What Symptoms Are Reliable Indicators For Recovery

[tmb]

Tjis might seem like a strange question to ask. celiac disease has negative impact upon our health and we all have various negative health as a result. I ask the question because recovery takes a while and symptoms appear to be variable.

Which symptom(s) is the most reliable to know if you are successfully going gluten-free, or perhaps there is another trigger hidden in other food. Improvement in symptoms are an obvious way to do this, however given the time scales of some of these, I am looking for other peoples experience on something that acts as a consistent means to measure progress or deterioration.

My own symptoms are skin rashes, stool problems, weight loss, general unwellness, susceptible to cold, infections, hives in cold weather. I find it difficult to take each of these and use them as a barometer for my progress. I understand that my skin might take up to 2 years to clear, and I see improvement in 3 months, however I have flareups and cant figure out if this is part of the healing or because I have eaten something with gluten in or I am reacting to some other food. Weight loss appears to have stopped and am now gaining, but this is also variable and inconsistent over short periods (days and weeks). Infections is hard to tell, my susceptibility to cold is also inconsistent but I cannot see any definite improvement. My stool is probably the best indicator of my intestinal healing, based upon color, fat content, bulk, looseness, smell, frequency. Having said this, I appear to react to walnuts (loosens the stool), but should not affect the skin? Cashew nuts did afect my skin itch and when I stopped eating these, my skin improved within a couple of days.

I also have some psychological/emotional changes. I think I was preoccupied with not knowing what the issue was and constantly looking, now I am pretty sure gluten is the major underlying issue. There is relief as well as a positive thought about being healthier and fitter, I might be younger at 52 than I was at 45. This is all good, however I also feel more apprehensive and wonder if this is biological or psychological. I know that gluten can cause some neurological changes, does the withdrawal also produce some kind of chemical change?

Has anyone else pondered the uncertainty of recovery in this way, and have comments on my experience, or perhaps a different experience?

I also accept that everyones experience will differ, however there might be more solidly reliable indicators that fit most of us.

[GF avenger]

Hi tmb

I don't think I can say for sure what a reliable test of improving health is - other than the obvious relief of symptoms. Wouldn't it be great if healing were that simple and linear?

In my own case, I note that some things get better, then waffle a bit, then get better, then seem to get worse, then get better... I'd say the general trend has been positive since I went completely gluten-free in August of this year (was wheat free since Feb. 07, finally figured out why I wasn't getting better.). It's only been a few months, and I've had just a few, but a few amazing days where the fog cleared, I had amazing energy, and I almost didn't recognize myself.

My set of docs and advisors would tell you that the things which were impacted first will be the last to heal. Your 'weakest link' is the first symptom you noticed, and will likely be the last to resolve.

Specifically for me:

My skin has been dry, itchy and, within the past year, flaky for no apparent reason. Immediately after going gluten-free and starting a vitamin A supplement, my skin improved. Currently, though, I seem to be in a waffly period, with some dryness beginning again - the season change?

My ability to focus on the task at hand is getting better. When all this started, I could barely read a page in a book. Brain fog was bad, and for a 30 year old, my memory was questionable. I generally feel like my brain is coming back on line, slowly.

My body is definitely happier. I have almost no bloating anymore, much less gurgling, almost no digestive upset, no bowel symptoms. I do note, however, that I am sensitive to more foods - I'm not sure if I'm just carefully watching, and thus noting symptoms, or if my poor abused gut has developed problems with a wider range of foods.

Hm, moods... I was also relieved to finally figure out the gluten connection. I think I'm generally a little more level since dropping gluten, but I wonder how much of that was due to roller coaster blood sugar. I'm definitely less irritable.

Finally - my weakest link appears to be my bladder, which has been outrageously susceptible to unusual bacterial infections for the past 3 years, and some of the un-fun symptoms that go along with that. My bladder is no longer so easily irritated, and I think in general things are better there.

