Depression/Anxiety? Any Whole30 successes?

[Kirsteen]

That's fantastic news. I'm soooo pleased for him. Getting rid of the anxiety attacks is *huge* Seriously you must be very proud of him and, as I said before, he's really, really lucky to have you as an uncle. So pat yourself on the back as these improvements are down to you. Well done

[Moluv]

He just changed the course of his life with food choices. That's fantastic.

[MamaDrew]

@JpKetz:

So, I thought I'd give you an update. Sorry it's taken me this long, but....at least I have something good to report.

I'll spare you reintro details but will just say that so far gluten seems to make me feel exhausted and dairy has no effect on me.

But the biggest thing is that I went off my Citalopram and have been absolutely fine! It wasn't intentional. I was just tired at bedtime so I kept falling asleep when I lay down with my kids and so I'd miss taking my pill. Then, when it had been five or more days I was like, well, why not see what happens?

I have started taking cod liver oil (1 tsp a day), but again, I probably end up taking it every other day, because I forget. Also trying to get some exercise each day, either Bikram yoga or a walk with the dog. And just started doing a couch potato to 5k running program with my 11 year old. He suffers from anxiety as well, but we have not put him on any medication. He is doing a 14-week CBT program at a place here in Boston and it seems to be working really well.

I think that I will start testing myself a bit with some exposures to the things that generally made me go off the rails. #1 will be riding the T. I intend to do this in about two weeks, when my kids are with their dad. I will let you know what happens. I've been trying to work myself up into a panic attack when I walk the dog and am in a remote area (my fear: what if i stop breathing and nobody is there to help me?) Yesterday I could feel some anxiety building and I did in-out nose breathing and the waves receded.

Yay! How is it coming with your nephew? Any progress? Did he move in?

I didn't read through this whole thread, so it may have been suggested already, but get him tested for Celiacs if he hasn't dumped the wheat already.

I have decades of depression under my belt, and plenty of years of anxiety. Medication was the worse thing I ever tried. I tried eating "healthy" by conventional wisdom standards and exercising, like they tell you to do and it didn't do enough. The ONLY thing that has ever helped is sticking to a very clean diet, taking a vitamin D3 supplement (despite the fact that I get outside all the time), and taking a quality fish oil supplement for a time. It has taken a lot of experimenting with diet to fully see exactly what foods I react to. I've spent more than a year experimenting by eliminating then reintroducing. But, now I know exactly what food does what in me and that is incredibly valuable. I know for a fact that wheat is my number one contributer to both depression and anxiety. And, if I have a little wheat it can take weeks of clean eating for that side effect to fully lift. I am a night and day different person when I eat clean versus when I let wheat and sugar back in my diet. And those are words from my husband.

I suggest the Celiacs test because depression and anxiety could very well be linked to wheat intolerance and it is good to find out if he has this issue.

If I remember right, I believe the book Primal Mind, Primal Body talks about the wheat-mental health connection in it. that might be worth a read, too.

Sorry if I'm repeating anything already posted here!

I'm so glad I found this thread!

@xacerb8 - I also take Citalopram and I was wondering how was it when you stop taking it cold turkey? I also accidently went off of it due to running out and being out of town. So I decided to stay off it, however on the 8th or 9th day of not taking it I had a massive break down. Super anxious and very depressed, I was in tears for a day. I had to start taking it again and several people warned me not to go off it again cold turkey. I would still like to try to go off it again after my Whole30, but I'm a bit nervous.

@CaseyD - I have suffered from depression/anxiety for years, along with migraines and anemia. I was just diagnosed with Celiac 2 days ago! I never really knew anything about that disease, I had just finally gotten so tired of all my stomach issues I finally went to a gastrointerologist. He figured it was just irritable bowel but ran the celiac blood panel just in case and sure enough. So I will be going 100% gluten-free and I'm REALLY hoping it will help all of my symptoms and I'll finally be able to get off and stay off of my medication.

