Did Anyone Exhibit Ocd While Glutened?

[speedy2056]

I won't get my blood test results until around Tuesday, but I was wondering if anybody had OCD like behaviors or thoughts? I have had scary thoughts for 15 years but ever since going gluten free last week they have almost completely vanished! I get the odd fleeting thought (more a flash than anything) but without the follow up rumination and worry. I can now easily dismiss them! I took up CBT and exposure therapy and neither worked as well as I once hoped, but going gluten/wheat free has seemingly almost done the trick! Has anybody else suffered from this? Did yours resolve? How long did it take to completely resolve?

I really do think the test is going to come back positive because I read that Caeliac disease can be caused by stomach trauma. In 1995 I had skull surgery that involved working on the inside of my stomach, too, and the anxiety and thoughts came soon after! I did tell my mother about this but she put it down to the stress of surgery since I had five surgery sessions that year. Well, the thoughts and anxiety just got worse and I have struggled with them up until I went gluten free.

I believe they were a major indicator of Caeliac but we'll see next week, I guess.

[Harpgirl]

I do have mild OCD tendencies. I haven't noticed much difference yet though. But then again, I keep accidentally getting glutened. I've mostly only noticed digestive relief.

I too recently had surgery. 2 c-sections and a second arthroscopy shortly after.

I'm with you, I think my trouble is celiac. My grandmother has it too and I suspect my Dad, but he's bipolar and has "ideas" about/against modern medicine.

Personally, if my blood test comes back negative, I'm self diagnosing.

[speedy2056]

I do have mild OCD tendencies. I haven't noticed much difference yet though. But then again, I keep accidentally getting glutened. I've mostly only noticed digestive relief.

I too recently had surgery. 2 c-sections and a second arthroscopy shortly after.

I'm with you, I think my trouble is celiac. My grandmother has it too and I suspect my Dad, but he's bipolar and has "ideas" about/against modern medicine.

Personally, if my blood test comes back negative, I'm self diagnosing.

If you can, try and go gluten free for as long as possible and see what happens to your OCD thoughts/actions. You may just be surprised!

I'm kinda like your dad, I will always look for a natural treatment for health issues rather than manufactured medicines. I'm especially against being on meds for depression. I hate how doctors think the answer is to dope up people on drugs and make them like zombies as a treatment. I have friends who are and it's not a pretty sight!

As for you self diagnosing. I may just do the same since the changes have been astounding since going gluten free!

Today I did the vacuuming, cleaned the floors, did some polishing, went out to town, read nearly 80 pages of a book and did clothes washing. When I was glutened, I'd be lucky to just vacuum. I would do one of them things a day, but not all of them. Even doing just one major thing seemed hard!

[SarahJimMarcy]

I can tell you that my daughter is confirmed as having celiac and we had been through the same route with OCD tendencies, including CBT. But after about 2.5 months gluten free, she doesn't seem to be having the problem any more. She's 13 and while I feel guilty (as a Mom) that I didn't get her diagnosed sooner, I am told we actually caught it young. She has had a lot of problems resolving -- not just OCD but also migraines. I hope you continue to be gluten free and to improve!

[sandsurfgirl]

If you can, try and go gluten free for as long as possible and see what happens to your OCD thoughts/actions. You may just be surprised!

I'm kinda like your dad, I will always look for a natural treatment for health issues rather than manufactured medicines. I'm especially against being on meds for depression. I hate how doctors think the answer is to dope up people on drugs and make them like zombies as a treatment. I have friends who are and it's not a pretty sight!

As for you self diagnosing. I may just do the same since the changes have been astounding since going gluten free!

Today I did the vacuuming, cleaned the floors, did some polishing, went out to town, read nearly 80 pages of a book and did clothes washing. When I was glutened, I'd be lucky to just vacuum. I would do one of them things a day, but not all of them. Even doing just one major thing seemed hard!

I don't even consider it "self diagnosis." Any doctor with half a clue when it comes to celiac (most of them are minus a few in the having a clue department) will use dietary response as a diagnostic tool.

