My first celiac-symptoms started about 1.5 years ago, the big D, loose stools, small but constant weight-loss, went down about 5 kg over 1 year, during this time I had minor anxiety attacks, minor depressions and minor mood changes once every month or so.

About 7-8 months ago, when things got really bad, I lost about 5 kg within few weeks, I experienced mood swings, depressions, panic, anxiety and aggression on a daily basis. Now, after ~5 months gluten-free, it's gotn a lot better. I've gained about ~12-14 kg's, lost the big D and all other gastrointestinal symptoms, yet the anxiety and panic is still there, more or less.

I take multivitamins, b-vitamins and sublingual b12, i'm also lactose-intollerant.

Now, I was hoping that anyone could tell me how long it took them to completely lose their anxiety/panic-attacks?
Are there anything that helps? (I'm not interested in meds)
Something you can eat? etc

I also have severe anxiety and depression along with the agression at times. Mine started 2 years ago manily during my periods and ovulation- so I thought it was hormonal. I lived a very sound life before all that, not an ill-thought in my head and it's been a rollercoaster.

I don't know how long it takes but for me I assume it takes time. I've had IBS symptoms for 16 years. I've been on the diet for 2 weeks and I am sure gluten has snuck in from toothpaste, etc. I also think I can't handle milk and I am having a hard time giving it up. I even had Vegan cheese in my cart but resorted to regular seeing the price drop.

I am not interested in meds either. My brother died from taking an anti-depressent and a pain med and it scares me. I believe symptoms are signs something is off and those just band-aid problems. I do take Xanax here and there but it's to help me cope.

Just give it time. So for me, I'm 2 weeks in still with anxiety. I am sure it's different for everyone.

Anyone else?

I had anxiety and panic attacks going back at least 20 years. Since the day I went gluten-free (about 2 1/2 years ago), I have not had a single panic attack.

The anxiety took longer--about 18 months--and it still comes back if I get glutened.

Be careful of the Xanax. Not all of the generics are gluten free.

Been gluten free 5 months too and I am still having MAJOR anxiety. I had anxiety that was directly related to gluten, of course, and depression, and certain aspects HAVE CHANGED since I went gluten free but it's still bad.

If they don't get better over the next few months I will see someone about it.

Good luck and be well

Glad to hear that the anxiety of some others have subsided, guess there's still hope for me.

I know how you feel sickchick, the anxiety is worse than all the other symptoms together and also harder to explain to others than the gastrointestinal symptoms. Does anyone know WHY celiac patients experience anxiety? I've heard that most of the symptoms come from malalbsorbation caused by damage to the villi, which over time leads to a lot of "mental" symptoms, but why does people have fallbacks when accidently glutened?

I had severe anxiety for years. Mine was centered around the fact that I was afraid of not being able to get to a bathroom in time. I was on different anxiety meds for many years. Once I was gluten-free and I stopped having diarrhea, the panic/anxiety slowly went away. It probably took for me about 3-4 months. I too haven't had another panic attack, but I still get anxiety sometimes.

I don't know about the medical reasons why Celiacs have anxiety issues when they've been glutened, but for me I think it's because when I get the glutened it reminds me of how I used to be and it brings back all the fears and anxiety that I had before I was diagnosed, and was gluten free. Don't know how true that is, or not!

Or perhaps it's our bodies trying to tell us SOMETHING IS VERY VERY WRONG HERE?

Wondering what brand of sublingual B12 you take. I stopped taking mine long ago when I saw IT had lactose in it.
I haven't looked in quite a while but I was under the impression most have lactose.


For me, the anxiety disappeared when I stopped eating other foods I'd become intolerant to.
I still think they are temporary intolerances caused by leaky-gut, but I suppose I have no proof .. ..yet.

NOW B-12 Nervous System Health, from the box, quote unquote "Contains no salt, yeast, wheat, gluten, milk, egg, shellfish or preservatives. No milk, no lactose eh?

