gluten-free Diet Results

[FairySprinkle]

About how long does it take before I see if a gluten-free diet is helping? Is there a range?

[TCA]

I took about 3 weeks for my 3 year old son and 3 days for my 5 mo. old daughter. From what I understand it varies considerably with the individual.

[Rusla]

Some of mine improved within the first couple of weeks. The rest will take more time, I suspect.

[FairySprinkle]

I have been trying to be gluten-free for about 4 days to the best of my knowledge. If I wanted a blood test done, how long will I need to be eating gluten until the appointment? 2 weeks?

Do you find that the first few days it goes from better to worse to better as if it seems hopeless or does it get better only since gluten-free?

[wolfie]

I saw a huge change within 24 hours. I still have some of my old symptoms, but not to the degree that I had them before. I have been gluten-free for 4 weeks tomorrow. I think that it takes a good amount of time. I have read that it can take up to a year or 2 to completely heal.

[jenvan]

Unfortunately it really depends person to person. Some here felt great within a few weeks, others such as myself are a year or more gluten-free and still holding out for more improvement (although I have noticed some for sure). I think most people notice improvement in some area physically within the first few months though. You'll get there !

[jerseyangel]

For me, the D stopped in a few days. The other symptoms took longer--I began to feel better around the 4th. month. After 8 months, I still have problems with fatigue, joint pain, anxiety and reflux. I am a work in progress

[Guest jgeeningie]

Still new to all this...I keep hearing people talk about strict separation of foods at home, even to the point of separate pots & pans. Is this all really completely necessary. Will a crumb of wheat really affect me after I've gone completely gluten-free.

Like I said, I'm still learning about all of this. I'm still eating gluten b/c I haven't had a biopsy yet, but I'm trying to prepare myself for when I have to make the change. This is all so intimidating.

[DingoGirl]

Still new to all this...I keep hearing people talk about strict separation of foods at home, even to the point of separate pots & pans. Is this all really completely necessary. Will a crumb of wheat really affect me after I've gone completely gluten-free.

Like I said, I'm still learning about all of this. I'm still eating gluten b/c I haven't had a biopsy yet, but I'm trying to prepare myself for when I have to make the change. This is all so intimidating.

Hey there - I"ve been gluten-free for two-and-a-half weeks - I noticed improvement in my bowels and mental health in just five days. I am using the same pots and pans, the same toaster that I used before, without any special treatment. Everything was great until today - 3 major bouts of D. I think I ate something with gluten yesterday, either the Basking Robbins ice cream or the Trader Joe's Lemongrass Chicken entree, or maybe some seasoning that was on the meat at my family dinner? I am researching this....but, just to let you know, I didn't change any appliances or cookware, and things dramatically improved for me.

Susan

[Rachel--24]

As far as changing appliances and such I would mainly be concerned about the toaster. If you have Celiac a crumb will definately do you harm. The toaster would be a major source of contamination and is very cheap and easy to replace. Also wooden spoons....cheap and easy to replace. As far as pots and pans...I'd just clean them really good....unless they're really old with lots of cuts and scratches in them. Its kind of overwhelming to do everything at once so I'd just make the toaster a main priority.

[jenvan]

jgeeningie--

A crumb--yes, it could hurt you, especially if you continue to have crumbs frequently over a long period of time. Strive for no gluten, no contamination. I saw you are cancer free 10 years--that's awesome! (Can I ask what kind of cancer?) I'm sure you've heard of increased cancer rates in Celiacs...

As for pots/pans... As Rachel mentioned, keeping your applicances clean and separate is important I think. I do have separate pans etc in my house. But occasionally there may be some cross-over in cooking. (Not in the eating though). I feel okay with this since we have a dishwasher and I am able to get things clean--that's the biggest thing for me. However, I've found it easier and less stressful to just keep things separate. My husband has his own pot, skillet, mixing bowl, spatula, toaster and griddle. Everything else in the kitchen is mine

[Guest nini]

I don't have a separate toaster, I got a toaster oven, it's much easier to keep clean than a regular toaster, and I can just plop a sheet of aluminum foil down on the rack if I don't have time to thoroughly clean it.

I swictched most of my pots and pans over to stainless steel about a year into the gluten-free diet. My husband still uses some of the old non stick ones for his food, and if he uses the stainless steel ones, they are easier to keep clean.

Yes one crumb will hurt, in fact, it only takes one molecule of gluten to do damage to your intestines. You may not have noticeable symptoms, but it will still do damage. This is why it is so important to be as gluten-free as you possibly can be.

[jerseyangel]

I'd like to add this to what everyone above has said--at the beginning, after cutting out the gluten, we tend to feel much better. What then happens, (in a lot of cases) is that we start to become more sensitive to smaller amounts. Another thing that was big for me was going through all of my personal care products and seeing if there was gluten in any of them. Back then, I found it in a hair gel and my shampoo and conditioner. It's hard to make large, sweeping changes all at once. Starting with the toaster is a good idea, and then you can take stock of where you might get contaminated and go from there. Any time you have a question, we're here

[Guest jgeeningie]

jgeeningie--

A crumb--yes, it could hurt you, especially if you continue to have crumbs frequently over a long period of time. Strive for no gluten, no contamination. I saw you are cancer free 10 years--that's awesome! (Can I ask what kind of cancer?) I'm sure you've heard of increased cancer rates in Celiacs...

I had Hodgkins Lymphoma at the age of 23, Stage 2 B. It was treated with Chemo & Radiation.

Yes, I am aware of increased cancer rates, and that does scare me. I'm still under the care of an oncologist, and he is aware of my situation, I have an appointment with him soon to find out his take on the whole thing. I'm very anxious to get this under control soon. My Dad was diagnosed with Celiac last year (unfortunately he passed away in November); so I know it's genetic.