GF/CF Diet after about 10 months

I’ve been on the GF/CF diet for about 10 months now. I’ve had a comment asking I’m how I’m doing now so here’s a short answer:

I’m still on the GF diet. It’s getting more difficult to stay on because of the extra cost and with all the rising fuel and food prices. In the supermarket walking past aisle after aisle of relatively cheap food none of which I can buy because of my diet is getting harder.

Also the diiferences I noticed early on with the diet aren’t so noticeable – but if I came off the diet my anxiety and depression might shoot back up.

But I think I’m beginning to sleep deeper due to the diet.
Also coming off the diet is dangerous because of the danger of Gluten causing auto-immune diseases like diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis – I haven’t mentioned these on the blog yet I intend to.

I’m going to stick with the diet for now.

**Disclaimer: I am an unqualified person not a medical doctor. In telling readers about treatment and diets I have tried I am not recommending people to do likewise without the advice of a qualified medical practitioner.**

GF/CF diet (for Aspergers) – June, 2008

This post explains how my GF/CF diet is going and any progress I am making after about 7 months on the diet.

After about 6 months on the diet I did experience a second rush of improvements but it was disappointing. It mainly took the form of more regular bowel function and by becoming more focussed and decisive. This was a kind of repeat of the improvements I got after the first few weeks on the diet.

However, in the intervening period I felt I had slipped back, becoming indecisive again, my bowels function going backwards and my becoming depressed.

It’s not surprising I have become depressed again. There is nowhere I can receive support while on this diet. I once saw an NHS Dietician through my GP and she had never even heard of Aspergers! A local charity which supports adults with Aspergers Is not really interested in the Gluten free diet as it would put them out of business as all their service users would improve so much they’d need a lot less support! They also seem sceptical about the diet’s efficacy. But very few people actually go on this diet and, more importantly, stick on it for a significant length of time so its usefulness is hard to judge.

Also I have received hardly any feedback from this blog apart from a few parents expressing interest. I guess most adults with Aspergers are still self-censoring due to their fear of stigma, lack of self-awareness and misconceptions about what Aspergers is (i.e. they think it’s all terrible and hopeless, depressing and too hard to face up to).

Another reason I’m getting depressed might be that I’m experiencing neuro-Typical symptoms like loneliness and also losing my Asperger ability to gain enjoyment from my hobbies and obsessions. I do feel more aware of my aloneness and do seem to seek out the more sociable people to chat to at the place I do voluntary work. This place is full of undiagnosed Aspies and being around them is probably depressing me. You can’t tell them about their Aspergersas they’d run off in fright. Also I’m beginning to see how dead and socially unresponsive they are. In a way my sociability and social skills are being stifled in this situation.

As regards my hobbies and interests: I can no longer be bothered to play the guitar as much, only playing it once or twice a week instead of 4 or 5 times with a drive and keenness to develop it which I seem to have lost; musical expression is probably an Asperger thing and I seem to be losing it. I hardly paint pictures at all now; I had lost interest before and now I have even less.

I’m more interested now in possibly getting a job and improving my life situation and trying to focus my activities on things which could help me move forward such as improving my computer skills, rather than frittering my time away on my artistic pursuits which are leading me nowhere really.

In recent weeks I think I maybe showing signs of further improvements.

The quality of my sleep seems to have improved as evidenced by my recall of extremely vivid dreams every morning. I think I’m probably going into dream sleep and the into deep sleep more often than previously. I’m slightly less tired. So the problems of terminal insomnia, which is experienced by people with Asperger Syndrome, may be receding.
Also I have noticed I’m no longer anaemic. You can test for anaemia by looking at the inside of your eyelids: they should be all red indicating healthy blood rich in iron. Previously my eyelids were only intermittently red during the day, now they look red and healthy all say long. This would seem to indicate better absorption of iron through my gut due to the GF diet.

Also my bowel function is even more regular.

