Does It Get Worse Before It Gets Better?

[rantipoles]

I had a blood test come back positive for celiac, though the endoscopy came back negative. I gave up gluten a few weeks ago and am temporarily giving up a lot of other stuff elimination diet style (no dairy, soy, grains, etc) just to see if anything else is causing irritation. I've been cooking everything at home, buying whole food ingredients, taking probiotics, cleaning up in the kitchen better, and watching labels like a hawk. The problem is that my stomach is feeling worse than it did before I gave up gluten. I seem to cramp up after nearly every single meal and am waking up in the middle of the night with stomach pain. 

 

I know everyone's experience of giving up gluten is different, but I'm feeling a little discouraged after reading so many stories of people who said their symptoms cleared up almost immediately. Is it possible for things to get worse before they get better on a gluten-free diet? Did any of you have to wait a long time before feeling stomach pain relief?

 

 

[cyclinglady]

It sounds like you are doing a great job!  But, you're wrong about feeling better fast.  It took me about 7 weeks to resolve my intestinal issues.  I was asymptomatic prior to my blood test, but developed some intestinal problems prior to my endoscopy resulting from eating a loaf of bread a day (my results showed moderate to severe damage).  Anyway, others on this forum have take one to two years to feel better.  So, be patient!  You'll feel better soon!  

[eerickso]

I've been feeling the same way. My brain fog seemed to lift pretty quickly but I've definitely had some tough days since going gluten-free over the last couple of weeks. I've now added dairy to my banned list and am starting to see a bit of improvement but it is all very gradual. I'm still getting cramping and still wake up in the middle of the night with pain. The main difference is that I'm not cramping up every 15 minutes between 6 AM and noon; now it's just a couple of times.

 

Hope you (and I!) start feeling better soon!

[nvsmom]

I found some symptoms improved fairly quickly and others took a long long time. Give it more time - a couple of weeks gluten-free really is just a drop in the bucket. For most people, their autoantibodies will still be produced at that point and not much will have changed except for the immediate gluten reactions some people get. 

 

Keep a symptom and food diary and note new symptoms and when old symptoms fade away. I bet after half a year you will see a huge improvement, if not earlier.

 

Good luck!