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Happy Recovery Stories?

CaliSparrow

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CaliSparrow Collaborator
CaliSparrow
Posted

Hi folks,

Just wondering if there was a thread or blog I could refer to for positive recovery stories. People in my life are worried about me and I'd like to speak to them with a more upbeat perspective. I know it's not all rainbows and butterflies but it would be helpful to have stories from the veterans who are experiencing improvements.

If anyone has already shared a recovery story on here, if you could post a link, I'd be grateful :-)

Thanks!

Cali

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Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

All I can say Cali is that I was a classic Celiac.....skinny and malnourished.  I weighed 94 pounds at time of diagnosis.  I also have 3 other autoimmune diseases besides Celiac. It took 3 years for all the Celiac symptoms to resolve but I got slowly better all the time.  Fast forward 8 years gluten-free and I am the healthiest I have ever been in my life.  I am no spring chicken, either.  I am 54 years old.  I go to the gym and do weight training and cardio, feel good about 99% of the time and have zero stomach issues these days.  I rarely take a hit anymore.  My other 3 AI diseases are much better also.  The most powerful piece of advice I can give is eat a strict gluten-free diet and stay positive that you will heal.  It just takes time....too much time it seems, but you didn't get sick overnight and you aren't going to heal overnight.

 

I see you have many intolerances and that is certainly daunting but you can get better with some work and patience.  Who knows?  You may be able to eat some of those forbidden foods again, once you heal.  Good luck!

TGK112 Contributor
TGK112
Posted

I was pretty asymptomatic - except for bone loss and some weight loss. 

After six months on the diet my anti-bodies were near normal and my endoscopy showed complete healing!

EmiPark210 Contributor
EmiPark210
Posted

Check out the blog Gluten Free Girl and the Chef. Shauna, the author, has an AMAZING upbeat attitude about life with Celiac. Whenever I hit a rough spot, I go read her blog. It's also full of good recipes. 

 

As for good recovery stories... I'm doing pretty well with mine. I started this whole process in February where I had just accepted I was going to be sick and never fully grow out of my ADD. Then I finally got tested. Ever since I started going gluten free after my endoscopy, I am such a happier person. I can remember things more easily, my anxiety and insecurity has almost disappeared, I don't have to use my ADD meds any more and I feel great. 

 

One of my favorite things about Celiac is that we don't need medication or anything like that. We can heal ourselves just by eating all these amazing foods that most people are never exposed to. My best advice for helping this process be more "rainbows and butterflies" is to keep an open mind and positive attitude about what you're going through. And allow yourself to feel everything. By that I mean don't try to shut down the sadness or frustration when you can't eat something you used to love. It helps it not boil up into resentment. I also tell people not to pity me when they find out that I can't eat XYZ. Finding out I have Celiac changed my life in a really positive way. 

 

Hope that helps and makes sense :P

1desperateladysaved Proficient
1desperateladysaved
Posted

Before diagnosis:  I felt like I carried 100lb  weight on my back all day everyday for 30 years.  Today that burden is mostly gone.  Compared to life before the diet; Living without gluten is a piece of cake!  It has been quite a walk to get here with many twists and bumps, I also have a ways to go, but Thank God the weight is off my back!

 

I remember starting a recovery thread..https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/95498-symptoms-that-improved-on-supplements-and-gluten-free-diet/

 

  Here is another I found.  https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/96200-the-100-positive-thread/?hl=getting+better

 

I think I may have seen yet another recovery thread since beginning last May.

 

D

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

Cali,

Gotta Ski (Lisa) started a thread about her amazing recovery here and I piped in too---as did others.

Hope this adds more "healing stories" to your collection

Hugs,

IH

 

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/101113-what-a-difference-a-year-well-four-years-makes/?hl=+what%20+difference%20+year%20+makes

nvsmom Community Regular
nvsmom
Posted

I think it will be a bit tough to find success stories around here because most of us are here for support because we are still healing.  I'm guessing those who are well don't need us as much....which is good. :)

 

I'm a happy recovery story in progress. i was diagnosed a year ago. Actually, I self diagnosed a year ago and took a home Biocard tTG IgA test to confirm it, and then I went to the doctor and he ran another tTG and an EMA on me and agreed. I am almost certain that I have had it my whole life but when I trustingly went to the doctor as a young child for my "tummy aches" the doctor told us that I was 'one of those people who had a stomach ache every time she ate'. Helpful. Thanks. :rolleyes:

 

At diagnosis I also requested my thyroid be rechecked because i knew there was a link between celiac disease and hypothyroidism. I had been checked a few times over the last 15 years for hypothyroidism because of my symptoms but my TSH was always near normal or within range so the doctors said I was normal (this was back when I trusted doctors completely - ignorance is not bliss). Anyway, my TSH happened to be high enough that they believed me and I began thyroid treatment too.

 

Within the first few months, many of my GI symptoms improved greatly. Multiple stomach aches a day and bloating went away first. I didn't expect eating gluten-free to take away my migraines but it mostly did; I had 2-5 days of migraines a month instead of 2-3 weeks worth.... much nicer. My hair starting thickening up pretty quickly and I stopped getting leg cramps in the night.

 

I do have a lot of symptoms that have lingered. Some are due to undertreated hypothyroidism but I am hopeful that more of those will resolve as time goes by. Some are due to celiac disease - I ate gluten for 38 years so I imagine it won't completely get back to where it should be if I had been gluten-free from birth. I'm better than I was 6 months ago though.

 

I still have joint pain but it is quite a bit better. I can open jars again and I can shoot hoops with my kids with a full range of motion (even if i do fatigue early and hurt for a while afterwards). My hair is thicker but is still affected by my thyroid.  After given up my precious diet Pepsi, my migraines are only down to a 1 day of pms. I get stomach aches about once a day - they aren't gluten related and they are pretty random. I actually have a mild one right now after having 2 slices of bacon and some coffee, neither of which is usually a problem for me.  It seems pretty random.

 

Some symptomas don't seem to want to improve: fatigue has improved some but not a lot, and my memory/cognitive functions are not as sharp as they were and have appeared to get worse over the last few months. It is entirely possible that those symptoms aren't caused by celiac disease for me so I'm taking a wait and see approach.

 

So overall I am getting better. I still moan and complain about what hasn't improved, but I know that I am working towards better health now and I won't continue on the downhill slide that I was on. It's a mostly happy recovering story.  LOL ;)

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    • trents
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