These physiological improvements would appear to show that it is worth sticking on the GF diet. Hopefully all these improvement will become cumulative and I will achieve things like good sleep, more energy, good ability to focus, make decisions, concentrate, suffer less from depression and anxiety and generally be better able to cope with life in a positive manner. These are the kind of areas where I expect to see further progress from my experience of this diet so far. It is questionable whether I will see fundamental changes to my core Asperger personality (although as I have indicated there are some signs of possible changes). I don’t think I have noticed any improvement in multi-tasking or ability to handle stress; and I still can’t filter out background noise and am still fairly sensitive to noise.)

**Disclaimer: I am an unqualified person not a medical doctor. In telling readers about treatment and diets I have tried I am not recommending people to do likewise without the advice of a qualified medical practitioner.**

GF/CF diet (for Aspergers) – balance sheet of progress so far January 14, 2008

After about two and a half months on my GF/CF diet I feel like weighing up my progress.

The tedium of the Christmas and New Year festivities was more bearable this year. I normally get terribly depressed at this time of year due to assessing my life, and usually coming to the conclusion of another “wasted year”. This year this did not happen because I’m feeling less depressed generally, due to my diet, and also I genuinely felt I’ve actually achieved something through my diet.

I’ll try to list the main positive effects of my diet:

1. I am a lot more mentally alert and decisive. I seem to be able to sort out problems and make decisions all of a sudden. For example, I had a problem with a technique for playing the guitar and spent a week or so thinking about it and researching it and I sorted it out; I had been thinking of giving up playing. I’m less tired; when I yawn it’s as if I’m about 80% less tired than before.

2.  I feel a lot less depressed.

3.  I feel a lot less anxious about things generally.

4. I have a lot less social anxiety.

5. I feel like I want to relate to people and get on with them.

6. My body, muscles and joints are incredibly loose; I feel 20 years younger!

7. I’m more aware of any aches and pains in my body.

8. My bowels are functioning better and I feel less bloated; and I’m not constantly hungry and thirsty.

9. I feel more optimistic; if I see a problem I start thinking of solutions rather than getting depressed.

Here are things which I’m still having problems with:

1. I think I’m still slow at verbal processing.

2. I’m still not completely comfortable with eye contact.

3. I’m still not good at meeting new people.

4. I’m not sleeping as well as I’d like.

And finally here are new problems I’m having as a result of losing my Asperger symptoms:

1. I get bored doing things I previously enjoyed, for example: going for a short walk, doing boring repetitive tasks like gardening.

2. I probably enjoy my own company less and find socialising more enjoyable than before.

In general I would estimate that I’m 50-60% cured of my Asperger symptoms and it has to be remembered my body is still awash with stored Gluten so it will be months yet before the full effects of the diet will show.

A piece of good news: I’ve managed to persuade my doctor to give me a prescription for some gluten free foods so I can manage the cost of the diet better.

**Disclaimer: I am an unqualified person not a medical doctor. In telling readers about treatment and diets I have tried I am not recommending people to do likewise without the advice of a qualified medical practitioner.**

GF/CF Diet Diary (for Asperger Syndrome) December 21, 2007

This is continuing my Gluten Free diet diary post. I’m about 2 months into the diet.

Three weeks ago I stopped drinking milk and other Casein containing foods. So now my diet is Gluten Free/Casein Free, (GF/CF).

I’d put off eliminating Casein as it only takes 3 weeks to get rid of the withdrawal symptoms and it doesn’t leave any residue in your system like gluten does.

I find black tea tastes pretty awful but other wise I’m coping without milk and Casein. And also I seem to be starting to get another little burst of improvement; I feel more “together”, less anxious and less “tied up in knots”, more decisive.

I seem to being experiencing more physical pain sensations; my right arm is aching fairly badly. This must be due to the removal of the Opiate (like Morphine), painkilling effect of the Peptides from the Gluten and Casein. It makes me wonder what other bodily aches and pains I might have been unaware of in the past.

My bowel function seems to have settled down. I don’t need to be careful about my fruit and vegetable intake. But I’m still breaking wind more often, which is nice (!)

As far as I can see this diet works. I wonder why don’t more people try it?

To be continued

**Disclaimer: I am an unqualified person not a medical doctor. In telling readers about treatment and diets I have tried I am not recommending people to do likewise without the advice of a qualified medical practitioner.**

ASDs are caused by genetically inherited gut malfunctions

It is routinely put forward that the causes of Autism aren’t known for certain. But I think all the evidence so far shows that Asperger Syndrome and Autism are caused by genetically inherited abnormalities in the functioning of the gut. People just seem to be uncomfortable with the idea that ASDs are genetic in origin.