Hope this helps! I'd be interested to hear other peoples' processes, too.

[tmb]

Hi gluten-free avenger,

thanks for the response, I have been away so did not reply earlier.

You mention that first symptoms to appear will be the last to resolve. My symptoms might have been complicated by a severe allergy to dust mite that I have had for over 20 yrs (however perhaps this was just another symptom created by gluten). Either way this still does not appear resolved. My skin symptoms have been around (altho mildly) for around 15 years. I have also ben told that healing begins inside and moves to outside, therefore I should expect my gut to improve first, skin later. My skin although improved in the past 4 months, is still dry and rough. I have also heard elsewhere that skin healing is inconsistent, even if avoidance is strict, whereas gut improvement might be more linear, although once again because we can expect diet accidents, gut symptoms will fluctuate..

I see you elected to try wheat free first and then gluten free - have you excluded oats from your diet as well, and why did you move from wheat free to gluten free?

As you have noticed with yourself that you are now more sensitive to more foods, this also seems to be the case with me. I am also more sensitive to gluten that I was when taking it in. I had a couple of spells of it while doing elimination testing and when reintroduced, skin and gut symptoms were more severe. I also dropped cashew nuts out of my diet as they caused skin itching - I then learned it is quite common to do this.

Thanks for your insight into symptoms - I guess that we all learn bits as we progress, from ourselves and from others, and over time establish a pretty good picture of how the disease affects us. It is the first time I had considered your point about the first experienced symptoms should be the last to resolve, I will take another look at my past and see what this means for me.

[spunky]

I agree recovery can be stepwise, back and forth. For me it has been. There were times when I seemed to be going backwards, but once I started forward again, I could see the improvement overall, over a larger period of time.

My big steps forward seem to happen every six months... now at 2 1/2 years, seems to still be improvement slowly taking place...so... I'm starting to believe the stories I heard early on that it can take up to 5 years for 100% improvement.

Of course, if my healing stopped today, I can look back at where I was 2 1/2 years ago when I first got away from the gluten, and I'm light years away from that place!

[tmb]

I agree recovery can be stepwise, back and forth. For me it has been. There were times when I seemed to be going backwards, but once I started forward again, I could see the improvement overall, over a larger period of time.

My big steps forward seem to happen every six months... now at 2 1/2 years, seems to still be improvement slowly taking place...so... I'm starting to believe the stories I heard early on that it can take up to 5 years for 100% improvement.

Of course, if my healing stopped today, I can look back at where I was 2 1/2 years ago when I first got away from the gluten, and I'm light years away from that place!

Hi spunky thanks for the update. I understand that the intestine needs 6 months to replace the lining, so the first 6 months is just a baseline, the other ill effects that have accumulated then take time to recover - up to 2 years I have heard. I have also heard that permanent damage occurs and then some issues will always remain. Some iridologists say they can see permanent damage in the eyes. I took my 11 yr old daughter to be checked and was told she had small intestine issues (aka gluten as she has other indicators). We just gave her enzyme supplements without taking gluten out and she had improved bowel movements in a week - the doc confirmed that kids recover much faster. I initially took enzymes a few years ago (without taking gluten out) and had great improvement, however it was not sustainable as the root cause was not being addressed. This time I might get it right - coming up for 5 months now (with some accidents) so hopefully I am within sight of the first major obstacle overcome.

[aikiducky]

One thing you could do is keep a symptom diary. Give how you're feeling a number every day, and over a longer period of time you might start to notice that even if the numbers do go up and down, there is a general tendency to improve (or not, in which case you need to figure out why). Even better, combine it with a food diary, that way you can see if there are any patterns with certain foods&symptoms.

What spunky said - I've been gluten free four years now, and I do feel better (just generally healthier&stronger) this year than last year, and last year I already thought I'd healed completely.

