I came across a delightful book the other day called Gluten-Free Girl by Shauna James Ahern. As some of you already know, I am allergic to wheat. That’s no fun and keeping wheat out of my diet is a chore, but, worse still is that I am also Gluten sensitive. Once you start trying to eliminate Gluten from the diet it sure can seem like eating food is suddenly tragic! However, that’s not really the case. The truth is, once I started to eliminate Gluten, I start to eat so much healthier! Contrary to popular belief, eating healthy doesn’t taste half bad; actually, after a while I discovered REAL food tastes much better than the over processed crud I had been eating for so long. It’s really no wonder I had always been feeling so grumpy and lethargic at times, especially when waking the next morning after a late night dinner of cheeseburgers (I do miss them, don’t be a hater)! I used to have the most difficult time waking up in the morning, not only was I grumpy, but, I was always still so darn tired, I would need 4 or 5 sodas just to get my groove on, if I could turn it on at all! Oh, by the way, I do not drink soda anymore either. It’s really no wonder I had such issues and my ADHD symptoms were being extra provoked by my lousy diet.

I came across Shauna’s book the other day and the words Gluten Free caught my eyes. I skipped the ‘girl’ part – I am a guy after all. Living Gluten Free has been a pain in my ‘you know what’ so reading about someone else doing it was of serious interest to me. I am glad I picked up Shauna’s book. She’s got a brilliant way of bringing living Gluten Free into a positive light and has useful tips for eating right and tastefully so. If you’re Gluten sensitive or have Celiac Disease this is a ‘must have’ book and should make you feel much better about the way we are living with regard to being Gluten Free! Now, the thing is, I don’t have to avoid Gluten all of the time, like folks with Celiac Disease (bless your hearts); however, I willingly admit that whenever I do eat Gluten on accident I know it within a few short hours! To me, that’s a strong hint to stay as far away from Gluten as possible. Shauna’s book is the result of writing her blog. Yep, she’s got a pleasant, positive blog about living Gluten Free too. Be sure to check it out here.

Dare I say living Gluten Free is a gift?! I dare! It’s been a wonderful gift for me and my over all well being. Milk and Gluten are curse words in my dictionary! Darn them! Remember though, I am also allergic to Milk, so that doesn’t mean you should not drink it if you are not allergic to it.

~Bryan

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After yesterday’s important post about Milk and Gluten I thought a follow up post is important, considering that there can be withdrawal when one stops eating and drinking these foods. It’s the age old, worse before you get better thing. It sucks, and it is real, therefore must be addressed by anyone attempting such a diet, or a person might stop the diet completely in order to feel better in the short run.

(Edit Side Note: We have a Dietary Group on the ADDer World ADHD Social Network. We further discuss issues with Gluten and food allergies.) 

The following article is by Dr. Charles Parker, a member of the interactive ADDer World, he has given permission to repost:

Celiac Notes: Opiate Withdrawal from Gluten and Casein?

Opiate withdrawal from discontinuing gluten and casein? Cautionary note: sounds absurd until you see it.

You might want to warn gluten sensitive, celiac and casein sensitive patients about this odd and painful clinical phenomenon: Withdrawal after stopping wheat or milk products can be painful, exhausting, and depressing, with weakness, anger, and brain fog.

I have a very interesting and refractory client in Ohio who has struggled for years with a variety of severe reactions to psych meds, suicidal depression, mercury toxicity, and became completely regressed on previous withdrawal of Prozac before I saw him in DC. With autoimmune issues in abundance and at times psychotic like feelings of loosing control we tested him for gluten/casein sensitivity, hit pay dirt with positive findings, and asked him to go on a gluten free/casein free diet [GFCF is the acronym].

He felt remarkably better at first, better than he had in years, then the withdrawal set in. Having had previous experience with addictive opiates prescribed for pain, he recognized signs of withdrawal immediately. First a note on the opiate receptors from Great Plains Laboratory:

The peptides from gluten [gliadorphin] and casein [casomorphin] are important because the react with opiate receptors in the brain, thus mimicking the effects of opiate drugs like heroin and morphine. These compounds have been shown to react with areas of the brain such as the temporal lobes, which are involved in speech and auditory integration.

