How Long Before I Heal

[Froger850]

I'm 26 and have just been diagnosed with Celiacs Disease just short of having my gall bladder removed. I am completely freaked out and shocked by all the foods that I can't have. My question is how long does it take for the small intestine to heal? And say I eat something on accident, hopefully not by choice, that has gluten in it, will it put me at square one with recovery or possible pass through the system with minimal effect?

[Ursa Major]

I'm 26 and have just been diagnosed with Celiacs Disease just short of having my gall bladder removed. I am completely freaked out and shocked by all the foods that I can't have. My question is how long does it take for the small intestine to heal? And say I eat something on accident, hopefully not by choice, that has gluten in it, will it put me at square one with recovery or possible pass through the system with minimal effect?

Hi, and welcome to this board. Believe me, it will get easier after a while and second nature.

No, an accidental glutening, while setting you back somewhat, will NOT put you back to square one. Unfortunately, especially at the beginning while you learn, accidental glutenings are pretty much unavoidable. Try not to freak out when it happens but consider it part of the learning curve.

It is actually easier to completely change your diet to all natural foods at the beginning, like meat, fish, eggs, vegetables and fruit rather than trying to substitute things you like with gluten-free alternatives.

First of all, you will recover faster if you don't substitute junk for junk at the beginning. Officially gluten-free foods are hard on the already damaged digestive system.

And secondly, it will be easier to eat naturally gluten-free foods while you learn what is safe when it comes to everything else. If you have prepared it from scratch, then a glutening is a lot less likely.

It is advisable that you eliminate all dairy at first, as the tips of your villi are supposed to produce the enzyme lactase that enables some people to digest dairy (many people can't tolerate dairy, period). Since the tips of your villi are damaged or gone, it is best to avoid dairy at least for a while to heal faster.

If you decide to eat gluten-free bread, you absolutely need a new toaster. It is not possible to clean your old one to be safe. The same goes for plastic colanders that have been used for wheat pasta and wooden cutting boards and wooden cooking spoons.

I am sure you will figure it all out soon enough. No need to panic, we are all here to help.

[Eric-C]

A lot of it too deppends on your reaction too.

Some people on here can't walk into a bakery, some people can ingest small amounts by accident and never notice.

I've become more intolerant since I gave it up...before I could have small amounts regularly and it wasn't a big deal, now that I've totally given it up the most I can do is a little soy with sushi.

Here is my feeling on the issue. Flour is not good for you. Even from a non-celiac standpoint it wreaks havoc with your pancreas, blood sugar levels, etc. I believe its one of the leading causes of diabetes in this country. I should be more specific, the flours we use today which are more refined than in past decades.

So your eliminating a huge source of future medical concerns from your diet. If your worried about having to give up bread and other things then I always say you must not have gotten sick enough You get this to bother you enough and you'll gladly give things up.

There are tons of foods out there most American's have never tried. You'll find as you eliminate flour and flour based foods your tastes do change. Just like if you give up sugar for a month and go back and drink a Coke it tastes like your drinking pure sugar.

The need for bread is more mental to me. Gluten free bread tastes horrible IMO...we tried it, we tried alternative flours, gluten free pizza, etc...there was just no substitute for the real thing.

It is what it is....look into Indian, Vietnamese, Japanese, etc...you can get Tamari instead of soy sauce and cook Asian. Get a BBQ too if you don't have one.

My wife has really gotten into the BBQ this year. This week alone we had Jerk chicken w/ brocolli, zuccini, and squash on skewers with corn on the cob. She made an excellent Shrimp skewers basted in Rum, Agave, and orange zest that was phenomenal. Last night we did pork chops seasoned in yogurt and an Indian curry mix.

There is a lot of food out there....not having bread is not the end of the world. Giving up pasta was a bit of a downer but rice pasta is pretty good.

Mexican food is great too with corn based tortilla's.

My wife makes an incredible chocolate flourless cake....if you have a Bonefish Grille in your area try the flourless cake dessert they have. Its chocolate cake with rasberry sauce, ice cream, and chocolate sauce.

Get Arrowroot to replace flour as a thickener and you'd never know the difference. We go for Italian and I have them bread my veal in corn starch instead of flour.

As I said, it is what it is....you've been given a chance to eat much healthier than you, or I, or most of us on here have eaten in the past.

I'm down 20lbs and feel a million times better. We went from a menu of maybe 5-6 things we made at home to a menu of over 50 items.

I personally also think Celiac's is just natures way of correcting the extreme processing of the foods we've been eating. We don't eliminate them ourselves so we're being forced to.

I suspect Celiac's will become more mainstream every day. I have it, a woman I work with her friend has it, another guy I work with his neighbor at his cabin up north has it. We went on a cruise and the people we sat with each knew someone with it, mostly friends of their children in high school.

1 in a 100 I think is the number they quote but I believe its much higher and will continue to get higher.

If your fortunate enough for the condition not to be life threatening then IMO just improved your quality of life.

[AliB]

Hopefully, going gluten-free will help you not to have to have your gall-bladder out at all. It is a necessary part of your body and not having it will make life more difficult. With gluten out of your life your body will have a chance to sort itself out.

I took some milk thistle capsules for a few weeks to support my liver and when I had an ultrasound I didn't have any gallstones at all - not one! I was amazed. Just after I went gluten-free my liver had a clear-out too. Left it a bit sore for a few days after, but better out than in, as they say!

My poor old liver was very sluggish for a long time but it is improving all the time. The healthier it gets, the healthier I get! My immune system has started to work again.

This is not a life sentence. It is about making your body well. You have a chance to halt the damage and start treating your body properly. The body is only as good as what goes in our mouth. If we eat garbage then it is not surprising if our body eventually starts to collapse.

Be kind to yourself. Eat well and simple. Keep well away from too much in the way of carbs. Gluten intolerance is a huge problem. Most people out there carry on eating all those gluten-laden 'goodies', completely oblivious to the fact that it is killing them. It is responsible for a vast amount of sickness and disease.

I am just so grateful that I have been given the opportunity to get better. Don't focus on what you are missing. It may taste nice, but it is garbage. Focus on what you are gaining. No, it's not always easy - good gluten-free foods can be somewhat difficult to get hold of (unless you can cook them yourself), but as more people 'come on board' - and they will - things will get progressively easier.