Pauliina

[Amber M]

Hi spunky thanks for the update. I understand that the intestine needs 6 months to replace the lining, so the first 6 months is just a baseline, the other ill effects that have accumulated then take time to recover - up to 2 years I have heard. I have also heard that permanent damage occurs and then some issues will always remain. Some iridologists say they can see permanent damage in the eyes. I took my 11 yr old daughter to be checked and was told she had small intestine issues (aka gluten as she has other indicators). We just gave her enzyme supplements without taking gluten out and she had improved bowel movements in a week - the doc confirmed that kids recover much faster. I initially took enzymes a few years ago (without taking gluten out) and had great improvement, however it was not sustainable as the root cause was not being addressed. This time I might get it right - coming up for 5 months now (with some accidents) so hopefully I am within sight of the first major obstacle overcome.

Hi, just wondering if your daughter is gluten free or just on the enzymes with gluten still? Has she been tested for Celiac? All the research I have read on the gluten enzymes says that it is still in trial and should not be a replacement for staying on gluten if you have celiac disease. I was concerned because you were not specific on that issue. I worries me. Wouldn't she be in a constant state of having to heal and later, they won't work anyway? I am not the expert, just wondering about it.

[tmb]

Hi, just wondering if your daughter is gluten free or just on the enzymes with gluten still? Has she been tested for Celiac? All the research I have read on the gluten enzymes says that it is still in trial and should not be a replacement for staying on gluten if you have celiac disease. I was concerned because you were not specific on that issue. I worries me. Wouldn't she be in a constant state of having to heal and later, they won't work anyway? I am not the expert, just wondering about it.

Hi Amber, apologies for the slow response.

My daughter is just on enzymes and not yet on GFD. The enzymes are there as a stop gap measure while we assess the mechanics of going gluten-free for all or part of the family. I know this is a risky approach and my own experiences (I also took enzymes that were very effective for a period) but gluten still in diet and. I have 4 daughters and the challenges of a GFD are daunting for me and my unconvinced wife. Before I start this I want to get the DNA tests to see if some or al of my kids have the gene, but Perth Australia does not apear to have easily found DNA test labs to do this.

[GF avenger]

Hi tmb

Apologies for my glacial response - the holidays, you know... But at least I can provide some perspective on another month + of healing...

The newest thing I'm noticing is that my mood seems to be super even, very resilient. I've had some major stress since the beginning of November, and I'm sailing through it with unusual aplomb, if I do say so myself.

My skin is still dry, but my color is much better (pink, not blue-ish), and the bags under my eyes are less noticeable. Yay!

However, I have been more aware of my nearly constant fatigue. I'm not sure if enough other symptoms resolved enough so that now I'm aware of how tired my bones feel, or if this has come somewhat out of the blue. Regardless, I'm napping a bunch, keeping stress as low as possible, eating a lot of kale... I did recently get a CBC and my white blood cell count was low (indicating recent infection), as was my ferritin. My ND suggested I also test my adrenals, as many of my continuing symptoms seem to indicate insufficiency.

I did sucessfully make it through Thanksgiving without getting glutened, and we are staying home for Christmas - so much less stressful than travelling!

About your question with regards to going wheat, and then gluten-free... Pardon me, have to get on my soapbox...

I had an IgG test in Feb. 2007 that indicated that wheat and (what I've sinced learned are) all gluten containing grains were problematic, along with enough other foods to indicate leaky gut. Unfortunately, my naturopath at the time did not think to check for celiac. I find that there is a very common and insidious belief among naturopaths that gluten intolerance doesn't warrant testing for celiac, and can be healed, allowing the patient to consume gluten in the future. Thus they don't test for celiac when they should, leaving us (me) to do the detective work ourselves, and forever without a definitive test result. (Just can't justify that gluten challenge!) I didn't really understand intolerance or even know what gluten was at that time, and so despite the evidence, I merely got off wheat, assuming that I'd heal up in 6 weeks or so. Ha!

