No Gluten Natural Girl

Brain Fog

Brain fog is a pretty common condition. It can affect people of all ages and is characterized by a state of confusion and a decreased level of clarity. It is also described like feeling cloudy or in a state of fogginess. It is not well recognized within medical field and it is not considered a real diagnosis yet I have been told by all of my doctors that I do suffer from it and why I suffer from it. YEAH !!!

The symptoms vary, as do mine (Go Figure). Space out, can’t think of a word you want to say, and can’t finish a sentence. Forget where you put things. It can result in short-term memory problems (I have this) I can’t remember an answer to a question I asked my husband a day or two ago and ask him again. Or I can’t remember a phone call I made the day before. Doesn’t happen all the time but it does happen. Another symptom is mixing up words (Guilty of this too) at work they call it Debbie Isums. My husband will say I mix words up from time to time and say sentences backwards. YEAH!!!. Yep I feel like I am loosing it at times and I more than likely am and yes it sucks.

Cause of Brain Fog can also be from several but not all of these. Several which of course I have (Go Figure) Fibromyalgia (got it), Adrenal fatigue syndrome, Epstein-Barr, Lyme disease, Allergies and food intolerances such as to gluten and lactose (got it), Sjogren’s Syndrome (got it) Leaky gut syndrome, side effects of prescription and over-the-counter medications (got it, my med’s for migraines causes a form of dementia or brain fog) YEAH!! The list goes on and I have a link to a page that will show them.

So my question is then why isn’t the medical field recognizing it? And diagnosing it? And why did my doctors tell me I have it? Well I asked them that question and their answer was I display the signs during most of my conversations and with my speech. Some days are worse than others, not every day is bad and some days I will stand there and struggle with what I want to say and others finish my sentences for me. RRRRRR.  I literally cannot think of the word I want to say, I will stand in my kitchen look at my husband (who has no patience) and who I want to tell something to stare put my finger up and not the nice one and say “Wait! I will remember it, give me a sec”. And I either do or don’t remember. It’s a hoot at my house.

Is there a cure?, what I found on line and talking to my doctors is “No” not really, we (my doctors and I) are currently working on the issues that are causing my brain fog. So now that I have been on a gluten free diet for 2 years it’s more than likely it one of my other issues that is continuing the brain fog.

They say get plenty of sleep (I do), take vitamins (I do) exercise (I don’t), play games (I do) I’m addicted to a gem game I got on my iPad LOL. Keep your mind sharp. My kids got me games for my DS, brain games. Yes I have my own DS. And breath, the other thing I learned is life is to friggin short, way too short. Don’t sweat the little things.

As I always say “Please talk to you doctors about it” ask questions, be informed and tell them about your symptoms if you are having any.

Here are some links that I hope will help

http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/symptomsofceliacdisease/a/Celiac-Disease-Brain-Fog.htm?nl=1

http://www.jigsawhealth.com/resources/brain-fog-causes

http://www.livestrong.com/article/204035-brain-fog-symptoms/

http://www.myadrenalfatigue.com/brain-fog

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5612909_thyroid-brain-fog-symptoms.html

Do you have a plan if you have been glutened? I do

So if you have Celiac Disease or you are gluten intolerant or sensitive and eating gluten by accident makes you ill you need to have a plan on what to do when and if this happens. Why? Well because anyone who has gone through this (ME) will tell you it hurts and it ruins your day or can ruin a couple of days. It’s physically exhausting and mentally draining because you don’t know how long it will last.

The first time I accidentally ate gluten after being gluten-free I thought I was going to die, the pain was horrible (spasms) not to mention the bathroom issues also. My husband called the doctor and I was told to go to the emergency room, why? First because I was newly diagnosed and he wanted to make sure there were not any other issues and second the pain was so bad they had to give me something stronger and something faster than a pill. Now I have only been glutened 3 times since 2010. The first time because I read a label wrong and the other 2 were because a restaurant said it was gluten-free and they didn’t take proper precautions and I had cross contamination issues.

