How Long Does It Take To See A Difference?

[clinchfield33]

Hello,

I know everyone is unique, but I would love to hear from some of you about how long it took for a change in your symptoms after being gluten free.

I will be free for a week this up coming Tuesday. I have constant diarrhea and at least one painful cramping episode daily and up to four painful episodes a day.

I also have anxiety and social mental problems due to the frequent bathroom use.

I have not been officially diagnosed but I highly suspect it (and HOPE) that I am gluten intolerant.

 

I have had loose stool and diarrhea all my life and I am in my mid 40s and things have gotten much worse.

 

I look forward to any replies

 

[SMRI]

It really depends but, I have been gluten free for a week--minus one pizza that I had to have and I've gone from being in the bathroom 5 or 6 times/day to once and I haven't even had to go today at all yet! I've had D and loose stools for at least 20 years too, most of the time, not all the time, but the past year or so has gotten really bad where it's all the time and several times/day.  I've also noticed a significant reduction in gas production too!!

[user001]

I noticed a big difference in my stools after a week or so. They firmed up a bit. I mostly had D, but throughout my life my stools were rarely normal. If I didn't have loose stools I had C. During times when I was stressed and ate terribly I had a lot of D with urgency too. I would have to eat early in the am and plan on using the bathroom 4-5 Times before I left the house. It all changed within 2 weeks of going gluten-free. My stools are much more predictable now and I am rarely bloated or gassy unless I have too much dairy. I also don't have that uncomfortable pain that comes with gas and bloating. I had headaches daily for the past 5 years, that was also something that cleared up fairly quickly after quitting gluten.

 

My energy level also improved after a few weeks. It continues to improve but I do have good and bad days still. After 5 months I am finally starting to lose less hair. Only a few hairs lost while washing the past few times. Family and friends have been telling me my coloring and dark circles under my eyes have improved. Some time along the way I stopped walking like a stumblng drunk, my balance improved, my knees stopped giving out and my arthritis still pains me, but has become more tolerable.

 

Good luck, stick with it!!

[nvsmom]

I've read that 70% of people experience improvements of some symptoms in the first two weeks gluten-free.  The problem is that it is just SOME of the symptoms.  LOL  My stomach aches and bloating started to improve in the first week.  Fatigue and migraines got worse for a while.  My bathroom habits did not change for almost 9 months, and then I swung from C to D.  For me, BM's took a long time to become more normal.  I think I took a little longer than average for that though.

 

If you ever plan on getting tested for celiac disease, you should do it immediately before you live gluten-free much longer.  In order to get the most accurate celiac testing done, you need to be consuming gluten.  For those who have been gluten-free and want to test, they will need to complete a gluten challenge prior to testing which will involve 8-12 weeks of eating the equivalent of 1-2 slices of bread per day.  If you are gluten-free fora month or so, you will have to make yourself sick for many weeks in order to do a test, and not everyone can make it through the challenge.  I highly recommend you resume eating gluten for a week or so and get tested sooner rather than later.

 

If you are certain that you will be able to eat gluten-free (no cheats) for your entire life without a diagnosis, then ignore my advice.    Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.  

[clinchfield33]

Thanks to everyone, I am movinh into my second week of being gluten free. My problem is that I am self employed and I am still paying for test that started in 2006. I have had two upper GI test and two lower GI test done and that are $3000 each. I have mentioned the Celiac to my GI, but everything is IBS with him regardless of the symptoms.

The onlt symptoms I have is the painfull cramping D and some mental issues as a result of dealing with the painfull D. That being said, I have yet to use the bathroom today...its after 3 in the afternoon and that has never happened before. I feel as if I may need to go soon, but no real rush or pain.

As for staying gluten free without a test.....I CAN DO IT! I would rather sand paper a wildcats ass in a phone booth then have the painfull cramping D everyday!

Thank you so much for the information....helps keep hope alive!

[beth01]

lol'ing about the wildcat, you painted a very funny picture! :lol: :lol:

 

I think with everyone, it varies.  Some see improvement right away and some take longer.  I think it depends how long you go undiagnosed, depends on how much healing you have to do.  For some it gets worse before it get's better. Sorry I am probably not being very helpful, I just don't have an answer. It's four months for me and still only a little ways up that hill.

 

Good luck.

[nvsmom]

 

As for staying gluten free without a test.....I CAN DO IT! I would rather sand paper a wildcats ass in a phone booth then have the painfull cramping D everyday!