[PaleoTori]

So I've been diagnosed with almost every psychiatric disorder in the DSM. I insisted on getting a new psychiatrist recently to rule Bipolar in or out, because no psych has ever spent a sufficient amount of time with me before diagnosing me with it. Usually they ask for prior mental illness diagnoses then say "yep you have Bipolar" after 20 minutes. I'm now in grad school for mental health (clinical social work) and I've become more "pushy" with my doctors in that I advocate for them to spend a sufficient amount of time with me, as well as go over diagnostic symptoms very thoroughly before giving me one. They seem to take me more seriously now.

I've struggled with depression/anxiety/mental fog for a very long time. I definitely meet the criteria for PTSD. I was recently in the hospital (behavioral) for 11 days because some major life events happened that pushed me to my limit and I didn't feel like I could cope, or even physically move my body at times. I'm also 8 months pregnant. I've been eating paleo for 2 years but it's been a very lax type of paleo. I'll "cheat" pretty often with paleo treats and I decided to say I was primal for a bit and began eating A LOT of cheese.

My symptoms were very bad just a week ago and had been for awhile. I haven't had wheat in a really long time and I looked up how dairy can affect mental health and found casein can act like gluten does in our bodies, so I decided to give myself another shot at a Whole 30. I've tried multiple times in the past which always resulted in me binge eating and eating worse than when I started. This time it's been very different. I think it just took me time (a lot of it) to slowly eliminate foods to the point that doing a Whole 30 wasn't that daunting. I only had to cut out cheese, rice, and gluten free treats this time around. I'm starting day 6 tomorrow.

This is getting long but I have to post and say that so far my symptoms have been clearing up rapidly. I don't need as much anti-anxiety medication, I'm not having intrusive thoughts (OCD and PTSD), my delusional thinking is pretty much gone (I was having some mild delusional thinking but I wasn't psychotic, just experiencing "psychotic symptoms"). I know this is all anecdotal but I also know for me this is NOT a "placebo effect" which I seem to hear from a lot of people when I say anything about how this way of eating has helped me mentally. I've noticed every time I clean up my act and eat strict paleo, the symptoms really begin to fade. There is just no way it's not from how I'm eating.

I do believe I'll need to cut out nightshades (I seem to be sensitive to things like tomatoes and cayenne pepper), and I plan to experiment slowly and carefully with reintroduction once these 30 days are complete. I don't know that this feeling will last forever or that I'll continue to get better but I do believe food is the best medicine (also...exercise!)

[little mighty]

Yeah, this is a great thread! I have generalized anxiety, as well as OCD that comes and goes. Also had pretty severe anorexia throughout my teens and early 20s (I'm almost 30 now), but my relationship with food is still pretty messed up. I just finished a Whole90 and found that it did improve my symptoms, especially concerning the latter because it forced me to NOT rely on food, especially sweets, to ease my thoughts and emotions. I did and still am consuming caffeine (GIANT mug of black tea or matcha in the morning, and usually a small coffee in the afternoon), and am considering giving that up for a while to see if it makes a difference. 

What helped the most, though, was acupuncture and homeopathics. I think they literally saved my life! I surely would have considered ending it if something didn't change; I was such a slave to the anxiety at that point that I couldn't pull myself out of it. I began going for regular treatments last December and continued for about 6 months; I'm still taking the remedies and go for acupuncture "boosters" every so often as needed. Not everyone responds to those kinds of treatments, but it's harmless so definitely worth a try.

[cconnor91188]

Hello everyone,

I am only on day 5 of my whole30, but my anxiety has seemed much worse than before. Is this something that gets worse before it gets better? I am not on medication daily, I take Xanax as needed, and it has seemed to be more necessary than ever. Went to the Bruins last night and had a full blown anxiety attack which almost caused me to leave. I have also been having weird urges to puke, but I don't feel like I am ill, just nauseous. Any input? Thanks!

[Tessina]

Cconnor91188

 

When I get like that it is stress usually.  During my first attempt my anxiety rose and I was having bad thoughts of hurting myself but it did pass.  There is light at the end of the tunnel and it is NOT attached to the front of an on coming train. *HUGGLES*

[praxisproject]

Anyone who hasn't been tested, might also want to get tested for MTHFR gene next time they're getting some bloodwork. It relates to cellular malfunction and malnutrition (such as B12 deficiency) but vitamin levels look okay in blood tests as they test something you can't use.