So after the third time my Gastrologist  and I got together and came up with a plan. The first thing he did was give me a medication that works by decreasing the motion of the stomach and intestines along with the secretion of stomach fluids, including acid. Now everyone’s doctor is different and I am not going to put the medication I use in this blog. You should talk to your doctor about it if you think you need to have one on hand. I take this medication as soon as I feel that feeling I get when I know I have eaten something that has had gluten in it. These pills dissolve under the tongue and are easy to take. I also take something for the diarrhea, which unfortunately happens when you have ingested gluten accidentally. The other thing that we talked about was that I need to drink water during this time and a lot of it to flush it all out of my system. I don’t me a glass here and there I mean bottles here an there, drink, drink, drink until you think you can’t drink anymore and then drink some more.

Now there are some other natural remedies that you can find at a health food store and there are some that feel juicing or a cleansing can help as well. I have not tried any of these. I personally and it’s just me feel better talking to my doctor and taking his recommendations. I am very sensitive when it comes to gluten and I can get very sick with cross contamination issues. Everyone is different and everyone reacts differently. Check with your doctor please before you take anything over the counter especially if you are on other medications. You don’t want to have a medication react to something you take over the counter.

Gluten and Depression

I have read a lot of papers on this and although I never thought about it with myself back in the day but now if I look back I can see times where it makes sense about how I was feeling. Was I depressed because I suffering from Celiacs and didn’t know it  and I was reacting to gluten? could be. I also did this because a friend of mine was just diagnosed with depression, she went to another doctor for stomach issues only to find out she has Celiac Disease, so she had a lot of questions about it also.

I have read several paper by Dr. Vikki Petersen and I might even have one of her videos on my site as well. I like the way she explains things, not to formal so you sit there and shake your head and say What? but she explains in a way that your Oh I get it.

So here it goes. After the digestive tract, the most commonly affected system to be affected by gluten is our nervous system, makes sense right (I thought it did). Gluten sensitive people immune systems responds to the protein gliadin. Gliadin is a protein found in wheat. This protein is similar in structure to other proteins present in our bodies, including those in the brain and nerve cells. The immune system “confuses” proteins in the body for the protein gliadin. So they call this mimicry, the result is that the body attacks itself and inflammation occurs. When inflammation happens in the brain and nervous system, a variety of symptoms can occur, including depression.

There was a study done and 15 patients with untreated celiac disease were compared to 15 patients treated with a gluten-free diet for a year. In the untreated group, 73% had abnormalities in brain circulation while only 7% in the treated group showed any abnormalities. The patients with the brain circulation problems were frequently suffering from anxiety and depression as well.

Researchers look at the association between gluten sensitivity and its interference with protein absorption as well. Tryptophan is a protein in the brain responsible for a feeling of well-being and relaxation. A deficiency can be connected to feelings of depression and anxiety.

You never stop being a Mom :)

I have been gone a few days, my youngest (who was 22 on the 6th of Feb) had to have emergency surgery (He is the one without the hat).

I was awaken by the dreaded scary phone ringing at 2:30 (Friday) in the morning that every parent hates, telling me my son was being taken to the emergency room. I’m 45 min away but made it there in a half hour. Thank God there was no traffic on the expressways towards Chicago. He had to have his gallbladder removed and then ended up having to stay until today because of high blood pressure issues. The boy eats way to much fast food. So I just got home and will be updating my blog as soon as I get some needed rest. My mother lives in the city so I stayed there but you know how it goes you never sleep well when your kids are sick and when you’re not in your own bed. On top of that I ran out of my house with nothing but my clothes on my back and my purse. Thank God I washed my clothes at my mothers, I think the nurses were starting to talk because I wore the same thing every day LOL.

It’s all good, my Danny is fine, brother Kyle was right there by his side as a great big brother should be and my sister Lisa “Thank God” was the one that got him to the hospital in time.