Possibility Of Complete Recovery?

[myshrimpdied]

I suspect that I am gluten intolerant and am starting a gluten free diet today to test the results.

My question is: Is there even a possiblity of complete recovery after a long time on the diet? Say after a year or so on the diet is there a chance that I can re introduce the foods that I so dearly love without the symptoms? Is this extremely rare?

Thanks

[Rikki Tikki]

Here's my thoughts on the subject:

First sorry about your shrimp!

I believe from my own experience that the body can heal, however I do not believe that one can reintroduce the foods back and not have an adverse effect on the body. I have been gluten-free for over 3 years. It has taken most of that time to feel human again and I still feel I have some lingering health issues that are traced to having celiac disease for about 15 years before it was diagnosed. If I were to consume gluten now it would take a lesser amount to make me ill, as evidenced by the fact that when I have ingested it without knowing I have had a much worse reaction than prior to diagnosis. I think our bodies can and do heal but that we will have to stay gluten-free for the rest of our lives. Now there are people like my brother that do not have symptoms but are tested because a sibling (me) has it and his testing came out positive. The biopsy showed no villi and it had affected his bones. So while he did not show the normal reaction (if there is such a thing) the damage was being done.

A short answer to your question is I don't believe so.

Welcome!

[Ursa Major]

As said already, yes, you may completely recover from the damage done to your body. But in order to STAY well, you will have to stay off gluten forever. That's a fact of life, and we all have to get used to it, even if it's hard.

So, if you are asking if you can recover from being gluten intolerant, the answer is 'no'. It is genetic, and you're asking for your genes to change by being on the gluten-free diet. Obviously, that's not possible.

But hey, it is possible to live a happy, healthy life without gluten!

[Kaycee]

But hey, it is possible to live a happy, healthy life without gluten!

I agree with that Ursula

The positive thing for me being gluten free, is that I am recovering, but the biggest thing, (as I did not think I was that ill) is that it has given me a good look at health and food issues. Being coeliac has given me the biggest gift, and that is the chance to look at what I eat in depth, and fix up the deficiencies in my previous diet, and hopefully live a longer healthier life. Anything that can make you look and take stock of your life can't be bad.

The gluten free diet is a very healthy diet, and for me seems to be easy to follow, but I still have to watch what I eat as in sweets and treats, as I am overweight. But to me it is a gift, a wake up call that I needed to take notice off, as I was slowly going downhill healthwise.

I guess I am lucky I do not, and have never craved after gluteny things, so that makes it easier.

Cath

[mouse]

As everyone stated, you can not change your genes and that is what makes you a Celiac or gluten intolerent. By being totally gluten free with no cross contamination on a regular basis, then yes, your body can heal. But, never enough to reintroduce gluten into your diet. If you ingest just a little bit of gluten, it takes your small intestine 3 to 4 weeks to heal. Because you seem to have some doubts here, have you been tested for Celiac or gluten intolerant. Not, that those tests are infallable. My concern is that you will go gluten-free, feel better and think that since you did not have an official diagnosis, that you can go back to eating gluten. There are members on here that used the diet for their diagnosis and they do not cheat. There are some members that because they did not get an official answer, went back to gluten with some having regrets about their decision. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Rusla]

You can have a happy healthy life without gluten. Yes, you can recover and mend but to not do damage to your body which can lead to death you need to never have gluten again.

This as the others have said is a genetic predisposition. So you are never cured.

For me a few unknowing crumbs makes me very, very ill.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Once your immune system produces immunoglobulins against an offending substance (in this case, gluten), you will always react to the offending substance.

There are many people here who continued to eat gluten before they realized what damage it could do, and they have serious problems that might never go away. I don't think you want to go there.

But--don't despair! There are some absolute GENIUSES writing cookbooks with really good gluten-free recipes for EVERYTHING--cookies, cakes, breads, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, pancakes, waffles,pizza crust, you name it! And, unlike the dry, crumbly bricks that are sold as premade breads and cookies at the store, these taste just as good as the gluteny originals.

Check out the recipes section on this board.

I highly recommend Annalise Roberts'GLuten-Free Baking Classics. Her breads are amazing, and leave the mixes in the dust!

[GFBetsy]

There has been some talk about a company (Alba Therapeutics, I believe it is called) that is working on a Zonulin blocker that (so far) appears to allow people with celiac to eat gluten occasionally (kind of like lactaid, but probably much more expensive ). But they're thinking it won't be available for another 4 or 5 years. And even then, you'd probably want to stick to a gluten-free diet most of the time and just use the medication for special occasions.

