Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

How Soon Do You See Results From Gluten-free Diet?

g-g-ma

Recommended Posts

g-g-ma Newbie
g-g-ma
Posted

Within 3 days on the gluten-free diet, my pain had lessened. Can it really help that quickly? Then I accidentally ate something I didn't realize had gluten in it, and within hours was in pain again. Does it really happen that quckly or is it just a fluke?

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


AndrewNYC Explorer
AndrewNYC
Posted

Yes strange subtle things can occur early on. When I stopped eating gluten my stomach gurgled for 2 days straight. No clue why. I did not feel any better at the time but it would not stop making noise.

g-g-ma Newbie
g-g-ma
Posted
  • Author

Thanks, Andrew. I know what you mean about the noises. I have that too. Tonight I'm hurting again. I had a hamburger at McDonalds, but threw away the bread. I don't know what could be the trouble. I guess I can't expect instant results when I've had stomach problems all my life and just now am trying the gluten-free diet.

curlyfries Contributor
curlyfries
Posted

That gluteny bun touched your burger....cross contamination. Not to mention you don't know what's in that burger. I don't eat at McDonalds or any other fast food place. You need to hang out at this forum, read old threads, and educate yourself more about celiac. Or maybe someone else will respond who feels a little more talkative. :P It's late and I don't have the energy. Just keep reading.......you will learn sooooooooo much. :D

And yes, you can feel better that quickly, but you will also have many setbacks along the way....but it will get easier, the more you learn. ;)

lizard00 Enthusiast
lizard00
Posted

Well, it is possible to find immediate relief from the gluten-free diet;Although most people don't feel totally back to normal right away. And once you remove gluten from your diet, if you are Celiac or sensitive, you usually are more sensitive to it.

If you are not feeling well after eating a McDonald's hamburger, it was contaminated, especially if it came with the bun on it. I find that I can't eat almost no fast food due to contamination issues, and last time I checked the Mcdo's website, they had wheat in their fries. Whether you had fries or not isn't really important, my point is that gluten is a sneaky thing and this diet has a HUGE learning curve. If your hamburger had a bun on it, there was bread on your hamburger. You cannot successfully pull the bun off and leave no trace.

That being said, don't be discouraged. It is not as hard as it seems, we just all get fooled by something now and then. Eating out is ALWAYS tricky, unless it is a gluten free kitchen, which is rare. This website is FULL of valuable information, so read read read. And I'm not sure if you are diagnosed, but if you want to be tested, now is that time to do it. You must be currently eating gluten for the test to even possible be accurate.

Hope that helps, and please feel free to ask away!!!!

IMWalt Contributor
IMWalt
Posted
Within 3 days on the gluten-free diet, my pain had lessened. Can it really help that quickly? Then I accidentally ate something I didn't realize had gluten in it, and within hours was in pain again. Does it really happen that quckly or is it just a fluke?

The day I finally decided to eat gluten-free, I had bad cramps and gas. It was so bad I was probably "passing gas" at least several times a minute. The next day, I started a gluten-free diet, and it was like somebody turned off a switch. I could not believe the difference. All my other gastric issues went away just as quick.

So, yes, results can happen that quick. And, like you, if I eat something that has gluten, either by accident or intentionally, the intestines start up again.

And Yep, like others said, give up the McD's burgers.

Walt

Kat25 Newbie
Kat25
Posted

My symptoms will last about 5-7 days, and that is mostly with cross contamination, it has been almost 5-6 months since I ate gluten food and I'd hate to see how long it would take that to clear. It starts off with my right eye swelling and feeling tired within a few hours, along with the stomach problems and then by the second day my hands ache and so do my feet. At that point anything I eat is bothersome till a week has passed, then I feel almost normal again.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


g-g-ma Newbie
g-g-ma
Posted
  • Author

All of you have been so helpful. Thanks! :) I am actually improving by eating only meats, milk, fresh or frozen veletables and fruits. Nothing processed. I'm not totally OK, but much better. I've even had a few days without any stomach pain.