There is no way that you would have those dramatic results from a gluten free diet if you did not have celiac disease. Let me give you a word of advice. If you tests come back negative do NOT tell anybody. Tell them they were positive and you have celiac. It will make your life so much easier. Too many poor people on here have gone through hell with insensitive family members who doubted their "self diagnosis." There have even been incidents where family or friends glutened them on purpose because they figured it was all in their heads.

My son's blood tests were negative but he was diagnosed by dietary response and alleviation of symptoms. Nobody knows that except us.

As far as OCD is concerned, I didn't have OCD but I was a very intense person. I got agitated easily and I could be so irritated over little things. I always thought I was just high strung. I also developed motor tics as a adult. Thankfully mine were always hidden. I had a facial tic a couple of times but I concentrated hard to shift the tic somewhere else. My tics were SO painful. I would clench my toes, clench my stomach muscles, clench my jaw, move my shoulder repeatedly, stretch my fingers. It would hurt so bad and I just could not stop.

I also had bad anxiety attacks the year or so before diagnosis. I would have 4 or 5 in a day sometimes for no reason.

As soon as I went gluten free all of that went away. Now if I get accidentally glutened I get a panic attack first and then the stomach symptoms and other nasty things come on.

You have celiac. Don't doubt it. Don't tell anyone it's gluten intolerance or you're not sure but you think maybe it might in some fashion possibly be but you don't know for certain. Say "I have celiac disease" and leave it at that. If they ask about diagnosis say it was positive blood tests. Period.

Welcome the club you never wanted to join!!! Enjoy the newfound health!

[speedy2056]

I don't even consider it "self diagnosis." Any doctor with half a clue when it comes to celiac (most of them are minus a few in the having a clue department) will use dietary response as a diagnostic tool.

There is no way that you would have those dramatic results from a gluten free diet if you did not have celiac disease. Let me give you a word of advice. If you tests come back negative do NOT tell anybody. Tell them they were positive and you have celiac. It will make your life so much easier. Too many poor people on here have gone through hell with insensitive family members who doubted their "self diagnosis." There have even been incidents where family or friends glutened them on purpose because they figured it was all in their heads.

My son's blood tests were negative but he was diagnosed by dietary response and alleviation of symptoms. Nobody knows that except us.

As far as OCD is concerned, I didn't have OCD but I was a very intense person. I got agitated easily and I could be so irritated over little things. I always thought I was just high strung. I also developed motor tics as a adult. Thankfully mine were always hidden. I had a facial tic a couple of times but I concentrated hard to shift the tic somewhere else. My tics were SO painful. I would clench my toes, clench my stomach muscles, clench my jaw, move my shoulder repeatedly, stretch my fingers. It would hurt so bad and I just could not stop.

I also had bad anxiety attacks the year or so before diagnosis. I would have 4 or 5 in a day sometimes for no reason.

As soon as I went gluten free all of that went away. Now if I get accidentally glutened I get a panic attack first and then the stomach symptoms and other nasty things come on.

You have celiac. Don't doubt it. Don't tell anyone it's gluten intolerance or you're not sure but you think maybe it might in some fashion possibly be but you don't know for certain. Say "I have celiac disease" and leave it at that. If they ask about diagnosis say it was positive blood tests. Period.

Welcome the club you never wanted to join!!! Enjoy the newfound health!

It's weird that you suggest that I tell people that it's Celiac's regardless of the result because I was contemplating on doing the same thing! I am SO convinced that it is that I have even challenged people to bets, although they never took up the offer, lol.

It's DEFINETELY got something to do with either wheat or gluten, so I may just do what you have said. The only problem is here in the UK we can get our food on prescription (well, gluten free ingredients) and my family know about that. They'll ask if I am getting the food on prescription. I guess I could just say that I cannot be bothered to make the food myself and have opted to just eat potatoes, meat, peanuts, etc.

[sandsurfgirl]

It's weird that you suggest that I tell people that it's Celiac's regardless of the result because I was contemplating on doing the same thing! I am SO convinced that it is that I have even challenged people to bets, although they never took up the offer, lol.

It's DEFINETELY got something to do with either wheat or gluten, so I may just do what you have said. The only problem is here in the UK we can get our food on prescription (well, gluten free ingredients) and my family know about that. They'll ask if I am getting the food on prescription. I guess I could just say that I cannot be bothered to make the food myself and have opted to just eat potatoes, meat, peanuts, etc.