Fast forward 1 year, and I'm still reacting and with increased agony to accidental exposures to wheat/gluten. Now I'm convinced that something is wrong. I go to my primary care physician for the TtG test, and it comes back negative because I've been ingesting so little wheat for a year. Frustrating! In July, however, I finally get lucky and stumble across Wendy Cohan's book, Gluten Free in Portland, and realize that all of the symptoms she's describing are me, positive TtG or not.

At that point, I decided to give up all gluten, including those debatable oats. While I don't seem to react strongly to them at all (whereas with wheat I react within 30 minutes), I had been eating them almost daily since I'd been diagnosed with a 'wheat intolerance', and I certainly wasn't getting any better. I didn't really start to get better until I gave up the oats, but at the same time I also became much more savvy about hidden gluten, so I'm not sure if oats were the problem.

I don't have a hard and fast opinion about gluten free oats, which are increasingly available in this country. My feeling is that I don't quite trust them - perhaps they're doing their dirty deeds silently? I'd be interested to hear what your opinion is.

You have my sympathy for being in a mixed gluten-free and non-gluten-free family. If it weren't for my extremely accomodating partner, I don't know what I'd do. We have a gluten free house, lucky me.

[Amber M]

Hi Amber, apologies for the slow response.

My daughter is just on enzymes and not yet on GFD. The enzymes are there as a stop gap measure while we assess the mechanics of going gluten-free for all or part of the family. I know this is a risky approach and my own experiences (I also took enzymes that were very effective for a period) but gluten still in diet and. I have 4 daughters and the challenges of a GFD are daunting for me and my unconvinced wife. Before I start this I want to get the DNA tests to see if some or al of my kids have the gene, but Perth Australia does not apear to have easily found DNA test labs to do this.

Yes, it is very risky. My daughter developed 3 auto-immune diseases in the last 5 years, the time it took me to find out (by gene test) that I am gluten sensitive and have gluten ataxia. Because I have a gene from each parent (my test results are below), it means my daughter for sure has at least one of the genes. If she were to have 2, one would be from her father.

Now, my celiac blood test and biopsy came back negative. Had I not done the "challenge diet" and known it was a gluten problem, I could have gone on eating the poison. I was so sure that I figured I might as well have the gene test for me, and my daughter. It was the best money, out of all the medical bills this last 3 years, that I have spent so far. I used Entrolab in Texas. Could you get on their website and ask if you could do it? The swabs they send for you to collect cells from the inside of your cheeks are easy to do, and I would think the mailing time would be fine because they have you dry them out before packaging them anyway. Worth a check. It was 369.00 for the gene test and stool test, so if you just did the gene test I would think it would be less. There would be a solid answer for you.

If you have 2 genes, then you know your kids would have at least one. If you have only 1 gene, then I do not know what that means for the kids. You would have to find that out. Best luck, I know how hard it is to consider gluten-free in the house, but actually, everone would eat alot healthier anyway!

[Amber M]

Hi tmb

Apologies for my glacial response - the holidays, you know... But at least I can provide some perspective on another month + of healing...

The newest thing I'm noticing is that my mood seems to be super even, very resilient. I've had some major stress since the beginning of November, and I'm sailing through it with unusual aplomb, if I do say so myself.

My skin is still dry, but my color is much better (pink, not blue-ish), and the bags under my eyes are less noticeable. Yay!

However, I have been more aware of my nearly constant fatigue. I'm not sure if enough other symptoms resolved enough so that now I'm aware of how tired my bones feel, or if this has come somewhat out of the blue. Regardless, I'm napping a bunch, keeping stress as low as possible, eating a lot of kale... I did recently get a CBC and my white blood cell count was low (indicating recent infection), as was my ferritin. My ND suggested I also test my adrenals, as many of my continuing symptoms seem to indicate insufficiency.

I did sucessfully make it through Thanksgiving without getting glutened, and we are staying home for Christmas - so much less stressful than travelling!

About your question with regards to going wheat, and then gluten-free... Pardon me, have to get on my soapbox...

