Gluten Sensitivity, Celiac Disease, and Psychosis

Gluten Sensitivity, Celiac Disease, and Psychosis
Connections between grain consumption and psychosis have been known for the last 80 years. Although it has never been really well investigated in large clinical trials, several smaller studies suggest that grain-free diets can help reduce symptoms of psychosis.
There have also been reports of symptoms identical to schizophrenia that turned out to be the initial stages of celiac disease (a severe from of gluten sensitivity). The psychiatric symptoms in these cases did not respond to antipsychotic medication. But they did subside completely after the celiac disease was diagnosed, and the patients were placed on gluten-free diet.
This lecture examines the evidence for links between gluten sensitivity, or celiac disease, and psychosis.
This lecture was given at the October 13, 2020 meeting of the SZconsult learning community.
SZconsult is a free consultation + education service offered by Northeast Ohio Medical University. It’s open to any clinician who wants to learn more about schizophrenia-spectrum illness, or who wants to tap into the collective wisdom of the learning community to find answers to clinical problems.
⏳ Related Videos ⏳
⏯️ • Psychiatric side effec...
⏯️ • Cannabis use during pr...
⏯️ • Amantadine: Mechanisms...
⏯️ • Thyroid Disease as a C...
⏯️ • Diagnostic overshadowi...
#askapsychiatrist

[@sweetcharlemaigne2335]

Finally! Someone putting the pieces together gluten is destroying bodies and minds. Almost died from adrenal failure due to undiagnosed Celiac disease not found till 3 years later. In the mean time, my brother the doctor convinced my entire family, including my husband of 17 years it was all in my head who walked out on me fleeing to his mothers when I was on my death bed. Lost 85 pounds in one year all from vomiting, lost half my hair, personality changed dramatically, and at the end was sleeping 18-20 hours a day. My brother, the almighty doctor convinced my entire support group I was mentally ill due to my insistence of adrenal failure, and I had the labs to back it up. It has been a nightmare and 8 years later finally being vindicated I was spot on and doctors do NOT act in the best interest of their patients. Thank you for spreading this message. BTW, went back to school and now in Functional Medicine and help treat root caused ailments. Cancer my main focus.

[@flexkat4]

I'm so sorry to see that you're in the same boat as me with Celiac Disease almost taking your life. I have lost partial mobility and it was crazy having everyone, from old friends to family to my gastro, gaslight me. So a medical expert reviewed my case and a neurologist with a brain saved my life. Good on you for advocating for yourself. We have to out here, especially being marginalized populations in the healthcare field. I'm still being tested for MG and other autos, but this helped me come to terms with the fact that my gut is also my mental health.

[@rosegichana2379]

God bless the good work of your hands

[@carolann2930]

Wow. I'm sorry you had to suffer in this way and for so long. I learned several years ago that most allopathic doctors are brainwashed by pharma-corrupted "science" and apparently have had the critical thinking and curiosity pummeled out of them through the "survival of the fittest" test that is med school/residency. I had a GI doc LOL to my face when I told him that my daughter was gluten sensitive (we see *all* the classic cognitive/behavioral/growth-related symptoms), so it's of zero surprise to me that adults with unacknowledged celiac/GS are gaslit when presenting with psych manifestations. Good for you for turning your pain into something good - in my (now extensive) experience with functional docs (my son is vaxx injured), MOST are driven by personal experience (either themselves or their children) of allopathic failure.

[@zerge69]

I did not have psychosis. But I stopped eating bread and milk because it caused me gas. Suddenly my anxiety dropped, and my knees stopped hurting! It changed my life.

[@TredecimNumerus]

I was diagnosed with Celiac when I was 3 years old but my parents didn't care and still fed me gluten. Very messed up childhood. I've Aspergers with ADHD, huge memory problems, mood swings, depression, anxiety, etc. After being on a gluten free diet (relatively recently) for 5 years and started eating it again not long ago I noticed having onset of depression, brain fog, extreme memory problems, meltdowns, anxiety, which are getting better when I stop eating gluten for at least two days. There surely is a connection. I noticed it several times. Because I couldn't believe it, I tested it many times. What's even more important is that when I add dairy to the mix, my symptoms are getting far worse, to the point of almost having a psychosis-like episodes (with extreme intestinal problems).

[@rosegichana2379]

I can imagine what you went through. My grandson could be having the same issues but I guess we discovered when he was 2 yrs and we stopped giving him gluten containing foods he's doing better now. He used to have gas,diarrhoea, skin rush, at times bloody stool, constipation, skin pigmentation,severe colic pain,sleepless nights, or isomnia spinning or steaming etc and etc. We avoided dairy,sugar and gluten foods. behaviours,anaemia

[@janparker6724]

You are spot on. 20 years ago I got the diagnoses of schizophrenia, none of the meds works until Geodon. After 20 years I found I had two of the three genes for gluten and went on a gluten free diet since 2019. The stress is that we have major mineral problems like low iron and often no p450 in the liver. The Bipolar part is a milk casien alergy, and the paranoid is from too much gaba, or not able to reduce it. Finally, after all these years of being told there was something wrong with my brain the stigma is gone! Seritonin issues is a myth the drug companies used to extract money from the vulnerable. Yeah! The nightmare is finally over. So there is a gene test for the gluten sensitivity as well you don't have to get a biopsy, there is an easier way. Cheers!