Besides, you think lactose could have anything to do with my anxiety? I mean, the lactose intolerance is simply from the lack of lactase, could it affect my "mental health"?

My feeling is that anxiety and panic have a lot to do with the fact that our bodies are under seige. What you absorb or don't absorb are going to have an effect on your hormones, nerve functions, brain function, endocrine system, etc. The wonder would be if you DIDN'T feel some of those unsettling things. I am looking forward to feeling normal.....one of these days (sigh)

Oh I didn't mean that to look like I was blaming lactose. That part was FMI (for MY information )

Thanks for the info. I'll prob buy some TODAY!!

Funny, until now, I never connected my anxiety to the celiac but it makes sense. I never used to be an anxious person but now I find I have to push past it when I know it isn't based on anything (as in the activity I'm attempting to do). It would be nice to see those feelings completely go away. I'm generally a calm person (on the outside) but boy would people be surprised to know what goes on inside me. lol

I, too, suffered from severe anxiety related to not getting to the bathroom in time. For example, back before I knew just eating the topping off a pizza is a no-no, I would panic b/c there was only one restroom in the pizza place, as opposed to a place that had more than one stall. Hence, if it was taken, I could get in bad shape. I can now be more calm and wait patiently, if necessary. And, no, I no longer eat pizza toppings!!

So gluten is definitively a trigger for anxiety, now the question is, is there any way to ease the anxiety? or even make it go away? or you just gotta be patient with the diet and watch out for cc?

It is said that much of our serotonin is manufactured in the gut, and if the villi are damaged, maybe that is why anxiety can be such a problem. Maybe if you ate a lot of the foods that are converted into serotonin, like turkey, I wonder if that would help. Or google "increase serotonin" and see if there are any natural supplements that might be helpful.

Yes--over 90% of our serotonin is in our gut.

My GI told me that the gut is like a second brain because the tissue of the intestine is identical to the tissue in the brain.

Interesting. My anxiety has gone down although it hasn't completely gone away yet. I've spent most of my life fighting anxiety. I didn't do alot of sports growing up because of anxiety (and I come from a very sporty family - dad was a weightlifting coach with his own club, brother was in the 88 Olympics for weightlifting and my sister is extremely fit and sporty). As an adult I have made myself try new things and just pushed through the anxiety because I was tired of feeling like a wuss.

Hey, I wonder if the serotonin thing is why some have trouble sleeping, since serotonin is converted into melatonin, which makes us sleepy. I wonder. My son has trouble sleeping when he's been glutened.

It makes sense--one of the first things I notice if I've gotten some CC is that I don't sleep well--I lay there and worry or over-think things. The anxiety creeps in....

Acidophilus heals the gut. Your intestines have more neurotransmittors than your brain!!

wow, interesting, really, thanks guys!

done some quick research and seems that low amounts of serotonin can lead to a lot of typical "mental symptoms" that we often see in celiac disease.

Anyone have more information?

I know how you feel, I would never have connected this with my anxiety. How interesting, being new to this site, when I read what others have to say they feel the same things I do! I think all the time, is it just me? Wonder what it would really be like 'feeling normal' .....and what goes on in the inside lol man if anyone ever knew! LOL

Anyone have more information?

It is interesting that some find that their anxiety attacks are worse when they have been glutened. If that is one of your genetic 'vulnerabilities' then that would make sense. The intolerance would highlight that weakness.

Any malabsorption, even low-level, will impact on the body somewhere. It just depends on an individuals' vulnerability as to where deficiencies show up. Have you been tested for hypothyroidism? Even Sub-clinical deficiency can cause things like panic and anxiety.

Those are not things that I have ever suffered from, although my daughter has, but a few weeks ago, just after I started gluten-free/DF, I awoke in the night with a terrible attack that I can only imagine was panic, with my heart fit to burst through my chest, which was very frightening.