I had an IgG test in Feb. 2007 that indicated that wheat and (what I've sinced learned are) all gluten containing grains were problematic, along with enough other foods to indicate leaky gut. Unfortunately, my naturopath at the time did not think to check for celiac. I find that there is a very common and insidious belief among naturopaths that gluten intolerance doesn't warrant testing for celiac, and can be healed, allowing the patient to consume gluten in the future. Thus they don't test for celiac when they should, leaving us (me) to do the detective work ourselves, and forever without a definitive test result. (Just can't justify that gluten challenge!) I didn't really understand intolerance or even know what gluten was at that time, and so despite the evidence, I merely got off wheat, assuming that I'd heal up in 6 weeks or so. Ha!

Fast forward 1 year, and I'm still reacting and with increased agony to accidental exposures to wheat/gluten. Now I'm convinced that something is wrong. I go to my primary care physician for the TtG test, and it comes back negative because I've been ingesting so little wheat for a year. Frustrating! In July, however, I finally get lucky and stumble across Wendy Cohan's book, Gluten Free in Portland, and realize that all of the symptoms she's describing are me, positive TtG or not.

At that point, I decided to give up all gluten, including those debatable oats. While I don't seem to react strongly to them at all (whereas with wheat I react within 30 minutes), I had been eating them almost daily since I'd been diagnosed with a 'wheat intolerance', and I certainly wasn't getting any better. I didn't really start to get better until I gave up the oats, but at the same time I also became much more savvy about hidden gluten, so I'm not sure if oats were the problem.

I don't have a hard and fast opinion about gluten free oats, which are increasingly available in this country. My feeling is that I don't quite trust them - perhaps they're doing their dirty deeds silently? I'd be interested to hear what your opinion is.

You have my sympathy for being in a mixed gluten-free and non-gluten-free family. If it weren't for my extremely accomodating partner, I don't know what I'd do. We have a gluten free house, lucky me.

Gluten Sensitivity does not show on a typical Celiac blood test or Biopsy, yet it can cause severe gluten ataxia and lower colon problems. (lots of info on this site and others.) Just thought I'd drop that for you.

[caek-is-a-lie]

I agree recovery can be stepwise, back and forth.

Yep me too! I've only been 100% gluten free for 3 weeks, but I was gluten-light for awhile. My weight is the most obvious thing. Before, when I ate gluten every day, I was STARVING but I ate and ate and got fatter and fatter and was always hungry. I could exercise every day for 3 months and not lose a pound. Now I've lost 20 lbs. It was slow at first when I went gluten light...that was the 1st 10 lbs. It went up and down up and down. Then at 100% gluten free I lost a few pounds quickly, then I accidentally gluten myself, gain for a couple of days, lose again, etc. Now I've tapered off to the same weight for 4 days. I'm still overweight but I'm not gaining, even when I eat a couple of gluten-free cookies now and then, so yay for me. I'm sure as I heal I'll lose more and more until I'm at a natural weight again.

My brain fog is also gone all the time and the sleepiness and paralysis and seizures. As long as I'm gluten free, those are always 100% gone for good. It's the weight and digestion that's taking more time to work itself out. But I'm confident that in time I'll be doing super good.

[caek-is-a-lie]

I've been gluten free four years now, and I do feel better (just generally healthier&stronger) this year than last year, and last year I already thought I'd healed completely.

That's so inspiring! Thanks! I have a lot to look forward to!

[tmb]

Hi tmb

The newest thing I'm noticing is that my mood seems to be super even, very resilient. I've had some major stress since the beginning of November, and I'm sailing through it with unusual aplomb, if I do say so myself.

This is an interesting coincidence. I suffer from anxiety, not enough for treatment but noticeable. I use exercise and meditation to control and help my mind let things go. My exercise suffers due to side effects celiac and my discipline is not greta with meditation. I have noticed over the past few months that I appear calmer. I imagine that part of this is due to identifying gluten as a culprit and seeing a way to recoer my health, but part of anxiety6 is probably as a direct result of the gluten. As a bonus I am doing more exercise and get the added benefit of this.