[@snowps1]

Oh my gosh, I feel like I'm slightly bipolar sometimes. I've had issues with anxiety and depression all of my life. I only recently in the past three😮 months figured out that I am allergic to dairy. If I have any dairy I get bone and joint pain all over my body. But I never paid attention to my moods during these episodes. I try to avoid all dairy, but sometimes have some accidentally and get pain within hours. I'll pay attending to my mood during that time from now on. I'm also very sensitive to gluten and have eating that, too. Gluten puts me to sleep.

[@MarinaMakesMagic]

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 15. I've taken every psych medication with all the terrible side effects. I'm 28 now and just a couple months ago I found out I have Celiac Disease. I know multiple people that just changed their diet and it improved their mental health tremendously. Please cancel out celiac disease or just change your diet before taking the terrible psych meds

[@amusicaljoke9514]

I have had strange rashes, joint pains and extreme social anxiety since I was a child. I went to tons of doctors and they could never find a physical cause. I became a vegetarian when I was 9 years old and the rashes and joint pains stopped. The extreme anxiety stayed and when I was 13 years old I had a psychotic episode for the first time. When I was 17 years old I had my biggest psychotic episode yet and got diagnosed with schizophrenia. Whenever I eat gluten, I have extreme stomach pains and GI issues. I also suffer from insomnia and all kinds of hallucinations and delusions combined with paranoia. When I stop eating gluten I feel physically better and have way less hallucinations. I believe there is a link.

[@TredecimNumerus]

Try avoiding gluten and dairy. Yeah, there is a link.

[@leslienakagawa8747]

Thank you for posting this. My father was Celiac, and so is my older son. I didn’t think I was, because I do no have the gut issues. However, I gave up wheat a few years back, and became a far less emotional person.

[@angelfreedom911]

I have always suffered with schizophrenia, high moods swings since my childhood. I was finally diagnosed as celiac 3 years ago, and most of my psychotic memories, goes back in time when I was totally sick. It feels that I can hear my head voices all over again but now they do not belong to me anymore.

[@AirFlow12345]

What about your tolerance with milks or red meats ? I have gluten sensitivity and I know eating red meats or drinking milk will trigger some sort of disorganized thinking and random unsolicited thoughts. As a result I ended up eating more fish, eggs, and small meats (chicken or turkey...) and this seems to make a difference.

[@AirFlow12345]

I'm asking this because, since gluten damage the guts, I believe it makes us sensitive to a lot of other things. I know I have a troubled sleep because of it. And I've read about many other celiacs who find all the inflammatory food hard to eat without any side effects too ! Paleo diet seems to be the only solution here so I'm glad it exist.

[@karishmaparade7651]

How did yu do that did yu do krto diet

[@meesh.G]

@@AirFlow12345 celiac leads to lactose intolerance.

[@Nothinghere42345]

@@AirFlow12345 I don’t have any of these issues but I do have severe irritability and stomach cramps when I drink milk or eat anything that contains it, I am also hypersensitive to gluten, but not like that

[@jesseJBM]

Thankyou so much. My mother has treatment resistant (10yrs) delusional psychosis and I am highly reactive to gluten. Will try putting her on a GF diet and see what happens! Regardless of my personal result I really appreciate your work! Thanks

[@waterglacier3270]

P

[@boris.teoharov]

Hey, @jesseJBM, did you manage to put your mother on a GF diet. Did it result in a remission?

[@RENEEVANTRIER]

Very curious if it succeeded wit ur mother. Having exactly the same situation

[@ashmac1397]

Plz plz let us know if it helped your mum?

[@taps4615]

Add insomnia to your list of symptoms.

[@wendyhannan2454]

Totally agree, little sleep does your head in. 🤷‍♀️

[@AuroraLakes]

I have Celiac and DH, I also have a sister that is diagnosed schizophrenic. Now Im wondering if she might have it too.

[@monicavalentine1923]

Thank you very much for this video Dr. Messamore. It is so important to have a psychiatrist understand the impact of gluten on the brain. I am hoping you do consultations for people or their family who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia but have a family member that has celiac disease. My family is dealing with a situation in Ohio that is detrimental to our brother having any quality of life after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Is there an office you can be reached at? Thank you!!!

[@armikmuson5191]

great presentation. keep showing such a kind of videos. material is perceived very well by presenting cases of patients.

[@moonhunter9993]

Thank you.

[@beccasteele6874]

Excellent

[@ErikMessamoreMD]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@ngonigriffith1491]

Thank you so much for the video! I have schizophrenia and I absolutely LOVE bread. I saw a video by Dr. Berg that talked about non celiac gluten sensitivity and schizophrenia. I am going to look into this more. I am currently on medication.

[@meesh.G]

Bread madness.

[@FourHuskyHomestead]

Dr Berg is awesome.

