How Long For "d" To Resolve?

[Gluten-y-Is-A-Sin]

I had been given a "diagnosis" of IBS in early 2000 and have had unrelenting D 10-15 times a day for nearly 6.5 years (I am 27yo) as my main symptom. I have not had a formal diagnosis of celiac disease, but placed myself on a gluten-free diet 3.5 weeks ago after by chance stumbling across someone's story online of having the same symptoms as me for years with no improvement later finding out it was celiac disease. Within a day or 2 after starting the diet I had a marked reduction in abdominal discomfort and ever since my bm's don't smell nearly as bad as they did before - I figure that must be some 'objective' sign of improvement that I couldn't consciously alter (it's sad when you almost accept that this must be "all in your head"). I also do not have to get up in the night for D nearly as often as before - I commonly had to get up 2-3 times a night for the last 2 years with this (not a typical symptom of IBS). Before trying the gluten-free diet I had tried increasing fibre, decreasing fibre, eating mainly soluble fibre foods/avoiding insoluble fibre, taking soluble fibre supplements, taking peppermint capsules, eliminating dairy - none of it made any difference. I also generally feel much better now than I have in years, but still do not have normal bm's.

I'm wondering how long does it take for D to resolve completely in people who have had it as their main symptom for several years prior to starting the gluten-free diet?

[dionnek]

There are several strings on this, but just to summarize, everyone is different (you will see some people say it took them 2 days and some people 6 months!). I am on my third week of gluten-free and still have the D 5-6 times per day. I have noticed that I have gone a few days here and there in that time where I only have a BM once or twice, which NEVER happened before being gluten-free, so I think my healing has started. I think it all depends on how much damage was done to your intestines (I was first dxed by biopsy showing extensive damage - then confirmed by blood tests and more xrays to check for crohns). Hope this helpgs - don't give up, like I said, it can take months.

[lindalee]

I had been given a "diagnosis" of IBS in early 2000 and have had unrelenting D 10-15 times a day for nearly 6.5 years (I am 27yo) as my main symptom. I have not had a formal diagnosis of celiac disease, but placed myself on a gluten-free diet 3.5 weeks ago after by chance stumbling across someone's story online of having the same symptoms as me for years with no improvement later finding out it was celiac disease. Within a day or 2 after starting the diet I had a marked reduction in abdominal discomfort and ever since my bm's don't smell nearly as bad as they did before - I figure that must be some 'objective' sign of improvement that I couldn't consciously alter (it's sad when you almost accept that this must be "all in your head"). I also do not have to get up in the night for D nearly as often as before - I commonly had to get up 2-3 times a night for the last 2 years with this (not a typical symptom of IBS). Before trying the gluten-free diet I had tried increasing fibre, decreasing fibre, eating mainly soluble fibre foods/avoiding insoluble fibre, taking soluble fibre supplements, taking peppermint capsules, eliminating dairy - none of it made any difference. I also generally feel much better now than I have in years, but still do not have normal bm's.

I'm wondering how long does it take for D to resolve completely in people who have had it as their main symptom for several years prior to starting the gluten-free diet?

I had been given a "diagnosis" of IBS in early 2000 and have had unrelenting D 10-15 times a day for nearly 6.5 years (I am 27yo) as my main symptom. I have not had a formal diagnosis of celiac disease, but placed myself on a gluten-free diet 3.5 weeks ago after by chance stumbling across someone's story online of having the same symptoms as me for years with no improvement later finding out it was celiac disease. Within a day or 2 after starting the diet I had a marked reduction in abdominal discomfort and ever since my bm's don't smell nearly as bad as they did before - I figure that must be some 'objective' sign of improvement that I couldn't consciously alter (it's sad when you almost accept that this must be "all in your head"). I also do not have to get up in the night for D nearly as often as before - I commonly had to get up 2-3 times a night for the last 2 years with this (not a typical symptom of IBS). Before trying the gluten-free diet I had tried increasing fibre, decreasing fibre, eating mainly soluble fibre foods/avoiding insoluble fibre, taking soluble fibre supplements, taking peppermint capsules, eliminating dairy - none of it made any difference. I also generally feel much better now than I have in years, but still do not have normal bm's.

I'm wondering how long does it take for D to resolve completely in people who have had it as their main symptom for several years prior to starting the gluten-free diet?

I didn't go anywhere near that much but I found psyllium fiber made mine more normal -1 tbs a day- some days were normal. I bought a juicer so I juice alot. and eat lots of veggies. LindaLee

[hez]

Everyone is different. I know that does not help My expreience was 6 months before the D was not an everyday occurance. Then about 9 months the D was gone. I hope you find some relief with the gluten-free diet. This board is a great place to find information and support. Good luck!

Hez

[terps19]

As of course everyone else is different, so healign time ranges. I have been Gluten-free Casein-free for 2 weeks now and have felt marked improvement on some days. The other days I show little to no improvement. What types of foods are you eating? Are you eating processed foods- like cookies, candies, etc? When first starting out on really any diet is to keep your diet at basic foods for at least a few days (for me it was about 6 days where I mainly ate chicken, lean pork, turkey, salmon, talapia, potato, very well cooked greenbeans, and hot rice cereal in the morning. I have introduce a few new things like banana rice muffins (made from scratch and bread). But I seem to find that still when I eat processed foods I still have some trouble.

Have you tried any probiotics? If you have been having D for years then probiotics will help restore your good bacteria in your stomach. Some people find great relief in these, myself included. A good gluten-free probiotics is iFlora or Culturelle.

Have you ever considered having other food intolerances? Have you looked into Dr Fine's tests? If not then check out www.enterolab.com (I am in now way affiliated with the company). I do believe there are others who have used Dr Fine's tests on this site as well as others for microscopic colitis.

Did you ever get a colonoscopy? Because going that many times might sound a bit more serious- like an inflammatory bowel disease- but that is not too comon.

[jacquie2006]

Hi, my situaion is very similar to yours. I too was diagnosed with IBS for about 10 years until the D became so severe I thought I better obtain a second opinion. I have been gluten-free for 15 months now and I can finally say that my bowel habits are normal. I began to notice an improvemtn in the diahrea after about one motnh of eating a very limited diet. As soon as I reintroduced vitamins etc. or other food, the diahrea returned--and I was so careful that everything I put in my mouth was glitem free. What I want to say to you is that i have heard that diahrea can disapprear after as little as 10 days but for me it took a lot longer. Don't be discouraged as it takes time. My improvement was 2 steps forward and one back. It doesn't necessarily mean you are getting gluten or that you are not healing. It takes time for things to normalize agian.

Good luck.

-Jacquie

[Gluten-y-Is-A-Sin]

I have tried probiotics (the last thing I tried before going gluten-free), but I eat yoghurt daily anyway (now soy or lactose-free dairy). I don't eat gluten-free cookies etc. - never really ate them before going gluten-free. There have been some other improvements though - eg. pea/corn skins would pass straight through me before, so I wouldn't eat them, but they don't now. I am definitely seeing improvement, so aren't too worried if it takes a while to be fully 'normal' again, but was just wondering how long it has taken others in a similar situation.

There's an interesting American Journal of Clinical Nutrition article on this online at: Open Original Shared Link

The graph at Open Original Shared Link shows how long it took patients' D in the study to "alleviate" (doesn't say completely disappear though).