New Celiac Survivor Seeks Experience And Advice

[erika29]

Hi everyone,

While I haven't been "officially" diagnosed with Celiac yet, all the signs point in that direction (i.e. mom with Celiac, blood tests are positive, and reactions to certain foods). To be proactive, I've attempted a gluten-free diet as an "experiment" for about a week now, and while overall I've felt improvement, I still have days with symptoms. I was curious to hear from other Celiac survivors--how soon (or not soon) after you began a gluten-free diet did you become symptom-free? Was it a gradual or more immediate process? Does it vary with each individual case, and if so what can I expect for an average? If I still have symptoms, should I be worried that it's not Celiac?

Thanks for your time and insight!

[Ursa Major]

Erika, it sounds like you're doing just great on the gluten-free diet. It can take up to two years to be actually symptom-free. Nobody can accomplish that in a week!

Also, have you made sure you really don't get any gluten from anything? Have you checked all your personal care items (soap, shampoo, conditioner, lipstick, toothpaste, lotion etc.) for gluten ingredients (like wheat germ oil, barley extract, oat bran)? They can keep you glutened.

Another thing is appliances, like your toaster. You absolutely need a new one if you eat gluten-free bread, you can't clean it well enough to be safe. The same goes for plastic colanders, wooden cutting boards, wooden cooking spoons and scratched non-stick cookware.

If you had a positive blood test, and are feeling better on the gluten-free diet, then you have a positive diagnosis, no biopsy needed.

Here is a link to Nini's website, who has compiled a Celiac newbie kit, that is really invaluable. Scroll down to the bottom, where you can either download the whole kit as a zip file (for some people one of the files wouldn't download), or the other link has the individual files. Open Original Shared Link

Here you will find a lot of things that would take you quite a long time to research on your own.

[eKatherine]

I think it depends on how sick you are. If you've just got a little intolerance, you might feel all better within a week. But if you've got a lot of healing to do, you may not feel completely well until you have been truly gluten-free for quite a while.