My skin is still dry, but my color is much better (pink, not blue-ish), and the bags under my eyes are less noticeable. Yay!

Another one. My skin is also very dry and i had DH lesions in a few places, not too serious but unpleasant and very itchy. I take Sasparillo capsules for the itch (also discovered cashew nuts aggravate sensitive skin and gave these up) and rub oil into my skin very day to keep it supple. My skin is also still dry after 6 months but improving. I also feel the cold and get hives on exposure to cold water, this apears slightly better but suspect this will take longer to resolve

My ND suggested I also test my adrenals, as many of my continuing symptoms seem to indicate insufficiency.

My iridologist picked up issues in my adrenals (and other organs), and used herbs to treat. As other organs are often involved in gluten issues - thyroid and adrenals, have a look at this site comparing some thyroid issues with adrenals. If not done already, I suggest you google about adrenal fatigue and look for herbal supplements to boost.

Open Original Shared Link

I don't have a hard and fast opinion about gluten free oats, which are increasingly available in this country. My feeling is that I don't quite trust them - perhaps they're doing their dirty deeds silently? I'd be interested to hear what your opinion is.

Not sure about oats. I have avoided them for around 6 months as I figured easier diagnosis with less items in my diet. Once I figure I have avoided gluen to a period (perhaps a year) and depending on my health might do some challenge testing with oats. As it appears most oats is contaminated, I will do with certified gluten free oats, but the science seems to say that organic, pure oats does not have the same gluten type protein that wheat does.

You have my sympathy for being in a mixed gluten-free and non-gluten-free family. If it weren't for my extremely accomodating partner, I don't know what I'd do. We have a gluten free house, lucky me.

Thanks. I need to decide how we move forward, my gut feel (no pun intended) is we need to tough it out and take everyone off gluten, so we can test itm and its probably the easiest to manage. I then need to decide how long we run the diet for and how we measure it. If we stuff this up, we might miss it and consign my kids to unhealthy lives with celiac. This would be a burden to carry.

Thankyou for your comments, I learn something new from each exchange on this board.

[tmb]

Yes, it is very risky. My daughter developed 3 auto-immune diseases in the last 5 years, the time it took me to find out (by gene test) that I am gluten sensitive and have gluten ataxia. Because I have a gene from each parent (my test results are below), it means my daughter for sure has at least one of the genes. If she were to have 2, one would be from her father.

Now, my celiac blood test and biopsy came back negative. Had I not done the "challenge diet" and known it was a gluten problem, I could have gone on eating the poison. I was so sure that I figured I might as well have the gene test for me, and my daughter. It was the best money, out of all the medical bills this last 3 years, that I have spent so far. I used Entrolab in Texas. Could you get on their website and ask if you could do it? The swabs they send for you to collect cells from the inside of your cheeks are easy to do, and I would think the mailing time would be fine because they have you dry them out before packaging them anyway. Worth a check. It was 369.00 for the gene test and stool test, so if you just did the gene test I would think it would be less. There would be a solid answer for you.

If you have 2 genes, then you know your kids would have at least one. If you have only 1 gene, then I do not know what that means for the kids. You would have to find that out. Best luck, I know how hard it is to consider gluten-free in the house, but actually, everone would eat alot healthier anyway!

Hi Amber, thanks for the perspective. Very sobering the possible impact upon the kids, yet not an easy process to actually do it or even convince the family it is necessary. I want to get the gene testing to give some level of validation. For me it will be enough if they have the genes given their associated symptoms. If they dont have the genes (or me), that will be a conundrum indeed.

I need to dig deeper to find a local DNA lab that can do this test.

[glutenfreemaryland]

My doctor told me weight gain is the best indicator of recovery. You can also have the blood tests done again to show if there is still gluten in your system.

