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Anybody had depression/anxiety as a main symptom of gluten intolerance?

Posted , 6 users are following.

Busymee
Busymee

I hope someone can help me here. My son is 11 and has been having periods of depression, low self esteem etc since he was 8.  At the minute he's particularly bad (starting big school has been hard on him) and he's very anxious on top of depressed and feeling worthless.  I've read that depression and gluten intolerance can be linked.

He was a premature baby (31wk), VERY 'colicky', always crying, then terrible head banging tantrums until nearly age 5 .  He's always been a little small for age but not particularly skinny. Bowels etc seem to be normal and any sore tummies he gets are usually just when anxious. He does have spells of terrible belching and I have noticed it more lately. He has a lot of Asperger traits though not diagnosed and I'm aware of the gf/cf diet connection with Asperger's. There is a family history of 'bad stomachs' on his dad's side, a great uncle with schizophrenia, and there are probable Asperger candidates on my side.

Our past experience of going to the GP and CAMHS with his depression was quite negative and he doesn't want to go back, although I'm certainly not ruling it out.  He was treated with only counselling before. I don't like the thought of meds but I know they have their place.

Been googling lots and started him on omega 3, B vitamins and zinc 6 wks ago, also thought we'd give GF diet a try and have been on it 15 days now. He's tolerating it very well but was tired and fluey about days 10-12 (I thought withdrawals), followed by 2 days of the best form I've seen recently (despite big exams at school) and I thought we were onto something. But he came home in miserable form yesterday and is still really down, feeling worthless etc. 

I don't think he had anything with gluten in, only thing I'm not 100% sure about was some kids' fromage frais (Dunnes) he had yesterday morning.  Could he be 'glutened' this early in the diet or do you think I'm following the wrong lead altogether?

 

1 like, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • amanda75990
    amanda75990 Busymee

    Posted

    Hi, I can't give advice as such but reading your post, a lot of what you say describes my son, also 11 and also a premature baby. Mine had positive antibodies in the coeliac blood test but no damage on the scope. He also has stomach issues - reflux disease, nausea and pain mainly. Just been referred to look into possible aspergers and /or OCD. He had mood swings and can be difficult to reason with. I hope you get some better answrs but I had to comment as your son sounds very similar to mine...
    • Busymee
      Busymee amanda75990

      Posted

      Thanks, it's good to know he's not the only one. . .

      How has your son done on a GF diet?

    • amanda75990
      amanda75990 Busymee

      Posted

      Well, he hasnt gone GF as the paed says its not necessary :-s but I am giving him some gluten free alternatives. I think because we're not doing the wholething its not dramtically changing anything. He's currently going through a bad reflux flare up and had to have a 100% increase on his meds for that. If its not one thing its another! Sorry, I wasnt ignoring you, just not had ant internet
  • MaggieBgood
    MaggieBgood Busymee

    Posted

    Aww...bless his heart. My mum had stomach trouble a lot and depression. There was no test for gluten then, but I am Coeliac. He may well have been glutened - I was with Danone yoghurt once. Good luck - he sounds like he's got a great parent, half the battle.
    • Busymee
      Busymee MaggieBgood

      Posted

      Thank you.  I'm really hoping he was glutened.  He was in bad form for about 36 hours after having the yoghurt.  I didn't have the ingredients list but it possibly had modified starch or something in.  When he got that out of his system, he was in great form.  I noticed he reacted to a couple of potentially stressful situations with much more ease than usual over the weekend.  He had some chocolate on Sunday which we later found out contained some malt extract, and (maybe I'm being hypersensitive here) I thought he wasn't so positive Sunday evening and was as anxious as ever this morning before school. I really hope i'm on the right track here but there is so much hidden gluten out there it would be hard to be sure. 
  • MaggieBgood
    MaggieBgood Busymee

    Posted

    Actually, I don't think you are being hypersensitive. I can't do malt extract. You do get used to reading labels and learning what's good to eat though - so stick with it. Ceoliac UK do a great booklet that you can refer to as well. It's broken down into categories, so you can easily look things up. Do check them out - they are great.

    https://www.coeliac.org.uk/home/

  • gillmm
    gillmm Busymee

    Posted

    I think you should get him along to the gp and get a blood test for coeliac disease before going any further with gf diet. The test only works if you are eating enough gluten.