Hopefully your test will come up positive and you won't have to worry about it. Also know that not all docs know how to read the results. Insist on seeing your labs. Only one of the five panels needs to be off and it can only be borderline and that makes you celiac. There are no false positives with the test. I was sick to the point of feeling like I was going to die soon, but only one of my panels was off. It was triple what it should be. My doctor said she wasn't sure if I had celiac but I knew better and told her absolutely it was celiac.

I really had a personality overhaul from going gluten free. I saw a friend I hadn't seen in over a year when I was about 7 months gluten free. She even commented on it. She said "You are so mellow and relaxed now. I can't believe how different you are! You used to be so on edge all the time." And I was! My brain was being attacked by gluten.

[tea-and-crumpets]

I had a generalized anxiety since I was a teenager, really debilitating stuff. Been on and off the medication and therapy merry-go-round for years. After I went gluten free, I had a few really bad panic attacks, worse than I had ever had. I almost went to the hospital. Since then, though, my anxiety has just disappeared completely. That says to me that even though I might not have had the stomach symptoms until I was in my 30s, I have been reacting to gluten for a very long time.

[GFinDC]

I had OCD tendencies pre-gluten-free. I would get stuck on the same thought pattern over and over and not be able to get off it. I knew it was happening but wasn't able to stop the repetition. it sucked in a major way. I was also short tempered and would get angry and frustrated. Which I hated because it was not the way I wanted to be. And very different from my usual manner. I also had a terrible short term memory. Although I was more focused on my art then too, once I started doing it. Almost obsessive in fact. Overall I feel much more relaxed GFCFSF, and don't mind that at all.

[sandsurfgirl]

I had OCD tendencies pre-gluten-free. I would get stuck on the same thought pattern over and over and not be able to get off it. I knew it was happening but wasn't able to stop the repetition. it sucked in a major way. I was also short tempered and would get angry and frustrated. Which I hated because it was not the way I wanted to be. And very different from my usual manner. I also had a terrible short term memory. Although I was more focused on my art then too, once I started doing it. Almost obsessive in fact. Overall I feel much more relaxed GFCFSF, and don't mind that at all.

I never thought of it as OCD but maybe it is. I had those swirling thoughts too. I would get anxious about something and think about it all the time. I hardly do that now. Once in awhile if it's something very stressful, but back then on gluten it would be over things that really didn't warrant that much attention.

[Korwyn]

Well since OCD is considered part of the anxiety spectrum disorders, it would make sense that it would/could be intensified or even produced by exposure to gluten. I have some OCD issues, and they have been steadily improving over the last two years. However my panic attacks and anxiety issues are triggered by soy as much (or even more than) gluten. I have OCD issues with symmetry and patterns (among others) that come to the foreground when I am under severe stress have been affected by gluten or soy. But since my panic and anxiety issues come raging back, it seems logical to me that the OCD tendencies would increase as well.

[WinterSong]

I had OCD tendencies pre-gluten-free. I would get stuck on the same thought pattern over and over and not be able to get off it. I knew it was happening but wasn't able to stop the repetition. it sucked in a major way. I was also short tempered and would get angry and frustrated. Which I hated because it was not the way I wanted to be. And very different from my usual manner. I also had a terrible short term memory. Although I was more focused on my art then too, once I started doing it. Almost obsessive in fact. Overall I feel much more relaxed GFCFSF, and don't mind that at all.

I've always been very well organized and wanting to do things the right way. At work, I would be the one who closed up and didn't have a problem until a few months before my diagnosis. I felt like I started developing more anxiety about it. Even if I knew I already locked something up, I would be afraid that something would happen to mess things up while I was gone. So I started triple checking things. I made myself a checklist, which helped a bit, but sometimes I still worried that something would happen after locking up and I'd get blamed. It continued to get worse even after going gluten-free. Then I started worrying about turning things off at home, too. There was one really bad day recently when I knew I turned my oven off before leaving. But I got so worried that for some reason it was on without me realizing it, even though I knew that if I noticed it was on when I left I would have just turned it off. I got home later, and yes it was off. I'm just not trusting myself.