Children with autism frequently seem addicted to wheat and dairy products. Presumably, people with Autism and schizophrenia incompletely digest wheat and dairy products. These incompletely digested peptides are then absorbed into the body and bind to opiate receptors, altering behavior and other physiological reactions.                                      

And one more reference here:

Below is from the book “Dangerous Grains” by Ron Hoggan

The addictive nature of gluten is often overlooked. For some, the first days and weeks of following a gluten-free diet are characterized by food cravings, disorientation, irritability, sleepiness, depression, mental fogginess, fatigue, and/or shortness of breath.

If you are a member of this group, the very fact that you are experiencing many of these symptoms should reinforce the need to exclude gluten from your diet. These are common symptoms of withdrawal of detoxification from gluten-derived opioid and brain neurochemical imbalances. The evidence suggests that about 70 percent of celiac patients will experience these symptoms when beginning a strict gluten-free diet.

The take-home appears simple: if these symptoms occur, do go more slowly on the GFCF diet, respect the withdrawal process and support other nutritional and physiologic activities.

Be sure to visit Dr. Parker’s blog for more information. Thanks again Dr. Parker!

~Bryan

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I just read a very good article by Dr. Eleanor Rolnick about a decade long Norwegian study involving 23 children with ADHD who were put on milk free and gluten free diets. The theory that milk and gluten interfere with the breakdown of certain proteins was developed by Dr. Karl Ludvig. The theory is a metabolic predicament which seems to be triggered when eating milk and gluten and therefore may accelerate ADHD. 22 of the children in the study showed almost immediate mental health improvement, overall behavior, as well as enhanced attention span with increased learning capabilities!

“Long term monitoring of these children has found their disorders to be manageable while the challenges they once faced have virtually disappeared.” – www.keepmecurrent.com

So, what do I think of this? Actually, I must concur with the results of this study, with the results of my own recent diet change! It has been long noted that after eating is when kids usually have the most problems and so it was noted with me too, when looking back in time. That, I believe, is why we blame so many problems on sugar, even though it has been disproven that sugar is the culprit. Many still believe sugar to be the main issue, but that is because problems seem to occur most frequently after meals! In some cases, with allergies for example, it might not be obvious because symptoms can occur hours or even a day or two later.

I was having more serious issues a few months ago and my symptoms were escalating. I talked about it with a good friend of mine, Gina Pera, and she recommended asking Dr. Charles Parker about it. You may remember a recent post I did with Dr. Charles Parker when I interviewed him. He knew right away that my symptoms went further than ADHD symptoms and were indicative of a metabolic issue. He asked me about gluten and milk specifically. Turns out I am allergic to wheat and dairy products. Furthermore, because of where I live, I was vitamin D deficient!

I have nearly eliminated gluten and dairy products from my diet. And I feel much better. As a matter of fact so many issues I was suffering from have either gone away or have significantly improved! What I appreciate most in this diet is that my mood is so much more even. I am able to think things through much better and see the good in things I might not have noticed before. The improvement from eliminating gluten and dairy products is nothing short of remarkable. Yes, I still have ADHD, but it is far more manageable and the positive sides of ADHD are easier to access now!

A good place to visit and learn more is Dr. Charles Parker’s blog. He has written quite a bit about ADHD and metabolic issues. The original article about this Norwegian study can be found here.

Please, remember that I am only relating my personal experience and it is important to see a doctor before making any diet changes or other health related changes. Milk is also known to be good for those who do not have dairy/milk allergies or other negative health issues concerning milk.

Have you tried any such diet changes? What were the results?

~Bryan

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Okay, okay, -time to talk about medication. I have received a multitude of requests to talk about medication or even answer specific questions concerning medication and it is about time that I got around to talking about medication.

Friends and fellow Adders, I do not take any prescription medication for my ADD.  I sure don’t—at least, not yet. I am still not sure which ADD medication I will take, or, if I will take any at all. I am still in the research process—just like many of you are. However, I might not choose to take any pharmaceutical medication at all. I have some reasons and I will share those with you. However, please, palezee, understand that I am not a doctor, I can’t and I won’t recommend any medication to anyone and just because I might decide not to take any prescribed medication does in no way mean that you shouldn’t. You and your doctor have to make that decision. Later in this article I will point you in the direction of a website that has some very good information about specific medications, but for right now, my focus is going to shift to a little history about me and this website ADDERWORLD:

I originally created this site as a directory for ADD ADHD websites because it took me forever to find information specific to my concerns using traditional search engines, and since I had bookmarked the websites I found to be the most useful, I decided to create a directory to help others find the information you need faster. While posting some links one day, the urge came upon me to write an article about my thoughts concerning ADD/HD. I did not expect the enormous positive feedback and ever since I have been positing ‘my thoughts’.