At the time I had also noticed that my hands were going numb and my feet/legs were prickling. My initial suspicion was anemia, probably B12 or folate as my Hg levels were ok. The doc sent off a test but that came back normal (what ever that is! How can they tell what normal is when half the people that are used as controls are also probably underlyingly gluten intolerant!). I then did some more investigation and found that those symptoms can be indicative of low thyroid function.

The next day I got some kelp tablets and haven't looked back since. I have also made sure that I take a good broad range of vitamins, minerals and trace elements including calcium and magnesium. Magnesium is apparently one of the first minerals to become deplete and a deficiency of that can also be behind anxiety and panic. It is very limited in our modern diet. The soil is deplete and rarely replenished, the plants are deplete due to the overuse of fertilizers and chemicals, stress will deplete magnesium levels as will medications and other factors. The following is an interesting page about Magnesium - www.krispin.com/magnes.html

I tend to take all my main vitamin and mineral supplements at the same time with a meal as so many of them seem to act with one another in order to metabolize effectively. I am currently taking a good multi vit, mineral and trace element capsule plus calcium, magnesium, B-complex and vitamin C along with the kelp and other herbal remedies.

In any case, due to long-term malabsorption due to damage to the gut from foods like gluten and dairy, it seems advisable to supplement at least for a while until the gut has had a chance to recover and health issues have subsided.

Another very interesting reference to magnesium deficiency - www.worldwidehealthcenter.net/articles-360.html

Ironically, grains, especially wholemeal carry a fairly high level of magnesium. When that group is dropped from the diet, then part of the supplementation is lost, which may explain why some, although they initially feel better, actually start to regress after a while as the nutrient level falls further.

Again, another article reinforcing the fact that supplementation is very important and why.

Anyone have more information with regards to serotonin and if serotonin-levels are affected by the autoimmune-damage caused by celiac disease?

Check out Dr. Rodney Ford site. He has a lot of info. on the gut-brain-body connections.
I took multivitamins for most of my adult life. I also took B supplements on top of that for years because of muscle cramps and nerve twitches (it helped a lot). I also have been taking Calcium with D for at least 10 years. Even with all of that I had anemia that would not go away, when I got so sick last summer I developed severe muscle cramping (the ones in my back actually took my breath away), my arms, hands and feet would often "fall asleep", but different than falling asleep. When I had my blood work done after I finally got diagnosed, my nutrient levels were all low. Your body just can't absorb them, depending on the damage you've sustained. I can't imagine how sick I could have gotten without all of these supplements. I think even with a decent diet, you aren't able to get everything you need to be healthy and that supplement are necessary.

I take a multivitamin, Vit D and magnesium. I have not found a calcium supplement that my gut can tolerate (and it's expensive trying all that is available). I have recently been able to add dairy back and I eat alot of vegies and fruit, brown rice, quinoa, protein etc.. My gut has been feeling terrific. I also have fibromyalgia and that has been acting up lately (I'm hoping with time that that will improve as alot of my symptoms are similar to celiac symptoms). I'm staying optimistic, time will tell.

Wonka, how long have you been gluten-free? It's good to see someone who is really beginning to feel better. I have only been going for a month so it's early days and I have improved in some ways but not others. On top, I have caught a virus and am feeling pretty weak and tired from that so it's knocked me back - mind you, I have a lot of catarrgh with it and I keep thinking that maybe my body is using the opportunity to off-load a heap of toxins which can only be a good thing! I've had it about me now though for nearly a week and have had enough - can I get better now please?


Flourgirl, I noticed you mentioned muscle cramps - going back to magnesium, that is known to help cramping and nerve problems. I do feel that half the time we are just chucking the supplements down the drain because our bodies can't absorb them properly, but what do you do? If the medical profession was on the ball with it all and were able to test and pinpoint deficiencies, then vitamins and minerals, etc, could be targeted and administered in a way that was absorbable.

Sorry - I went into 'ideal world' mode then, silly me. What was I thinking of?