I was moved to write this post after seeing a famous author on breakfast TV. He has a son who has Autism and he has said, in the past, that it is unknown what causes Autism. Well having seen him “up close” it’s obvious to me this person has Asperger Syndrome judging by his facial expressions and the way he talks. So it’s no great mystery where his son’s Autism came from – his father, and most likely his mother too.

It has to be said that the material (on the internet) explaining gut functioning and ASDs is very hard to understand for the layman. There appear to several gut problems which could cause ASDs, and also different digestive processes and systems involved , and different substances such as yeasts and antibiotics, for example.

The most significant problem seems to be a vulnerability to Gluten (and Casein). When a young child starts to eat gluten containing foods, around 2 years of age or sooner, the improperly digested Peptides from the Gluten then pass through the “leaky gut” and into the brain resulting in the symptoms of Aspergers or Autism.

(See “What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?” )
(There is a danger of oversimplification here as the enormous variation between different
people with ASDs needs to be explained; for example two adults with Aspergers are
always slightly different, they have varying levels of symptoms, this has been called the “Fruit Salad” by Donna Williams, someone else has used a Graphic Equalizer as a useful analogy. It is most likely that the variability in symptoms is due to qualitative and specific differences in the malfunctioning of the gut in different individuals.)

So in my view there is no need to look for environmental causes of autism like MMR or mercury in teeth fillings (which has now been disproved). I think people are attracted to these external causes because they are more comfortable with them. But it is calculated that 97% of Autistic Spectrum Conditions are genetically related. We can’t all be part of the “magic” 3% of non-genetic Autism!

Also the reason there appears to be an increase in the incidence of Autism I think is due simply to greater awareness of Autism and Aspergers. And today’s society is much more socially sophisticated, it is much more difficult for someone with Aspergers to blend in; society is so conformist and judgemental these days with the obsession with fashion which affects not only clothes but also ways of talking, behaviour, interests and hobbies, etc.. What is deemed socially acceptable or normal is becoming ever more constricted. Of course being a quiet serious thinker is also frowned upon, while loud asininity is de rigeur.

It has to be conceded that the stigma attached to Autism is still in enormous in our predominantly ignorant, judgemental society. Most people’s conception of Aspergers and Autism is simplistic and erroneous. Our society in the main still refuses to accept people who are different, for example gay people who are still derided and stigmatized in a totally abhorrent manner. So therefore it’s understandable that people are so reluctant to acknowledge having Autism in their family let alone in their very genes.

Hopefully it may be possible to educate both neuro-Typicals and people in the Autistic community, including parents, about what Aspergers and Autism actually are.
A final note: how can Asperger Syndrome be such a terrible, shameful condition when most parents of Asperger children will have managed to go through their entire lives without knowing they themselves had a neurological disorder?

**Disclaimer: I am an unqualified person not a medical doctor. In telling readers about treatment and diets I have tried I am not recommending people to do likewise without the advice of a qualified medical practitioner.**

GF Diet Diary (for Asperger Syndrome) December 6, 2007

This is my Gluten Free diet diary post. Not a great deal is happening as I’m into the waiting phase.

There isn’t a great deal I can report about my Gluten Free diet as I’ve had the initial improvements (see earlier posts) that you get after 3-4 weeks on the diet, and I’m now got to wait 5 months or more for further changes.

However, there are a few things worth mentioning.

My bowel function continues to improve. As I said previously I’ve started breaking wind (!) for the first time in years. I’m continuing to be very tuneful if not fragrant. Also I’m having to almost completely stop eating dried figs and prunes which I had previously needed to eat due to constant near constipation. In addition I am now restraining my intake of fruit and vegetable because my bowels are starting to feel queasy at times due to too much looseness. This is quite remarkable after so many years of poor bowel function.

