{"id":10887,"date":"2023-03-10T14:00:15","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T22:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.everywomanover29.com\/blog\/?p=10887"},"modified":"2023-03-10T19:21:24","modified_gmt":"2023-03-11T03:21:24","slug":"im-in-an-abusive-relationship-that-i-will-never-walk-away-from-tryptophan-a-gluten-free-diet-lithium-and-other-nutritional-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywomanover29.com\/blog\/im-in-an-abusive-relationship-that-i-will-never-walk-away-from-tryptophan-a-gluten-free-diet-lithium-and-other-nutritional-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI’m In An Abusive Relationship That I Will Never Walk Away From\u201d: tryptophan, a gluten-free diet, lithium and other nutritional solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"abusive<\/p>\n

This mom’s story really struck a nerve for me… \u201cI’m in an abusive relationship that I will never walk away from.\u201d She shares this …<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t exactly pinpoint when I first felt the shift between our dynamic. One minute, things were as they always were. Before I could blink, though, I found myself engrossed in an alternate reality that resembled less and less of life as I knew it with each passing week. Trickles of rage and anger bubbled to the surface, threatening to break through until they could no longer be harnessed. I\u2019ve been riding the waves ever since.<\/p>\n

I currently exist in a heightened state of fear and anxiety, unsure of what each day will bring. When I wake each morning, I silently hope that today will be a \u201cgood\u201d day; that he won\u2019t be angry. That he won\u2019t hurt me. Sometimes I\u2019m lucky, and I get my person back. Other times, it feels like I\u2019m living in a battle ground.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Her story really struck a nerve for me because of what she is going through but also because NO solutions are provided for her son. Stories like this help create awareness, make you feel less alone, create empathy and better understanding – which is important – but we want to offer nutritional solutions to families who are dealing with this.<\/p>\n

(You can read her entire story on the ScaryMommy blog<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Functional medicine and nutritional psychiatry as a solution<\/h2>\n

My heart goes out to this mom, this young man and the rest of the family. My hope is that this mom and all mom’s in similar situations are open to functional medicine, nutritional psychiatry and the power of food and nutrients to dramatically reduce and in many cases reverse behavioral issues like this in the child.<\/p>\n

Sugar, caffeine and junk food must go and a gluten-free diet will very possibly make a difference. Having her son eat for blood sugar control is key too. It may also mean switching to a low-salicylate and\/or, low-oxalate and low histamine diet. And addressing low lithium, low zinc, low vitamin D, low vitamin B12, high copper, low magnesium and\/or low vitamin B6. Low serotonin and low GABA are common and this is where I would start with this young man (more on this below). They may also need to address his gut health\/parasites, infections (like Lyme), PANS\/PANDAS, mold toxicity, metals and environmental toxins etc.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll highlight many of these in this blog and share links for further reading, plus the approaches I may consider. The important thing to recognize is that there is not one-size-fits-all.<\/p>\n

Address low serotonin and low GABA<\/h2>\n

For a mom in the midst of all this, it can seem overwhelming and very daunting but when you start by addressing low serotonin and low GABA it becomes so much easier. Her son gets some relief very quickly and all the root causes can be figured out and addressed one by one. It also gives mom and the family a much-needed glimmer of hope. As I mentioned above, this is where I would start.<\/p>\n

These are clues from her story as to why we\u2019d want to look into and address low serotonin: her son’s explosive anger and rage, the physical and mental abuse, threats to hurt himself (self-harm) and his mother and siblings, and being argumentative.<\/p>\n

You can see how the above fits into the list of low serotonin symptoms here<\/a>. The amino acid that addresses low serotonin is tryptophan or 5-HTP and you can expect to see results in a few days.<\/p>\n

I worked with an 11 year old girl with explosive rage issues (and anxiety, cravings & insomnia)\u00a0 and chewable tryptophan started to turn things around very quickly. You can read more about this here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If he has low GABA symptoms of physical tension and anxiety, we\u2019d do a trial of GABA next.<\/p>\n

A gluten-free diet and eating for blood sugar control<\/h2>\n

The next change I\u2019d make is to have him start to make dietary changes, starting to switch to gluten-free eating and real whole food. As you can see from the above blog, a gluten-free diet and getting the 11 year old off the sugar made a big difference too. Tryptophan helped with this process, making it easy to break the addiction and not feel deprived.<\/p>\n

Gluten issues (celiac disease and gluten sensitivity) are typically associated with gut issues but the psychiatric symptoms are less recognized. This 2023 paper, Psychiatric and Neurological Manifestations of Celiac Disease in Adults<\/a> states that \u201cCeliac disease is associated with mood disorders, such as manic-depressive disease, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, as well as other disorders such as depression and anxiety.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In this blog I share how gluten was found to be the cause of a childhood case of obsessive-compulsive disorder<\/a>. Symptoms resolved on a gluten-free diet.<\/p>\n

Having him starting to eat for blood sugar stability may help with the irritability and mood swings, and may also help with his rageful outbursts.<\/p>\n

Low dose lithium orotate for the rollercoaster of emotions<\/h2>\n

Next I\u2019d likely explore the possibility of low dose lithium orotate as something that may help this young man too. The hallmark of low lithium is a rollercoaster of emotions and this mom shares how there are really good times amongst the really tough times.\u00a0 I use this lithium questionnaire<\/a> with clients. In addition to the ups and downs, these are clues that he may benefit: he\u2019s rebellious, exhibits disruptive behavior and aggressiveness, is irritable, restless and engages in risky behavior.<\/p>\n

Next steps: explore all the possible root causes and do nutritional testing<\/h2>\n

We\u2019d want to explore all possible root causes and next steps would be decided based on his specific situation. Here is a list of 60+ root causes<\/a>\u00a0that I work through and the nutritional\/functional testing<\/a>\u00a0that I do with my clients. You can replace anxiety with anger\/rage in the blogs – for some people their symptoms show up as rage and for others it\u2019s anxiety.<\/p>\n

And here are some links for further reading:<\/p>\n