Anyone Have Symptoms Significantly Improved After Cutting Out Gluten?

[TeaLeaf]

I have had PTSD and depression for decades and have used medication, therapy and yoga for most of that time until last year. I grew very frustrated with feeling like the misery that was my life was always going to be barely manageable and so I started trying alternative treatments. I got some relief from acupuncture and somatic experiencing massage. I had gone to a naturopath earlier this year to see if they had any ideas on things I could try. She suggested a gluten free diet because I have hashimoto's, an autoimmune thyroid disease, and apparently people who have this have more depression, mood swings and anxiety when they eat gluten. I blew that idea off because I wasn't interested in trying a restricted diet and felt her recommendation lacked validity.

Around the same period of time, my fatigue, tingling in my hands and feet, brain fog and abdominal pain that has bugged me for years was getting so bad I could barely get through a day of work. I went to my doctor and they did many labs and tests, my thyroid levels were ok but I had multiple nutritional deficiencies, one celiac disease screening lab that was significantly elevated, another one that wasn't and an endoscopy showed inflammation in my small bowel for an unclear reason. There wasn't a clear diagnosis but they suggested I cut out gluten for a month and see how I felt. I decided to give it a try because it seemed like there was nothing else to try and I was so miserable I needed to do something.

It's been a few weeks and I am 80% better physically, my mood has dramatically improved and PTSD symptoms are also much improved. I guess I just feel...happy and calm... and am on 2.5mg lexapro and have been titrating down (my Md is aware). I used to think that the only valid reason to follow a gluten free diet was for celiac disease and that others that go gluten free were just following a fad diet but this experience has changed my opinion. I don't think everyone reacts to gluten in this way but some people react poorly to it even if they don't have a celiac diagnosis.

Has anyone else had an improvement in symptoms after cutting out gluten?

 

[Echo]

Certainly from cutting out wheat, caffeine, sugar and other things. I healed my CFS nutritionally in part, and ended up feeling so much clearer and more vibrant. It is possible to have intolerances, rather than allergies, so I understand, that are inflamed when one's system is dealing with an auto-immune issue. In general, I find getting my blood sugar under control, which involves returning to a GI (glycemic index) diet, makes me feel so much better. Like you, I was sceptical about the improvements attainable, but I now know so much more about nutrition and the importance of getting one's gut flora and bowels functioning optimally (however unlovely that sounds), that I am not surprised by your results. Some people are able to reintroduce the offending foodstuff in moderation eventually, but some remain allergic.

Well done for persisting.

 

[The Albatross]

I have a boatload of allergies and Celiac's/Sprue. Gluten free helps when I can do it. But nutritionally, adequate nutrition, adequate hydration, whole foods rather than processed foods, and being sugar free (including high fructose corn syrup and the like) has helped me far more with anything other than gastro-intestinal improvements. Just my experience.

 

[catjudo]

Almost a year ago my daughter and I did a one month gluten free trial. She had been having some gastric issues that, at the time, we hadn't been able to pinpoint the cause. We'd tried some other things with no luck, so her doctor agreed that it certainly couldn't hurt to try eliminating gluten to see if it made a difference for her. She wasn't thrilled with the idea so we did it together. It did not make one bit of difference for either one of us. That being said, I do have friends who are gluten free and/or eat paleo and they swear that they feel dramatically different since implementing that change in their diets.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I'm gluten free but not super strict about it as I still go out to eat as well as eat things that aren't certified gluten free so there is a potential for cross contamination. (That is, most restaurants will say something along the lines of XYZ is gluten free but may not be safe for Celiac's sufferers due to preparation in a common area.) I have been gluten free since August but haven't linked it to a decrease in symptoms as I have had a spike in certain symptoms since I have changed my diet. (As in, I don't think they're linked in me.) I have gluten sensitivity as well as other food sensitivities and allergies, hence why I am not super strict about it. My skin improves when I eliminate gluten, but sadly I think I have a corn sensitivity as well because my skin doesn't look as good now that corn was added back into my diet.

A lot of people think gluten free diets are hooey but the truth is that wheat is now a far cry from what it used to be 100 years ago. And, we as people did not evolve eating wheat in the first place so it's no wonder that we have issues with it. (Sort of the same reasoning goes for feeding livestock grain instead of grass---they didn't evolve eating grain, and their bodies function better on a grass diet.)

I never thought I could go gluten free, but it's not that hard as I can still have pasta (rice pasta is 1000x better because I can get it to the perfect firmness without timing it down to the second as with wheat pasta), cookies (Pamela's are sooo addictive, lol), and pancakes (gluten free Bisquik is just as good) to name a few things. I don't miss bread and haven't found a decent substitute yet, so not a big deal.

And to be honest, eliminating gluten has been so much easier than my other food issues---pepper is in EVERYTHING!

 

[The Albatross]

Relate (edited) Solara... so is corn or glycerin. (allergic to both)

 

[TeaLeaf]

I agree with what people said in general about proper nutrition affecting mental and physical health, it's not just gluten. And I have heard that the wheat we have today is so much different than what we had 100 years ago, I'll have to check out the rice pasta because I am a huge lover of mac and cheese.

 

[The Albatross]

Caffeine too. Forgot to mention caffeine.

 

[seedling]

I'm off the gluten almost two years, along with sugar and most grains now. Dairy also. I didn't do it all at once but the more I cut out the easier it got. The more I found that simple foods tasted very good. It does take some time for your taste to change but it does.

I feel so much better and enjoy everything I eat. I have lost weight without that being a goal. I feel good.

A good book is Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD - it lays out all the latest science. There's so much more new medical science now into the complexities of wheat and sugar metabolism. Another good book is Grain Brain by Daniel Perlmutter.

I didn't have allergies and I don't think I would have been diagnosed as celiac but I feel better without the high carbs. I don't get the feeling I used to have of wanting something to eat but not knowing what it was. My digestion is greatly improved.

I too thought it was a fad, I used to buy organic whole wheat and grind it and make fresh bread. Seemed so wholesome. Now I don't miss it.

I did enjoy some chocolate on Valentine's Day - it was wonderful!

 

[stuff]

I've known I was sensitive to wheat for years, but put off cutting it out because it's so difficult, but in the last month have stopped eating it and cutting out sugar. I've noticed a huge change in the amount of day to day fog I have for sure. It's kind of amazing.