I have a feeling it's due to stress, some unhappiness at work and some negativity I encounter there. I guess I'm just hoping that some of it is diagnosis related so I don't feel like I'm going crazy.

How long being on the diet did it take you for your anxiety to decrease?

[Harpgirl]

I've always been very well organized and wanting to do things the right way. At work, I would be the one who closed up and didn't have a problem until a few months before my diagnosis. I felt like I started developing more anxiety about it. Even if I knew I already locked something up, I would be afraid that something would happen to mess things up while I was gone. So I started triple checking things. I made myself a checklist, which helped a bit, but sometimes I still worried that something would happen after locking up and I'd get blamed. It continued to get worse even after going gluten-free. Then I started worrying about turning things off at home, too. There was one really bad day recently when I knew I turned my oven off before leaving. But I got so worried that for some reason it was on without me realizing it, even though I knew that if I noticed it was on when I left I would have just turned it off. I got home later, and yes it was off. I'm just not trusting myself.

I have a feeling it's due to stress, some unhappiness at work and some negativity I encounter there. I guess I'm just hoping that some of it is diagnosis related so I don't feel like I'm going crazy.

How long being on the diet did it take you for your anxiety to decrease?

I did that with our garage door. My heart was racing and I just felt so sick to my stomach that I would leave for the day and forget to close the garage. Sure enough, when I got home, it was closed.

[tea-and-crumpets]

I did that with our garage door. My heart was racing and I just felt so sick to my stomach that I would leave for the day and forget to close the garage. Sure enough, when I got home, it was closed.

:lol:

The garage door was one of my OCD focus points. A few years ago I even made my poor sainted husband call the local police and have them drive by because I was so certain that I had forgotten to close it after we'd both left for work. I'd get halfway to work (when I could work) and be absolutely convinced that I'd left it open or that maybe it had somehow opened after it closed all the way, no matter that that's not even how garage doors work!

But I am happy to say that now I make sure the garage door is closed when I leave and never give it a second thought.

[Roda]

I don't know if this is an OCD tendency but my 6 year old was abnormally focused on his shoes. He didn't like the color, they were too tight/loose, he didn't like the velcro/shoe strings. etc. He would throw outright temper tantrums every day when it was time to put shoes on. The only ones he wanted to wear was flip flops so I threw them away last year and he hasn't had a pair since. Since gluten free this behavior has went away. Unfortunately it comes back when he is glutened.

[Sat]

I have pure OCD, any of you got treated by going gluten free?

what if I take Soy or Whey protein powder for my vegetarian diet instead of wheat?

Thanks,

Sat

[5143Betty]

I’ve had anxiety and OCD tendencies since childhood. Rapid heartbeat, racing thoughts, irritability. I happened to have a friend at work who’s dad has celiac. She suggested gluten free and once I committed, I felt immediately better. All the symptoms were magically gone and I just couldn’t believe it. I’ve been eating gluten free for 2 years and it absolutely gave me my life back. You aren’t alone, and I’m so grateful when people share stories like this because it lets me know I’m not alone either:)

[pikakegirl]

When researching my panic attacks pre gluten-free I read a bit about the Vegus nerve and the GI system. So connected that what happens in the gut can manifest to many types of anxiety, ocd, neurological and psychological conditions.

[chrissy-b]

On 6/28/2011 at 4:52 AM, Roda said:

I don't know if this is an OCD tendency but my 6 year old was abnormally focused on his shoes. He didn't like the color, they were too tight/loose, he didn't like the velcro/shoe strings. etc. He would throw outright temper tantrums every day when it was time to put shoes on. The only ones he wanted to wear was flip flops so I threw them away last year and he hasn't had a pair since. Since gluten free this behavior has went away. Unfortunately it comes back when he is glutened.

I have OCD tendencies (mainly repeating things), anxiety, and an impulse control disorder (that they now call a BFRD; i.e. trichotillomania) and I used to do exactly this as a child. My main problem was the seam on my socks and where it landed inside the shoes. If they weren't perfect  and the shoes weren't tied exactly right I would toss them across the room and throw an absolute fit. That was the worst part about getting ready for school in the mornings because I just couldn't leave the house until they were how they needed to be. I don't know how old I was when this stopped, though I think it was around the time I started pulling my hair -- I changed from one obsession to another. 