As I’ve previously said my body and muscles feel a lot looser (stiffness is a symptom of Aspergers). I’ve been having a few accidents recently, for example spillages and sending things flying in the kitchen. I think this is due to my body being so loose and my using the same strength in my motor movements that my arms, for example, move to quickly and accidents happen. Also all my movements are so much freer and faster, e.g. walking and moving around.

To be continued

**Disclaimer: I am an unqualified person not a medical doctor. In telling readers about treatment and diets I have tried I am not recommending people to do likewise without the advice of a qualified medical practitioner.**

Gluten Free Diet Diary (for Asperger Syndrome), November 14, 2007

This is a record of how my Gluten Free diet is going.

At the end of my last post I related how I’d resolved to be more determined than ever to stick to my GF Diet and get gluten out of my body. At this stage I was still eating 2 slices of bread a day and decided to go totally gluten free as soon as possible. (I have been reducing gluten in my diet very gradually to avoid withdrawal symptoms). I therefore went down to 1 slice per day.

Not long after this I was in a pub and noticed how relaxed and unself-conscious I was. This cheered me up no end and I began to feel euphoric again for a time.

I think I’m also beginning to realise that I’m not the centre of the universe. That’s what you think when you’re Autistic, that must be why I always felt so incredibly self-conscious and uncomfortable in public. For example, when you hear someone laughing that awful sniggering, ridiculing laugh, so beloved of neuro-Typicals, I always used to think they were laughing at me. Now I realise that they aren’t laughing at me; once recently this happened and I noticed an obese young man crossing the road and realised that he was the target of the sneering cackles from the uneducated morons standing a few yards from me; previously I would have assumed they were laughing at me, because of my unfashionable clothing or hair style or whatever, and I would have suffered yet another battering to my self-esteem. Now this doesn’t need to happen any more and I can get on with building up my self-esteem.

Also I seem to be getting more decisive. For example, I’m going out and buying a few things I’ve been thinking about buying for ages. I’ve also uploaded some photographs on to an image sharing web site. Again I’ve been thinking about doing this for ages.

It seems to me when you’ve got Aspergers every decision seems so big and important that you take for ever deciding. I always I have a whole number of projects and things to do on the back burner which I usually get around to doing but it takes an eternity, So this is something else which my diet is changing.

Also I like to paint pictures and I usually find this a tremendous struggle: getting started, getting in the mood, and actually doing the painting. Now all of a sudden I can paint with ease and enjoy it. Maybe it’s to do with increased decisiveness, painting is all about decisions: what area of the painting to work on next, what brush to use, what colours to mix, what effect to create, deciding if what I’ve done is good enough or needs going over, etc..Usually it takes me months to finish a painting, now I’ll be able to do one in a few weeks.

I find this amazing, the whole chemistry of my brain is changing.

Yet another thing I’ve noticed: I’m still tired a lot of the time but when I yawn it’s as if I’m only feeling about a quarter as tired as I used to do.

My body, arms legs, muscles feels a lot looser. The other day I was squatting down to look at the bottom shelf in a shop and when I stood up instead of feeling my usual muscles aches and strains I felt nothing, just an incredibly looseness in my body!! Also when I move around, doing anything, I move faster, probably because my body is so less rigid. I didn’t realise how stiff my body was till now.

(A physiotherapist once told me I had the stiffest body she’d ever seen! Stiff bodily movement is of course another symptom of Aspergers.)

At the start of November, 2007, I went totally Gluten Free (apart from traces of gluten in processed food).

Another aspect of my improved functioning is that I am no longer so worried about problems in my family. There are a lot of physical and mental health problems going on in my family, they’re all related to Asperger Syndrome, or more specifically to my siblings’ refusal to recognize their Aspergers and try to deal with it – a common problem to say the least. Anyway I now seem to be able to separate myself off from their troubles and not worry so much about what’s going to happen, or feel so negative about what may happen to them and how it will impact on me.

To be continued

**Disclaimer: I am an unqualified person not a medical doctor. In telling readers about treatment and diets I have tried I am not recommending people to do likewise without the advice of a qualified medical practitioner.**

GF Diet Diary (for Asperger Syndrome), November 7, 2007

This is a record of how my Gluten Free diet is going. In this post I relate how after initial dramatic improvements nothing seemed to happen and I start to wonder if I was deluding myself.