 

 

     LMAO That really is quite the mental picture.

 

Hang in there.

[SMRI]

And..since poop is an ok topic here...I actually had "real" stuff today--just once too.....

[clinchfield33]

I am so glad to have found this forum. I have been "feeling" better today, and I do not think it is false hope.

 

I am also glad some of you liked the wildcat joke. I have used humor as much as possible over the years to help me keep my spirits up.

 

I still need to learn how to cook gluten free....at least cookies. 

[ceceliac]

Hi, when i went gluten free, i was very very sick, had bloody diahrrea 15 times a day and had a lot of pain and bloating after eating. i was very ill so i kept reacting everytime i ate for 2 months .. i ate something a little spicy or something that contained onions/garlic and i immediatly bloated and had diahrrea. i also reacted when i ate dairy. i was so disappointed that gluten free diet wasnt working but i made a lot of mistakes, was getting glutened once a week i think, so when i started feeling better, i was glutened and that was a vicious cycle that lasted 2 months!!

You have to make sure youre not getting glutened by cross contamination or traces of gluten. replace stuff like pizza pans (only if they have stuck food or grease), also replace all wooden utensils. some people also replace non sticking pans.wash the rest of the utensils very well. you must have a separate kitchen cloth for your gluten free stuff and make sure the other members of the house dont gluten the towels and kitch clothes you use. also check your make up, at leas the stuff you put on your face and lips, cuz those are likely to be ingested. 

And you cant kiss someone who's just eaten something with gluten unless he/she brushes his/her teeth!

 

Hang in there!! it gets better

[ceceliac]

Search for recipes of baked goods, i have some links to pages with my fav recipes but they're in spanish..   you can find a lot of stuff on the internet, though its less stressing in the beggining just to buy everything already done xD

[clinchfield33]

ceceliac,

 

Thank you. I will keep looking for a cookie recipes. 

 

I am male so I do not wear make-up, or have a chance to kiss anyone, but I will keep that in mind if I get lucky in the future.

 

I did find the post that says M&Ms are safe.....loving those

[SMRI]

I am so glad to have found this forum. I have been "feeling" better today, and I do not think it is false hope.

 

I am also glad some of you liked the wildcat joke. I have used humor as much as possible over the years to help me keep my spirits up.

 

I still need to learn how to cook gluten free....at least cookies. 

 

What do you normally make for meals now.  Maybe post a few of those and people can give you suggestions on how to adapt meals.  Last night I made BLT's and corn on the cob.  The only adjustment I had to make was to use gluten-free bread.  Our house is now gluten-free so I don't have to worry about cross contamination but if it was not, I would have had to make sure the butter dish was clean (or use a butter dish just for me) so I didn't have bread crumbs on there or whatever.  Night before that I made chicken, potatoes and a mixed vegetable.  My spices are gluten-free so that wasn't an issue.  I did see some of the frozen vege bags were packaged in a facility that processes wheat (Sam's club brand)...so I bought another brand that were not. Once you clean your kitchen and remove gluten from the house, since it sounds like you are single, cooking will be easier.

 

As for baking cookies--my husband does our baking so I can't really help there.  He hasn't done any since I've had to go gluten-free.  Not sure if he will try to experiment with various flours or not.  He's viewing this as a chance to "diet" himself .

[ezgoindude]

Sup clinch!

I had wanted to ask, with such violent symptoms the doctor found nothing with all the scopes?!? Did you ask for the biopsy results? There would be inflammation somewhere I'd have to guess...

[clinchfield33]

Biopsy results shows nothing.

Upper GI shows nothing

Colonoscopy showed thickining of the walls and narrowing of some loops. 

 

The doctors do not seem to be worried about any of the test  and I will have to save a little more money before I see another doctor or have more test. I am self pay and I am still paying off my last set of colonoscopy/endoscopy test.

[ezgoindude]

I'm currently in a similar dilemma, but i've been tested with pretty much everything under the sun.  Did they cut pieces of your colon out when they did the colonoscopy?  Sorry to pry into your test info but if Gluten isnt just the main trigger you may have several intolerances, or your colon is so inflamed it needs to calm down, I hear some folks go through an elemental diet to figure it out. 

 

In my now 10 month marker since extreme symptoms had hit (i'd have bathroom issues for almost 4 years now),  I go once every two days, my sleep has gotten alot better, but its still difficult to gain weight like I used to.  I'm using a specialized paleo diet to calm my inflammation in the meantime,  has helped alot but its very time consuming.