As many of you have gathered from reading ‘my thoughts’, I believe in positive thinking and positive redirection and positive feedback. I never really considered the impact of what I have to say and certainly did not expect to be talking about medication. I sincerely believe that being positive is the most important part in overcoming our inherent behavior as Adders, perhaps as important, and in some cases, more important than medication. Let me say here and now, it is not easy to become a positive thinker, even for folks who do not have ADD or ADHD. It is much more challenging for Adders, because many of us, like me, grow up thinking less of ourselves. Even if you were raised by the most caring and concerned parents you have been exposed to a society which can be unforgiving towards Adder behavior and I can almost guarantee that has had some negative effects.

It is indeed possible to become a positive thinker and it is possible to use positive thinking as a way of working with ADD/HD and, dare I say, make your ADD/HD work for you! Most of ‘my thoughts’ posted are about positive thinking and how it can be done. I have much more to say on the subject of positive thinking; however, this posting is about medication:

I am extremely nervous about pharmaceutical medication. It is the side effects which concern me. In the past I was prescribed an SSRI and I suffered through some nasty side effects. Because of those side effects I did something which nobody should ever do without consulting a doctor first: I quit cold turkey. No, please, don’t ever do that. The side effects of taking the medication was nothing compared to the withdrawal effects that came once I discontinued use. Oh my, that was a ride I will never, ever, – no never, ever, forget! With that said, the SSRI did somewhat help me for the brief period I was taking it. SSRI’s are not often prescribed for ADD/HD, but, we are all different and that is a very good reason why a doctor must be the one to prescribe any medication. I wasn’t necessarily prescribed the SSRI for ADD at the time, but, as it goes, that’s another story.

So, do I take anything for my ADD or do I only rely on positive thinking? For the most part I rely on positive thinking and positive visualizations of doing and completing whatever it is I want, need, or, have to do. Learning I have ADD made me also take into considerations foods and drinks. There are many types of foods and drinks which exacerbate the symptoms of ADD and ADHD. I try to avoid those as much as possible. In the diet category you will find a link to good advice on an Adder’s diet. In addition to diet and positive thinking, I take a multi vitamin which also includes Ginseng and Ginkgo Biloba—about 60mg each.

The combination of the proper diagnosis, diet, positive thinking and vitamins with Ginkgo and Ginseng have made a much needed difference in my life with concern to concentration, mood, accomplishments and overall fulfillment. When it comes to calmness and slowing down my mind from over analyzing, I use Tai Chi movements and breathing exercises. Tai Chi is well known for its therapeutic effects on the mind and body.

In future articles I will write more details of my personal treatment plan, and if, and when, I decide to try specific pharmaceutical medications I will let you know!

Here are a few very good links to pages which explain specific medication, diet and Tai Chi:

Medication:

http://newideas.net/adhd/medication
http://www.additudemag.com/topic/Treating_ADD/ADD_Medications.html
http://add.about.com/cs/medications/a/blmedfactsheets.htm

Diet:

http://newideas.net/adhd/adhd-diet
http://www.cspinet.org/diet.html
http://www.everydiet.org/adhd_diet.htm

Tai Chi:

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Taichi/what.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_Chi_Chuan
http://www.taichiflow.com/about_tai.htm

Positive Thinking for Adders:

http://adderworld.com

~Bryan

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Adding an immeasurable Adder link today:

http://newideas.net

This is another very impressive site. I could, and probably will, be adding this link’s subcategories to many categories on Adder World. Newideas refers to Parents and teachers; however, their site is very comprehensive and has information for just about anyone with ADD ADHD. One of the issues Newideas covers which I found to be immediately interesting was their Adder diet plan:
http://newideas.net/adhd/adhd-diet

~Bryan

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