 

There's quite a bit of correlation with MTHFR & gluten/dairy problems.

[MeadowLily]

Anyone who hasn't been tested, might also want to get tested for MTHFR gene next time they're getting some bloodwork. It relates to cellular malfunction and malnutrition (such as B12 deficiency) but vitamin levels look okay in blood tests as they test something you can't use.

 

There's quite a bit of correlation with MTHFR & gluten/dairy problems.     Oh, my....that is quite an  acronym.    

 

[praxisproject]

lol I always hear it in Samuel L. Jackson's voice

[MeadowLily]

I adore Samuel L. Jackson, when he sings to himself.   

[Marj K]

I know this is an old thread, but can I have clonazepam aka klonopin on Whole30? It's crazy what's in this. It's medication!

Active Ingredient: clonazepam, USP Inactive Ingredients: anhydrous lactose, colloidal silicon dioxide, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, pregelatinized starch (corn) and sodium lauryl sulfate. Additionally, the 0.5 mg tablets contain D&C Yellow No. 10 Aluminum Lake.

[PaleoTori]

3 minutes ago, Marj K said:

I know this is an old thread, but can I have clonazepam aka klonopin on Whole30? It's crazy what's in this. It's medication!

Active Ingredient: clonazepam, USP Inactive Ingredients: anhydrous lactose, colloidal silicon dioxide, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, pregelatinized starch (corn) and sodium lauryl sulfate. Additionally, the 0.5 mg tablets contain D&C Yellow No. 10 Aluminum Lake.

Hi there,

i received an email notification when you posted in this thread. I just wanted to drop by even though I don’t eat strict paleo anymore (still do eat as close to paleo as I can the majority of the time). Anyhow, please never abruptly stop taking Klonopin. It’s very dangerous to do so. If you want to taper off it you should discuss with your doctor. I do take that medicine and I’ve come to terms with the fact I need it, and I’m okay with that. Best of luck. 

[SugarcubeOD]

3 hours ago, Marj K said:

I know this is an old thread, but can I have clonazepam aka klonopin on Whole30? It's crazy what's in this. It's medication!

Active Ingredient: clonazepam, USP Inactive Ingredients: anhydrous lactose, colloidal silicon dioxide, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, pregelatinized starch (corn) and sodium lauryl sulfate. Additionally, the 0.5 mg tablets contain D&C Yellow No. 10 Aluminum Lake.

It doesn't matter what is in the ingredients, if this is doctor prescribed (which it obviously is), then you keep taking it regardless.  

 

[Marj K]

Thanks to you both, SugarcubeOD and PaleoTori. I only take it as needed and haven't taken in for at least a month. Do you think I should just try to go without? It has lactose, corn and apparently horrible ingredients that I didn't even know about (coloring and aluminum). 

[PaleoTori]

1 minute ago, Marj K said:

Thanks to you both, SugarcubeOD and PaleoTori. I only take it as needed and haven't taken in for at least a month. Do you think I should just try to go without? It has lactose, corn and apparently horrible ingredients that I didn't even know about (coloring and aluminum). 

Oh you’re fine then.

 

I was worried you would stop taking cold turkey. I’m on it daily and have been for awhile, so withdrawals would be bad. Just take it as needed. I would never wish for someone to believe they need to stop taking psychiatric medications because of the Whole30. That really scares me.

[SugarcubeOD]

25 minutes ago, PaleoTori said:

Oh you’re fine then.

 

I was worried you would stop taking cold turkey. I’m on it daily and have been for awhile, so withdrawals would be bad. Just take it as needed. I would never wish for someone to believe they need to stop taking psychiatric medications because of the Whole30. That really scares me.

Agreed and we would NEVER suggest this.  It's up to the person and their doctor so @Marj K, please speak to your doctor about your desire to stop taking it, even if you only take it intermitently.