[@garnetrose6162]

Berg is a chiropractor, and a big wig Scientologist

[@Thornlessrose39]

Very informative. I've been on a wheat and gluten free elimination diet for 6 years,being on antidepressant medication gives me psychosis and depressive symptoms( I have severe anxiety), yet my preventative medication is Epilim ( an anti seizure medication) for diagnosed Hemiplegic migraine(2021) episodes in acute stages is treated with an antipsychotic drug called Largactil as an infusion, which stops the attack from progressing. I find this interesting as my Dad(passed of 9 years) was Schizophrenic and my sister has Bipolar 2. Last year I was assessed by a Psychiatrist but found not to have either of these,yet I have been sick with multiple infections and disorders from birth.(I am 50 years old) When I was on a wheat /gluten based diet I had Anaphylaxis along with recurrent hives and respiratory infections.( I have a long term lung disease(non smoker) It is amazing how mind boggling this all seems to be yet points you in the right direction eventually with a proper diagnosis.

[@lovelovelove4446]

I wonder if Celiac can be associated with OCD as well ?

[@brendanbishop3684]

Schizophrenics are usually magnesium deficient due to the leaky gut or ability to absorb nutrients I improved drastically after taking one 375mg magnesium tablet per day available at most healthcare shops, also coffee is not good for anybody but for people mentally ill it is really not a good idea as this also compounds the problem of absorption of nutrients.

[@meesh.G]

& What causes leaky gut or deficiency ?? Gluten.

[@kotenoklelu3471]

Bread madness sometimes linked to people without gluten sensitivity. Some people experience voices when given wheat in pills but not when they are given rice in pills. Also there are other food allergies. Gluten allergy is common among schizophrenics, also dairy allergy is common among them. I personally was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and have mugwort allergy. I usually get in hospital during my allergy season. Also allergologist told me that I am probably allergic to sunflower oil that omnipresent in Russian cuisine. I feel myself much better after I excluded sunflower oil from the diet. But I still have spots on skin that can tell that there is some allergy going on. I currently suspect carrot.

[@notadocf538]

Why dont you work on healing tge gut?? Start with L Glutamin and B1,probiotic. after 6 months without glúten, rice,Coen,sou,vegetable oils, dairy, sugar... you introduce one food at a time for one week before adding another one ..an see if you do ok... your gut should heal after 6 months restricted gluten and healing the gut you will be able to eat gluten again in MODERATION...also you must do a parasite cleansing...to kill them can take 21 days or longer...they are the real reasons for all this celiac issues

[@drblaneyphysics]

it may be an autoimmune disease in the case of gluten, because you make antibiodies against peptide sequences in the gliaden proteins in gluten, and those antibodies in term attack and destroy tissue in gut, and BRAIN. especially white matter and cerebellum causing ataxia and encephalopathy (see work of Professor Marios Hadjivassili). peace and health.

[@sird2403]

Thank you for your information, I’ve been diagnosed with schizophrenia and according to someone whole does colortherapy with foodtesting, I should eat nothing more than 2 slices of bread and no milk..so this quietly confirms that there’s a perspective. And did you know that most countries outside the west do not use cow milk either.

[@il3mendo]

Doc is the cerebellum with positive bilateral Babinski sign, with high homocisteine can lead to oxidative stress and ischemic stroke? Positive as a refractory celiac disease

[@mewebtoob]

14:50 pharmaceutical $.

[@markh441]

I’m going for a test soon, painful little white mouth sores is a sign , I treated the symptom with methyl folate .Ordinary folic acid pills wouldn’t work. Vomiting on and off for 20 years with glue like stool, never knowing why.

[@user-sd1qr5il6k]

What about glutenous proteins like Zein and Orzenin that mimick gluten? Celiac Disease is a predominantly neurological disease more than just an intestinal disease. Realize that "Bread Madness" has been around for hundreds of years and some people with intestinal damage can't make IgA or TtG as well as those who don't have damage. Genetic tesing is imperative in my opinion. Celiac Revelation.

[@user-ei1ym1lq6h]

I most likely have been living with this my entire life. I have aphantasia and no inner monologue, which basically results in a learning disability. I figured out a way to bypass the limitations and access the inner monologue and access my mind. I'm able to learn in a way that I never experienced, before. Instantly with zero struggle. The interesting part is if I dose too much, I hit the uncomfortable psychosis realm. Even if I adopt a gluten-free diet, the layers I'm able to bypass and access never come, natrually.

[@nancyjohnson5483]

I have aphantasia but a lot of inner dialogue, just looking into the gluten issue after years of not one clue to my medical issues...

[@user-ei1ym1lq6h]

@@nancyjohnson5483 Let me know how gluten-free diet works for you, I tried it and I felt great, but it didn't improve or restore my cognitive limitations. For me, the learning layer is there and always has been, just inaccessible. When I provide my body with the "fuel", the learning layer starts working along with my memory, I can learn and understand anything. I feel that my fuel spurce was never developed, the system is there, just no fuel being released into my body.

[@user-ei1ym1lq6h]

@@nancyjohnson5483 my reply got deleted.

[@earthmamma85]

Gluten is so toxic.

[@moonhunter9993]

agreed