[GF avenger]

Hi tmb

You seem very well educated on the particular manifestations of your ordeal with gluten, but I thought that I would mention that I saw some marked improvement in my skin immediately after beginning to take a supplement from Vitanica called the IC Blend. I'm assuming that the copious amounts of Vitamin A in it are what made the difference, but I suppose it could have been some of the other ingredients.

Also, I've been taking 4000 IU of Vitamin D daily, and I wonder if that's had an effect on my mood. My energy has been MUCH better since taking an iron supplement - a very recent test indicated that my ferritin level was through the floor.

I know that some docs are reluctant to do lots of testing for fear of "treating only the symptoms", but in my experience it's been very helpful to know precisely which vitamins and nutrients I'm low in so as to speed my recovery process through judicious application of supplements and creating a tailored and pretty fabulous gluten-free diet. Here's to leafy greens!

[tmb]

Hi tmb

You seem very well educated on the particular manifestations of your ordeal with gluten, but I thought that I would mention that I saw some marked improvement in my skin immediately after beginning to take a supplement from Vitanica called the IC Blend. I'm assuming that the copious amounts of Vitamin A in it are what made the difference, but I suppose it could have been some of the other ingredients.

Also, I've been taking 4000 IU of Vitamin D daily, and I wonder if that's had an effect on my mood. My energy has been MUCH better since taking an iron supplement - a very recent test indicated that my ferritin level was through the floor.

I know that some docs are reluctant to do lots of testing for fear of "treating only the symptoms", but in my experience it's been very helpful to know precisely which vitamins and nutrients I'm low in so as to speed my recovery process through judicious application of supplements and creating a tailored and pretty fabulous gluten-free diet. Here's to leafy greens!

Hi gluten-free A, thanks for the comments.

My skin was also aggravated by eating cashew nuts, so these got dropped from my diet. To stop the itching I used a herb called Sasparillo, and it also operates as a blood cleanser. This worked really well after a few days to stop the itch, and I used pawpaw cream on the lesions. Also used a mix of almond and jojoba oil for the dryness.

I was told by a naturopath to go easy on vit and mineral supplements as these tax the kidneys and iridology showed that I had stress in kidneys, pancreas and adrenals. He suggested I make sure my diet is varied and let my body heal itself. I have mostly avoided blodd tests for the past couple of years, atho I had thyroid and IgA tests a few years ago. My iridologist seems to pick which organs are stressed and gives me herbs to help heal them. This has worked well. He did not pick gluten as an issue, but when I suggested it might be, he agreed I should try a gluten-free diet (he also turned out to be celiac himself). He also did not pick the issues with candida, but supported my approach to eliminate yeast from my diet.

I get the impreesion from others and my own experience that its important to be patient and stick with the diet for at least 6 months to get a clear idea of the improvements. And hope for improvements over a few years to come. Slow but positive.

[caek-is-a-lie]

For me it's my weight and my level of alertness. I gained weight on gluten, so if I'm losing, I'm doing well. I even graph it out on the computer to remind myself that when I feel like I'm losing ground that I'm actually making progress. When I accidentally gluten myself, I gain for a few days, then go back to where I was pre-gluten and slowly lose again. I figure there's some sort of inflammation process going on that makes it happen. I put a red dot on those days to give myself perspective: it's only temporary! It's a back & forth process but I'm steadily getting there...slowly. I've lost 15 lbs since September. Just 20 lbs left to lose to get close to what "normal" used to be for me.

Gluten also triggers my Narcolepsy symptoms, so if I'm feeling awake most of the day, thinking clearly, not falling down, and not having seizures, I know I'm doing a great job. I hope that a few months down the road I'll feel even better. I've already stopped taking the L-Tyrosine I was using the beginning to feel more alert because I just don't feel like I need it. That must be a good sign!

[caek-is-a-lie]

Dang it I hate it when I reply to a post and forget and reply again. It's so embarrassing!