[myshrimpdied]

I haven't gotten tested for gluten intolerance but I'm going on a gluten free diet for a few weeks to see how I feel and then I will reintroduce to see if it makes me feel worse. What sucks for me is that gluten laden foods is ALL I crave, if I could eat that stuff every meal, I would.

Another question is does it take time for the intolerance to become apparent? I remember when I was younger I would eat this stuff and not notice any difference, now I do and it sends me into another reality.

[Rusla]

Yes it can take awhile. Sometimes illness, such as mononucleosis or something else, surgery, stress, or a traumatic event could throw it into full gear. Mine started after my bout with Mono at age 19. Needless to say after a very stressful and traumatic event it got worse. Some people it shows up when they are kids and some when they are adults.

It has taken them more than 30 years to finally diagnose mine and it is because I forced them to do a skin biopsy.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Hey, Shrimp, tell us what gluteny foods you are desperately craving--most of us probably have recipes for whatever it is (and we can clue you in on where to get bizarre ingredients such as Xanthan gum)!

Some people here swear by some mail-order gluten-free bakeries, too.

Once you get through the first 2 weeks, it gets SO much easier, really.

My first two weeks, I ate really, really, really healthy meals--lotsa salads, rice, potatoes, and grilled meat. I also munched like mad on Fritos and dark chocolate chips. Now, Fritos and dark chocolate chips are not diet foods--but I still managed to lose 5 unwanted pounds just in those two weeks! And I wasn't trying to lose weight (though I needed to)--I just wanted to eat something to make me forget about French bread, hence the chips.

[jnclelland]

I haven't gotten tested for gluten intolerance but I'm going on a gluten free diet for a few weeks to see how I feel and then I will reintroduce to see if it makes me feel worse. What sucks for me is that gluten laden foods is ALL I crave, if I could eat that stuff every meal, I would.

If you can get through the withdrawal period, you might find that your cravings miraculously go away after awhile. They certainly did for me, and now I firmly believe that the craving was one symptom of the intolerance. This is discussed more in the book "Dangerous Grains," which many on this site recommend highly.

Jeanne

[Nantzie]

Hi! and welcome!

Before I found out about celiac, I was SOOOooOOOooOOO hungry all the time. And all I wanted was gluten-based. I was either eating or actively resisting the urge to eat. There was never a time when I wasn't craving some gluten thing. About a month after I went gluten-free I noticed that not only was I not craving anything gluten, but I wasn't craving ANYTHING at all. It was the weirdest thing ever. I can remember CRAVING (!!!) either gluten or sugar every day since I was a child. My life and my whole day would revolve around food or my cravings or white knuckling it through another day on a diet.

But after just a couple weeks being gluten-free, I realized that it was like somebody flipped a switch. I hadn't paid attention because I wasn't expecting THAT to change. I just realized one day that it was GONE. Poof!

Now, I actually have a very hard time figuring out what to make for dinner. What we had for dinner was always based on what I was craving that day. Now, it's difficult for me to even plan meals, because food just never enters my mind anymore.

It's as bizarre and abrupt and almost magical as if I woke up one day and my eyes were blue instead of brown. Poof!

Now, one of my symptoms of being "glutened" is I start craving things. Either gluten or sugar.

If I don't get glutened, I don't have any cravings at all, and I don't get hungry. I eat because it's not healthy not to eat. Not because I NEEEEED food. There are days when I actually forget to plan dinner because I just don't think about it. Whereas before I had obsessed about it all day.

There are a lot of theories about this, but no real answers. The one that makes the most sense to me right now is that our bodies are inflammed and irritated, and our brains take that signal and interpret the irritation as hunger.

So it's possible that your worry (if I'm interpretting right) about whether or not you could really do this gluten-free diet for an extended period of time, may actually be part of your personal symptoms of celiac/gluten intolerance.

Nancy

[myshrimpdied]

Thank for the help guys.

I'm just in an akward position, i'm an 18 year old male so if this is the case, it's gonna suck having to make the adjustment, it's tough to wanna hang out with friends and what not and wanna go out and eat with friends when I have these thoughts going through my head. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

[Ursa Major]

You know, all I used to feel like eating was German rye bread with butter and cheese. I loved it, I craved it, I couldn't live without it.

Now I have to live without ALL of it! And life goes on. You're right, you gotta do what you gotta do. If it makes you feel better, and you know the stuff you crave will make you feel terrible and will eventually kill you, you make the sacrifice and stop eating it.

I hope you can do it, and feel better.