How Long Until You Declared Yourself 100%

[sweetsailing]

I am about 6.5 months into being gluten free and I still continue to feel like I am coming up out of my hole.  Certainly, I noticed improvements in the first few weeks and along the way I feel like I keep turning another corner so to speak. 

 

At 6.5 months in, I haven't felt this good in at least 4 - 5 years.  So, I feel like I am in unchartered waters.  I don't even have a concept for when the improvements will end. 

 

Up until very recently, I haven't been able to tolerate multi-vitamin supplements.  They gave me D and felt like they just washed right through me without any benefit.  Finally, I am now able to take multi-vitamins and I think this is actually making a difference.  I did take Vit D and probiotics since day one and those were fine. 

 

I am exercising more and more now and I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to be appropriately sore in my muscles from working out as opposed to just hurting all the time. 

 

I am riding the "good train" and I don't know when it ends but I am liking where it is going. 

 

So, how long before you declared yourself 100% or maybe you haven't yet. 

[nvsmom]

I think I would put myself at 80% better. I was an undiagnosed celiac since babyhood, so I have a few permanent health issues that aren't going to improve, and a few others that I don't think will go completely (as there still hanging in, at a much reduced severity, after almost 2 years gluten-free.

[GottaSki]

For me, the damage caused by Celiac Disease will likely never be completely remedied -- but in many ways I am better than ever before in my life. 

 

My bones have replaced themselves these past five years with strong healthy bones -- no more premature osteoporosis. 

 

My tendons and ligaments are all functioning much better -- used to have knees that would pop out if the wind blew the wrong direction, etc. 

 

The plumbing is finally running a bit more smoothly

 

My gums are healthy

 

My skin, nails and hair are all wonderful

 

I have a few problems we are still working on, but overall I am healthier -- just need to figure out the last few remaining pieces of the puzzle -- and I will

[Fenrir]

For me, the damage caused by Celiac Disease will likely never be completely remedied -- but in many ways I am better than ever before in my life. 

 

My bones have replaced themselves these past five years with strong healthy bones -- no more premature osteoporosis. 

 

My tendons and ligaments are all functioning much better -- used to have knees that would pop out if the wind blew the wrong direction, etc. 

 

The plumbing is finally running a bit more smoothly

 

My gums are healthy

 

My skin, nails and hair are all wonderful

 

I have a few problems we are still working on, but overall I am healthier -- just need to figure out the last few remaining pieces of the puzzle -- and I will

Yeah, I'm hoping mine improve as well.

 

I may have had this since I was a kid as I remember going to the ER multiple times as a kid with stomach pain that they never figured out. My joints feel shot, abdominal pain, headaches, plumbing issues..ect.

 

About 10 days gluten free and I feel some improvement already. Knees are not near as bad but still not good but it will take time and my headaches are pretty much gone already,

[NatureChick]

I think that you are going to have milestones for things such as completing the initial recovery phase, getting really good at avoiding cross contamination, no longer feeling deprived, being able to shop for groceries without even noticing that your shopping card is completely different than it used to be. And all of those will be steps in the right direction.

But there will also be times when some new health problem will arise, forcing you to play detective to figure out what might be the cause, deal with doctors who don't understand celiac, or make you worry about the damage that your body has endured and might not ever heal. I think that being prepared for these to pop up may make them easier to deal with when they do happen. 

But just reading Fenrir's comment makes me remember how wonderful my first month gluten-free was compared to the hell that preceded it. Which I needed because I'm in the midst of one of those new mysteries that I haven't solved yet.

[GottaSki]

Yeah, I'm hoping mine improve as well.

 

I may have had this since I was a kid as I remember going to the ER multiple times as a kid with stomach pain that they never figured out. My joints feel shot, abdominal pain, headaches, plumbing issues..ect.

 

About 10 days gluten free and I feel some improvement already. Knees are not near as bad but still not good but it will take time and my headaches are pretty much gone already,

 

Many things will improve gluten-free -- it simply takes time.  It often feels like a dance two steps forward, one step back -- but overall you are improving.  Like NatureChick, I believe acknowledging the victories -- small and large -- along with being prepared to handle the setbacks is important.

[1desperateladysaved]

I had 30+ years of celiac symptoms and I think my measuring stick is all messed up.  Once what I thought was normal, isn't normal.  I feel very much better than what I had been.  I am 2 years gluten free and still feel like I am in transition. I had a couple of big lurches ahead when I started digestive enzymes and when I cut out all food intolerances.  I felt very much improvement when my low ferritin was corrected.  We are in a race and I don't know where the finish line is.  In many ways I am already over 100%, but  I have some baggage.  I think 100% is an illusion like the horizon.  One can never really tell when they get there.  But in the case of celiac recovery, one can remember where they started and marvel at where they are now!

 

Dee

[notme]

3 1/2 (well, almost 4!  wow)  years and i am still seeing improvements.  sooo many (seemingly unrelated) health issues that i struggled with have cleared up.  my skin is not an itchy mess, my vertigo is vertigone <see what i did there)  i have put on 22 lbs (!)  from 97 lbs to 119 and i'm still trying to gain about 5 more.  in my boobs HAHA     i even had a constant headache that i didn't know i had until it disappeared.  all my vitamin levels except D are good  i don't take vitamin supplements, so my gut must be absorbing.  i don't wake up needing a nap    feeling fine

 

i still slip up occasionally, but less and less.  i think.    

[BlessedMommy]

I'm fortunate in that I caught my gluten issues relatively early. I believe that they were triggered during my 1st pregnancy when I was 23. I started cutting out wheat a couple of years later and after my TIA and hospitalization in 2010 (so age 27) it was gluten free for life for me.

 

I feel like my overall health has improved a lot. I'm still working on some issues, but definitely feel much better now than I did in my early 20's!