    You are not on the wrong tracks, small stature and failure to thrive are classic childrens symptoms, and coupled with family history of stomach problems its worth getting the test. Depression is also a common symptom.

    I think the fluey symptoms were probably a cold and nothing to do with the diet.

    Please get him back on to a normal diet and get the proper tests, it will be much more difficult to get a diagnosis once you have started the diet. Once a coeliac goes gluten free their reactions to gluten when ingested by accident is much worse. The tests need you to be on a gluten containing diet preferably for several weeks.

    Fwiw my coeliac son also has asperger traits but I dont think its related any more than coeliac and blue eyes. The diet has no effect on his personality, although I can guess that an aspergers person with coeliacs would feel better on the diet so would be able to cope with life better and therefore the diet would appear to allieviate the aspergers.

    My son changed from a very lethargic toddler who never smiled to a lively normal toddler within days of atarting the gf diet. I hope you get the answers you need.

    G

    • Busymee
      Busymee gillmm

      Posted

      Hi and thanks for your helpful comments.

      I knew I'd need to keep him on a normal diet if I wanted to have him tested, but my thinking behind it was: (a) I've read so much about false negatives, I could put him through testing and still be wondering; and (b) if I see evidence of an improvement on a GF diet I don't need a doctor to tell me it's what he needs. You can maybe tell I'm a bit disillusioned with conventional medicine: I worked as a registered nurse myself for 6 years in a busy gastro surgery ward so I'm not completely naive.

      My son has now done a full month gluten-free.  He handles it  pretty well and now wants to keep going at least until half term.  I'm not seeing quick results though: I'd say his mood is a bit more stable but I need to observe a bit further.  I noticed a possible pattern: if he has a slip-up with malt extract or something at the weekend he seems to have a dip in mood and increased anxiety mid-week for a couple of days.

  • Cemo
    Cemo Busymee

    Posted

    I'm currently in the midst of gathering and articulating a research report on Coeliac disease. I'm a sufferer. My family has a history of psychosis and schizophrenia too, the same individuals have been diagnosed with Coeliac after their mental disorders were triggered. So there is highly likely to be a link. I, as a child was average height and weight, but would still consider my old self to be small.

    I had anxiety, depression and insomnia. As a child it was not insomniac but rather went to sleep around 10-12pm whilst others were able to sleep well. I was also a moany child and was difficult. I remember vomiting once at primary school after eating a plain cheese sandwich. I shrugged it off and believed it was the cheese. I was also occasionally bed bound once every 2-3 years I'd say and during those periods I'd lose a couple of kilograms.

    I'd recommend you do not wait to diagnose the condition. He is still young and damage will not be as severe. Start him on the gluten free diet and let him have a normal life. Biopsys will not show evidence unless he has obvious damages. You don't want him to get to a stage as such just to diagnose.

    I was taking multivitamins daily ever since I was a child but still did not help. A Coeliac will have a poor digestive tract and thus there will be malabsorption in which the absorption of vitamins will not be as effective. I still had a deficiency in vitamin D. What use if vitamins will not be absorbed fully?

    It takes a childs digestive system 3-6 months on average to recover once starting the gluten free diet. I'd also recommend small dosages (2g) of l glutamine daily for the 6 months. See if he changes his habits.

    • Busymee
      Busymee Cemo

      Posted

      Thanks - that is encouraging.  I follow your logic about the vitamin absorption, and also about trying the diet straight away.  He has a month done of GF now.  No instant results but on average there is maybe a slight improvement.  I don't think he'll suffer nutritionally if we persevere for another while and he's quite willing.  I'd rather give it a good try now than wish in 6 months that I'd tried harder.  I'll look into the l glutamine - thanks!
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