Hello, I am new here to the gluten free community. I have not yet been diagnosed with gluten intolerance but im pretty sure I am intolerant. I was reading some of the previous posts in this section and I heard a lot of talk about hyperactive kids and adhd, asbergers. Im 24 now but when i was a kid I had most of those conditions. I was adhd, had anger issues, was anxious and bipolar. my parents put me on all kinds of meds and tried therapy but nothing worked. I have recently self diagnosed myself as allergic to nightshades and as having a gluten intolerance. My question is can any one describe to me what the mind fog was or is like for them? I think I have suffered from this as well because before I was even aware of gluten intolerance I had experienced episodes that lasted a day or two where Im really anxious, I cant focus, cant deal with people and sometimes i just wanted to sleep because i feel so fatigued. I haven't really had this happen recently though the anxiety seems to be there occasionally, but I also eat bread sometimes.

Phillip

Your description of the brain fog sounds like what many others have related. I used to get such that it was impossible to think straight. Unable to focus and maintain coherent thoughts. And yes, the fatigue was also quite unmanageable. I just had to sleep, or at least try, though I was often unable to rest soundly. It was like my brain was in limbo - couldn't sleep but couldn't get fully awake and functional.

The only other thing in my experience which did that was a candida overgrowth, thought the symptoms were somewhat different.

hi.
my mind symptoms included gazing off into space, things appearing further then they really were...as if my eyes were sunk further into my head, things got fuzzy like I was stoned( which I don't drink, do drugs, etc..too sick for that), I would have to think so hard for the right word to say, my thoughts slowed WAY down..I could barely think, I got lightheaded and weak, nightmares, depression, anxiety, oversensitive to sound, oversensitive to movement, motion sickness from almost any movement. WHAT FUN.

The bright side is I am sooooooo much better. I have not had on brain spell since going off gluten. I might have a symptom here or there, but not multiple ones all at once.

I hope you feel better soon too.

I don't usually respond but you are so young, best to look into this for a better future. Celiac my not be your only problem but it may well be the underlying force to exacerbate or trigger your issues. I am much older than you with DX in my 50's. I see now how it was likely my problem for many years, including youth. Anxiety, depression, and many of the things you mentioned ruled my life. I am lucky I could make a life as it was debilitating at times.

I am gluten-free for over a year now. I have improved considerably, it is like a different world BUT I will say all the other things have not just disappeared. The difference is that I can manage it better, it doesn't get extreme. There are days when I feel great and days when I have to control the other stuff. That's life, and mine only gets better.

Collect all the information you can on celiac, food alleregens, specific carbohydrate diet info. Doctors are not going to have all your answers, but may be able to help if some of your problems persist to a degree you can't manage.

Good Luck
Maeve

I didn't look at the date of this post, but my daughter 17- needs to read this. All but asbergers.adhd is her.

There are various prescription drugs to get over anxiety and depression, but these should only be used in accordance with the instruction of a physician. There is a lot of fake selling of such medicines on internet, so before you can order it online just make sure it is a real pharmacy. I am having it from http://www.xanax-effects.com

Hi!

I was wondering if you have more information about "mind fog"?? I have been gluten free for 2 years and I feel like my mind fog is only getting worse. To the point when I wake up until I eventually fall asleep. Any insight would be very helpful.

Roxanne

I have no addition information to give you. I have been gluten free for 1 year and I am having severe brain fog (feel stoned, having trouble tracking conversations, trouble concentration, trouble with work retrieval, anxiety etc...). Mine seems to be associated with the new food intolerances that I have been trying to figure out (I'm going to a naturapath on the 20th because mainstream medicine has been useless at helping me with this). Just wanted you to know that you are not the only one suffering after going gluten free.

I have been gluten free for many years now, and although it took awhile to clear the mind, I now only get Brain Fog when I get cross contaminated.

You may think you are completely clear of gluten, but tiny bits can sneak up on you. For instance, I only meet a friend for coffee where we can pour our own coffee. That way I can check the inside of the cup before I pour. I have found bread residue in the bottom of coffee cups from the dishwasher. This would certainly trigger a Brain Fog session had I used them.
It's tiny problems like this that may be causing Fog without us realizing it.

Soy can do it to you, too. Once I accidentally bought soy milk instead of rice milk, and wow. Two days of horrible brain fog for my son where he was almost non functional. You might want to try deleting it for awhile and see if things improve.

[quote name='Viola 1' date='Nov 7 2008, 10:02 PM' post='482655']

I suspect that I am getting glutened, but in my own house. I have three 13 year olds in the house (one newly diagnosed) and a husband that claim they understand about being careful, but they don't. They are resistant to the house becoming totally gluten free but after seeing me this sick for soooo long and with the help of my new doctor, I think that we will be totally gluten free sooner than later.

Have you had your thyroid checked? Hypothyroidism can also cause "brain fog" symptoms and celiacs have a higher incidence of thyroid issues. I also had horrible anxiety/ADD/brain fog troubles before my dx. But I still know when my thyroid meds need to be kicked up a notch because I can't remember the words for anything! Good luck!

I had bad anger issues. Yelling at my poor husband and kids. Only I didn't recognize that I was being irrational. Now I see how irrational I was. I started realizing that after being gluten free 4 months or so. It was such a mood roller coaster for the first 8 months or so. It is really easy to get accidental gluten. Lots of gluten free items are processed in facilities where wheat is also processes and I find myself reacting to them. Brain fog I can't describe. It doesn't feel out of the ordinary. It is just that you can't manage anything. You can't multitask. You go to do something and by the time you get there you forget why you went. Every action takes forever. I just want to watch TV or weed the garden. I see the contrast now when I get accidental contamination. I can't even read the newspaper. A puzzle that I could normally solve in 10 minutes takes me an hour and several full erasures. I hope you get better.