[knitty kitty]

"Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as Early Manifestation of B12 Deficiency"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3271502/#!po=25.0000

Please read this article!  Celiac Disease causes malabsorption which results in malnutrition and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  One of the most common deficiencies in Celiac Disease is B12 deficiency.  Many Celiacs also have a MTHFR gene mutation.  They need methylated forms of certain vitamins like methylcobalamin and methylfolate.  

Depression, mood changes, anxiety and other psychiatric changes can be caused by vitamin B12 deficiency.

Here's an article that explains it well.

http://kellybroganmd.com/b12-deficiency-brain-health/

Hope this helps!!!

On 5/27/2018 at 10:34 PM, pikakegirl said:

When researching my panic attacks pre gluten-free I read a bit about the Vegus nerve and the GI system. So connected that what happens in the gut can manifest to many types of anxiety, ocd, neurological and psychological conditions.

 

On 5/27/2018 at 4:50 PM, Sat said:

I have pure OCD, any of you got treated by going gluten free?

what if I take Soy or Whey protein powder for my vegetarian diet instead of wheat?

Thanks,

Sat

 

[JesUnderOneSun]

This is my first time posting on this page, although I've been following threads on this site for months! I have been doing research on this topic, and although there isn't really much scientific research done on the correlation- without a doubt in my mind I can confirm that from personal experience obsessive thinking is directly triggered by wheat gluten and soy. I also strongly agree with the original post in this thread that introduced the idea that celiacs can be cause by some sort of stomach trauma. This has been something I have been wondering for YEARS, until low and behold my chiropractor confirmed this for me this year! 

The last few years I have become extremely congested and lethargic after eating- I always thought it was just a general grain allergy because it seemed to happen after I would eat a sandwich, pasta, sushi, wraps, and thick soups etc... Never any stomach / elimination issues - it just all seemed to stay in my sinuses and cloud my head. Thinking back to the time that all of this started happening - I had just come off an extremely long 10 day round of antibiotics (double ear/sinus infection plus tonsillitis) that absolutely wreaked havoc on my body. I believe this was the very culprit that started it all.... I had constant tonsil flare ups as a child , and was given amoxicillin regularly. If only we knew what that was doing to my body.... 

Getting back to the original topic, since I was about age 10? 11? (About the time our hormones begin to rage) I began experiencing obsessive compulsive symptoms. Over thinking, organizing, hand washing, irrational thought patterns that lead to general worry and anxiety... I've dealt with this for over half of my life as I am nearly 26.  I just assumed it was something I was going to have to deal with and work thru over the course of my life- and just sort of know that this was a part of my normal experience. A few years ago when I was working at a health food store and was in school for Ayurveda, I began experiencing much more severe symptoms and obsessive thoughts.. This is all relevant information to the point I will make in just a few moments...

Anyways back to modern day circa 4-5 months ago... My fiance was seeing his family chiropractor, and because we were running errands for the day- I tagged along for the visit. I was SHOCKED to see his approach and technique! Standard chiropractics, with intuitive healing, muscle testing, and energy work!! He manipulated the energy centers in the body to allow the natural rhythm / prana to flow its natural course. Intrigued and interested in is approach I began seeing him the next week. Amongst other findings, he was the first person to tell me I was intolerant of wheat and soy. He had me lay on my back with my eyes closed while he placed little glass vials over my stomach. He pulled on my wrists in different ways, and was able to see how my body was reacting to the vials. Each vial had a different thing in them, one had dried corn, one had soy beans, one had mustard seeds, wheat and barley, one had some sort of milk ingredient I think... Anyways low and behold he finished this little test with "Stay away from wheat and soy, your body doesnt like it." I sort of laughed and explained to him that I am a 26 year old vegetarian and that those are two major food groups I indulge in frequently. He challenged me to give up wheat and soy for two weeks, and see the improvement in how I felt. He said "give up wheat and soy for two weeks and you will see a significant decrease in your symptoms. You'll see such a difference you'll never want to eat it again." He was absolutely right.