My last post described how my GF diet had evaporated depression and anxiety. At this stage in my gradual introduction of a GF diet I was still eating 4 slices of bread a day. The diet is definitely having an affect on me. I’ve noticed my social anxiety has reduced a lot. In the supermarket where I normally fee as if everyone is looking at me and thinking critical thought about me, I seem to be very relaxed and don’t feel very self –conscious when dealing with the checkout assistant.

Also I don’t feel so hungry all the time, I’ve even gone without my normal mid-morning cereal bar once. And I’m not so desperate to eat biscuits all the time.

Around mid-October I started sleeping not too badly after a bad period of insomnia. Also at this point I stopped drinking beer, as this obviously contains gluten, and I reduced to 2 slices of breads a day.

I successfully baked a loaf of bread using Doves Farm GF flour following the instructions on the packet. It was quite easy but took ages and the ingredients are expensive.

For a time I seemed to have more energy and kept noticing positive changes like being less irritable: the stupid people who put their car headlights on during the day didn’t bother me as much, they normally send me into a rage; possibly I wasn’t as sensitive to the brightness of the headlights.

But then I started to be getting depressed again and there didn’t seem to any more changes coming. Although I’m definitely feeling happier and less anxious, I’m beginning to wonder if this is another false dawn.

Then I started I thinking that I’m still eating gluten and also that there must loads of gluten still in my system, I’ve been eating the stuff all my life after all(!) and it must still be affecting me and getting into my brain as it drains
out.

So I re-read some of the Sunderland Protocol and sure if enough they say what I’ve found is the usual pattern and that after these initial improvements you have to wait quite a while before there is another burst of positive changes. They recommend GF removal for at least 3 months and possibly not to expect further dramatic developments for even 7 to 9 months. Also in a study of patients on a GF diet they found that “there had only been a 26% reduction in urinary levels of specific compounds (thought to be related to gluten) after a 5-month period”.

They say that the gluten/peptides are stored in body fat and muscles and the older you are the more gluten there is stored up and the longer it takes to remove it.

This restored my confidence in the diet but I had to steel my resolve to carry it through. I decided to go totally Gluten Free as soon as possible without provoking withdrawal symptoms. I cut down to 1 slice of bread a day.

Also re-reading the Sunderland Protocol and seeing how it fitted with my experience reinforced my belief that gluten is extremely harmful for people on the Autistic Spectrum and how it’s so vital I get it out of my system.

On a more optimistic, but less fragrant (!) note, I’ve started FARTING!! I hardly ever fart. Breaking wind is a sure sign my bowels are clearing. It remind me of when I visited a friend who was in hospital with serious bowel problems and whenever a patient farted all the other patients cheered loudly because on a bowel ward normal etiquette as regards farting is inverted, breaking wind is positively approved of because it shows any blockages in your bowels are clearing.

To be continued

GF Diet Diary (for Asperger Syndrome), November 5, 2007

This is a record of how my Gluten Free diet is going. In this post I relate how this diet has cured me of depression and anxiety.

At the end of September, 2007, I was still eating 4 slices of bread a say but now I cut out biscuits. I noticed the following improvements:

reading music better (I play the guitar and have difficulty sight reading music);

• chest and back are clearing up (I get a kind of eczema);
• dry ears have also cleared up (I’ve been suffering with eczema on my ears just recently);
• ankles (heels) not as dry;
• gut feels a lot less bloated;
• much less thirsty;
• much less hungry between meals;
• sometimes had kind of pain in gut which went after I ate something;
• when I wake up in morning I seem to be aware of more bodily aches and pains.

Being able to sight read music better is a sign my brain is function better.

If you read the Sunderland Protocol it says somewhere that gluten has a “diminutory” effect on the brain (for people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions). It doesn’t really explain what this means, presumably it means gluten reduces your brain power, makes it harder to concentrate, reduces your mental energy, depresses your mood, and generally interferes with the normal functioning of your brain. So possibly my reduced gluten intake is already increasing my brain power and concentrating ability.

My bowels are obviously starting to function better. I’m normally virtually constipated and my gut feels bloated.

