't pull out of. This is new for me as I haven't reacted to gluten like this before. I figure gluten causes so many other things, why not this? At least if gluten is at the heart of it I can pull my socks up and really make sure I'm 100% gluten-free. Just looking for some advice as I'm totally new to this whole brutal disease.

Thanks for listening.