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How long does it take to feel better after I stop eating gluten?


swim2hawaii

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swim2hawaii Newbie

Hello, 

I have had some symptoms that point to Celiac Disease for some time. I am scheduled to see my doctor in one week about these symptoms that include nausea, heart burn, joint aches, bloating, missed menstrual cycles, and more. 

 So I decided to do a gluten free diet for the week leading up to seeing the doctor so I could tell her if that helped or not. I have been gluten free for 1 1/2 days and still feel no better. In fact, I almost feel a little more nauseous than usual. I know this is early on into eating gluten free so I was just wondering how long it should take to start feeling the positive effects of not eating gluten if I indeed do have an issue with it. 

Any thoughts would be helpful! Thank you!


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GFinDC Veteran

My thoughts, you should start eating gluten again right now.  Going off gluten before testing is a good way to end up wasting time and money on testing that is pointless.  The testing for celiac disease is first off blood antibodies to gliaden.   If you aren't eating gluten the tests are not accurate and won't show your actual immune system reaction.  You should not stop eating gluten until all testing is completed, which usually also includes an endoscopy as the 2nd step.

Otherwise you are doing fine and welcome to the forum! :)

cyclinglady Grand Master

Here is some information  about getting tested for celiac disease from a reliable source: The University of Chicago.  

Open Original Shared Link

 It is CRITICAL to be consuming gluten daily until all testing is complete.   Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder like lupus, Crohn's or MS.  Gluten just happens to be the "trigger" for launching an attack on the body (destroys the intestinal lining).  A small gluten exposure can set off a reaction that can last weeks to months.  Healing can take months to YEARS.  So, giving up gluten for a week is pointless in eliminating symptoms. 

It is great that your are researching and learning.  Best to get the test done to know for sure.  

 

 

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    • knitty kitty
      @Hmart, The reason why your intestinal damage was so severe, yet your tTg IgA was so minimal can be due to cutting back on gluten (and food in general) due to worsening symptoms.  The tTg IgA antibodies are made in the intestines.  While three grams of gluten per day for several weeks are enough to cause gastrointestinal symptoms, ten grams of gluten per day for for several weeks are required to provoke sufficient antibody production so that the antibodies move out of the intestines and into the blood stream where they can be measured in blood tests.  Since you reduced your gluten consumption before testing, the antibody production went down and did not leave the intestines, hence lower than expected tTg IgA.   Still having abdominal pain and other symptoms this far out is indicative of nutritional deficiencies.  With such a severely damaged small intestine, you are not absorbing sufficient nutrients, especially Thiamine Vitamin B 1, so your body us burning stored fat and even breaking down muscle to fuel your body.   Yes, it is a very good idea to supplement with vitamins and minerals during healing.  The eight essential B vitamins are water soluble and easily lost with diarrhea.  The B vitamins all work together interconnectedly, and should be supplemented together.  Taking vitamin supplements provides your body with greater opportunity to absorb them.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins cannot be stored for long, so they must be replenished every day.  Thiamine tends to become depleted first which leads to Gastrointestinal Beriberi, a condition that doctors frequently fail to recognize.  Symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi are abdominal pain and nausea, but neuropathy can also occur, as well as body and joint pain, headaches and more.  Heart rhythm disruptions including tachycardia are classic symptoms of thiamine deficiency.  Heart attack patients are routinely administered thiamine now.   Blood tests for vitamins are notoriously inaccurate.  You can have "normal" blood levels, while tissues and organs are depleted.  Such is the case with Gastrointestinal Beriberi, a thiamine deficiency in the digestive tract.  Eating a diet high in carbohydrates, like rice, starches, and sugar, can further deplete thiamine.  The more carbohydrates one eats, the more thiamine is required per calorie to turn carbs into energy.  Burning stored fats require less thiamine, so in times of thiamine shortage, the body burns fat and muscles instead.  Muscle wasting is a classic symptoms of thiamine deficiency.  A high carbohydrate diet may also promote SIBO and/or Candida infection which can also add to symptoms.  Thiamine is required to keep SIBO and Candida in check.   Thiamine works with Pyridoxine B 6, so if Thiamine is low and can't interact with Pyridoxine, the unused B 6 accumulates and shows up as high.   Look into the Autoimmune Protocol diet.  Dr. Sarah Ballantyne is a Celiac herself.  Her book "The Paleo Approach" has been most helpful to me.  Following the AIP diet made a huge improvement in my symptoms.  Between the AIP diet and correcting nutritional deficiencies, I felt much better after a long struggle with not feeling well.   Do talk to your doctor about Gastrointestinal Beriberi.  Share the article linked below. Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/ Keep us posted on your progress!
    • Trish G
      Thanks, that's a great addition that I hadn't thought of. 
    • trents
      Other diseases, medical conditions, medications and even (for some people) some non-gluten foods can cause villous atrophy. There is also something called refractory celiac disease but it is pretty uncommon.
    • trents
      knitty kitty asks a very relevant question. So many people make the mistake of experimenting with the gluten free diet or even a reduced gluten diet soon before getting formally tested.
    • trents
      Another great fiber option is dried apricots. Four of them give you 3g of fiber and I find they don't produce all the gas that some other high fiber options do. They taste good too. Costco sells a large bag of them that are labeled gluten-free so you don't have to worry about cross contamination issues like you might in bulk grocery settings.
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