Gluten Sensitivity And Stroke Risk

Sheila · Post by **Sheila** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 3:15 pm

I wish I had known about celiac when my children were young (born 1967 and 1971). The youngest was born with food allergies and was put on soy milk. He ate only rice cereal and pears for about a year. His diapers were so foul smelling it was unbelievable that such a tiny thing could smell so bad. As he got older we dealt with asthma, lots of hay fever and other allergies. Both boys were extremely thin when young. Now both are over 6'2" and certainly not skinny. The older one has had GERD off and on, sometimes very bad. The younger one was always an extremely picky eater and is a bit better now. He tells me that he has D right after eating and further D for a total of 8-10 a day. I'm pretty sure he is gluten intolerant but it will be really tough to convince him to do something about it. He needs to have a colonoscopy and if he goes to my doc, biopsies can be done because my doc knows the family history. My younger son has also suffered with clinical depression off and on throughout his life. I don't know if there is a connection but it would be good to know. Both sons have been given copies of the genetic tests that I took and hopefully will be aware of the danger of celiac and/or gluten intolerance. My youngest grandson has gas constantly. He thinks its hilarious, he's 4 years old, and I think he has food issues. They think I'm making too big a deal out of it. My doc says that excessive gas is an indication of food intolerances.
I hope you can get your son on GF foods and get a definite diagnosis. It will save him and you a lot of heart ache down the road.
Sheila

Post by **tex** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 5:53 pm

Sheila,

Yes, there is definitely a connection between depression and gluten-sensitivity. The article at the following link does a good job of explaining it:

http://www.celiac.com/articles/21758/1/ ... Page1.html

Also, did you see the post I wrote about the connection between vitamin D and GERD?

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14245

And Gabe's followup:

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14344

Tex

dgshelton · Post by **dgshelton** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 8:45 pm

Tex - That is a great article. I'm going to forward it to my daughter, who has suffered with depression, anxiety and mood swings since she was 13 years old. I blamed it on becoming a young lady at first, but now she's 24 and still has terrible problems. I hope maybe this will encourage her to at least try going gluten free. This also reminded me that right before we moved my son crawled in bed with me and was in tears because he knew that he was going to be anxious when we moved. I felt so bad for him. He has had anxiety for the last couple of years, sometimes so bad that he can't sleep. He said to me, "Mama, how do I make it stop?" It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. Just another sign pointing to getting him gluten free as soon as possible!

Hugs,

Post by **tex** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 9:31 pm

Denise wrote:Just another sign pointing to getting him gluten free as soon as possible!

I definitely agree. There's a very good chance that the GF diet may bring a miraculous turnaround in both their lives. They have nothing to lose by trying it, and everything to gain if it works, and frankly, I would be very surprised if it doesn't work for both of them.

Hugs,
Tex

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 9:05 am

Denise,

I bet your son will be so relieved by feeling better that his reluctance to give up certain foods will start to fade... as Mary Beth's son said, it helps to focus on what we can eat, rather than on what we can't. (And maybe your daughter will get there sooner than you fear, once the wedding tizzy is behind her... I am crossing my fingers - and maybe her little brother will inspire her.)

Love,
Sara

Sheila · Post by **Sheila** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 5:35 pm

Tex, I will print out those articles about gluten and depression and GERD and vit d3 for my sons. Perhaps if they hear it from someone else, they will pay attention.

If you can get your kids gluten free when they are young, their lives will certainly be improved. Good luck and I hope you get a diagnosis and your son back to good health and a happy attitude. It is horrifying to watch your child descend into depression. It is a helpless feeling.
Sheila