I normally always have a small bottle of water with me as I’m constantly thirsty. I don’t seem to feel so thirsty and my mouth seems to stay moist for longer now, so again this must be due to my diet.

The first week in October, 2007, I had a bad time: I was rather depressed and also wad hardly able to sleep at all. I wondered whether this was a reaction to the gluten I was still having; maybe I was becoming more sensitive to it.

However, soon afterwards I suddenly seemed to feel a lot less anxious and depressed. Normally I’m very anxious: about my future, about what I’m going to do in my life, for examples decisions and choices about whether to try to get a job or just do voluntary work, and worrying things like this usually churns me up all the time. Amazingly my anxiety seemed to evaporate almost completely!!!!!

At the same time I started to feel more cheerful. Again truly AMAZING!!!!!!!!

I had always thought I would never cure my depression and anxiety without achieving some kind of success in my life, like getting a job or a relationship, but I’d just altered my diet and years of suffering seemed to at an end!

A constant background level of mild depression is a symptom of Aspergers and my diet seems to have removed this so I now can live with just the normal ups and downs that everyone has.

To be continued

**Disclaimer: I am an unqualified person not a medical doctor. In telling readers about treatment and diets I have tried I am not recommending people to do likewise without the advice of a qualified medical practitioner.**

Gluten Free Diet (for Asperger Syndrome) – Introduction

A Gluten Free diet is supposed to help thosse with Asperger Syndrome or Autism. I’ve tried it and found it really works!

I decided to go on a Gluten Free (GF) diet this summer(2007). Having read the Sunderland Protocol I am convinced there is a strong connection between Gluten (and Casein) and Asperger Syndrome and Autism.

As soon as I discovered the Sunderland Protocol, not long after I found out about Aspergers, I reduced my gluten intake. I had previously eaten as much as 8 slices of wholemeal bread a day – I was a toastaholic! – so I reduced this to 4 slices. I also stopped eating pasta which sent me to sleep anyway. I cut out pizzas which are a toxic combination of gluten and casein (wheat and cheese). I stopped eating cheese and yogurt. I still took a little powdered milk in tea and coffee.

A couple of times I tried a GF diet by going “cold turkey”, i.e. withdrawing gluten just about completely in one fell swoop. This did result in positive results: better sleep, improved bowel function, reduced social anxiety and possibly improved filtering of background sound. But the negative withdrawal symptoms were unmanageable: severe depression, loss of previous self contentment and its replacement with loneliness. I was forced to give up the diet on both occasions but had glimpsed its effectiveness.

I’ve read about people going on a GF diet and they make it sound so easy with no mention of withdrawal symptoms. I find this hard to believe. Unless like me they had first implement a gluten reduced diet then I would have thought they’d have experienced violent withdrawal symptoms. Someone I know tried it and he ended in an Accident and Emergency department with severe pains in his bowel.

Also you need to be very disciplined and organized to go on a GF diet. I would have thought a lot of people on the Autistic Spectrum would find this difficult. I found it easy because I was already very careful about what I eat, having an extremely healthy diet high in fruit and vegetables and unrefined carbohydrates with hardly any junk food.

I always had it in the back of my mind to try introducing a GF diet very gradually in the hope that this would avoid the withdrawal symptoms and in the summer, 2007, I started to implement it.

I gradually reduced my gluten intake: first I rand down my stocks of gluten breakfast cereals like muesli and porridge oats; I then stopped eating biscuits and ate rice cakes instead; I then gradually reduced my gluten bread intake first to 2 slices and then to just 1 slice. I have also started baking my own gluten free bread using Doves Farm GF bread flour which is quite easy to make if you follow their instructions but it is very time consuming and rather expensive.

By going on the GF diet I did not hope to “cure” my Aspergers, I just wanted to ameliorate some of its symptoms such as chronic sleeping problems, lack of energy and sensory problems.
So far on this gradual diet I don’t seem to have had hardly any withdrawal symptoms apart from a week or so of no sleep, and the results this time are surpassing all my expectations.

**Disclaimer: I am an unqualified person not a medical doctor. In telling readers about treatment and diets I have tried I am not recommending people to do likewise without the advice of a qualified medical practitioner.**