That was about 5 months ago that I have given up wheat and soy and I can say that my obsessive thoughts, general anxiety, and constant over thinking has vanished by about 90%. When I do have the occasional flare up, it is much easier for me to dismiss the thought now as it ever was before. 

Now there has been the odd accidental consumption of wheat and soy over the last few months, and I am aware of it right away. It happens while dining out, accidentally getting a soup that contains flour as a thickener, a salad dressing that contains soybean oil, or even my hashbrowns being cooked in margarine (basically straight soybean oil and other hydrogenated fillers). Every time this has happened to me my obsessive thinking, worry, germ-phobia, and anxiety comes back with an immediate vengeance. I am riddled in fear and anxiousness that takes me days to shake...

Thinking back to a few years ago when my ocd became really intense (to the point that my coworkers and friends were mentioning it to me) I began to think about my diet at the time... Because I was working at a health food store (ah, now were back to that point!) we had access to all the new edgy vegan alternatives. Soy cheeses, yogurts, tvp, tempeh, gardein products, tofutti cream cheeses, baked tofu, tamari, vegan salad dressings- etc. We were literally pumping ourselves full of soy and wheat. Any time we werent making lunch at the store, we were ordering in from our fav local thai restuarant up the road.... More wheat, more soy, more symptoms of ocd, more unhappiness and worry there was in my life. I wish I would have known back then what I know now, to have saved myself from years of anxiousness and obsessive thinking... No one really talks about this sort of thing though, hense me wanting to share my story within this thread. If I can even affect ONE other person to let them know that No, they are not crazy No, they are not alone, Yes there is a direct correlation between diet and the mind... and Yes this WILL get better..... Than writing this all down was worth it.

 

I have to say that I never thought I would achieve the mental clarity I have now from giving up these toxic things in our food. I am able to sit passenger seat in our car and just enjoy the scenery... Without a single thought in my mind. I finally know PEACE. I am grateful to the chiropractor who challenged me to make this change in my life. I know I will only see improvement from here. In months I hope to see my energy levels improve, and my eye sight improve, I hope that my gut can heal so I can regain balance of my flora and absorb more nutrients from food... But for now this was my big stepping stone. Overcoming the obsessive compulsive tendencies that I have had since I was a child. 

Yes there is hope. Yes there is a correlation, and Yes we need to inspire others with our stories and share the change thru experience. 

[Posterboy]

Chrissy-B and Etal,

The link to B-12 that Knitty Kitty provided is a good link.

I had high homocysteine levels when my OCD was at it worst.  though I was being treated for high homocystiene levels (at the time and may have not put 2 and 2 together).

But I didn't notice a great improvement until I took some Zinc.

Here is an article link to the research.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22465904

I took cold/zinc lozenges and let them dissolve  under the tongue.

They will become bitter when you get enough Zinc.

quoting their conclusion of their research on Zinc.

"CONCLUSION: The results show that zinc, as adjuvant agent for obsessive-compulsive disorder, produces improved outcomes."

I used to have set (check) my alarm clock repeatedly for 10 or 20+  minutes before going to bed but now that is not a problem.

Or I might take 20 minutes to enter a building because I thought I might of have left my lights on the car on (though I didn't turn them on) in the first place.

I still had to "check" to make sure.

Once I got my Zinc levels back to normal levels the zinc lozenges became bitter in my mouth and my OCD got better.

You might also have white specks in your nail bed.  Often referred to as stars that will go away if you have a Zinc deficiency.

2 Tim 2:7 “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” this included.

Posterboy by the grace of God,

 

[John T]

Thank you very much for sharing your story. It is very inspirational and fascinating.

By stopping the intake of all soy products, you also greatly reduced your intake of the non-essential amino acid glutamate, which has been implicated in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Please see the following research article on how a low-glutamate diet stopped the severe OCD symptoms of a 50-year-old man who had suffered from OCD for 39 years:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5859338/

I'm wondering if your OCD improved because you stopped eating foods that are known to be very high in free (unbound) glutamate. I'm also wondering if you have stayed on your therapeutic diet and are still doing well.