I've suffered with Arythroderma (an autoimmune disease that attacks the skin) for 14 years and digestive issues all my life. I only recently discovered the connection between celiac and skin, so am definitely going to be tested. I also found that celiac can bring on other autoimmune diseases, which links it even more.

I've found it is up to me to find the underlying cause of the skin disease. The doctors say they almost never find the cause and they only treat symptoms. Arythroderma is debillitating and can be life-threatening. So I continue to research. This is the most promising connection I have found.

Strange to say, but I'd be relieved to find celiac is my problem. It seems a small sacrifice to go gluten-free if it will cure my skin and digestive problems. I'm finding out it is a BIG job to sift through all the material and then to live gluten-free. I'm willing to learn and do whatever it takes. I just want to be healthy.

AliB Enthusiast
AliB
Posted

Within 5 - 6 hours of dropping gluten and dairy my dreadful stomach pain and the raging diarrhea was gone. Within a week the bloating and residual discomfort had gone, but I still found that I was getting reactions and discomfort for a while.

I thought it was due to the poor state of my gut, but I suddenly realised about 4 months in that I was probably getting cross-contamination from oats. I had thought they were safe, and some of them probably are, but the risk of CC with them is like russian roulette! One bag may be fine and the other not.

Like you, I decided to go plain and was following the Specific Carbohydrate diet, but even then it took my bowels several weeks to settle down and become 'normal'.

Lately I have been getting slight problems with constipation and a pounding heart/throbbing body thing which is annoying and disconcerting and am now wondering if I may also be intolerant of casein. Although I had dropped all dairy except butter and a little yogurt, I had a late snack last night with butter and went to bed with pounding thing going on, so today I have not had any kind of dairy at all and will see if it makes any difference.

I am determined to get to the bottom of this!

It is quite common for those who are gluten intolerant to also be dairy intolerant - cows milk is now being investigated as a possible trigger for some of the 'auto-immune' diseases. Apparently casein is similar to gluten - I know it is tough stuff - they used to (and possibly still do) make paint from it! I tried to strip a piece of furniture painted in milk paint once and it was a devil of a job to get off!

Try not to focus on what you are missing, but what you are gaining. Wherever people live in the world they follow a different diet (except for us 'Westerners' who eat everything whether it is good for us or not!). Even say, Asians who emigrate, will still generally eat their traditional diet. We live on 'Celiac' Island and eat the Gluten-Free Diet.

lizard00 Enthusiast
lizard00
Posted
Strange to say, but I'd be relieved to find celiac is my problem. It seems a small sacrifice to go gluten-free if it will cure my skin and digestive problems.

That is exactly how I felt when I discovered the link to gluten and my symptoms. No meds to control it, just a change in diet. It seems drastic to some, but to me, I saw it as the light at the end of the tunnel. I feel so much better now, I can't even imagine going back to eating that stuff.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,548
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Lunaluv
    Newest Member
    Lunaluv
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Taken Seriously

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Your post demonstrates the profound frustration and isolation that so many in the Celiac community feel, and I want to thank you for channeling that experience into advocacy. The medical gaslighting you endured for decades is an unacceptable and, sadly, a common story, and the fact that you now have to "school" your own GI specialist speaks volumes about the critical lack of consistent and updated education. Your idea to make Celiac Disease a reportable condition to public health authorities is a compelling and strategic one. This single action would force the system to formally acknowledge the prevalence and seriousness of the disease, creating a concrete dataset that could drive better research funding, shape medical school curricula, and validate the patient experience in a way that individual stories alone often cannot. It is an uphill battle, but contacting representatives, as you have done with Adam Gray, is exactly how change begins. By framing it as a public health necessity—a matter of patient safety and protection from misdiagnosis and neglect—you are building a powerful case. Your voice and your perseverance, forged through thirty years of struggle, are exactly what this community needs to ensure that no one else has to fight so hard just to be believed and properly cared for.
    • Scott Adams
      Looking for a gluten-free roomie in Denver CO

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I had no idea there is a "Louisville" in Colorado!😉 I thought it was a typo because I always think of the Kentucky city--but good luck!
    • Scott Adams
      Allergy medication: cetirizine by the HealthA2Z is it gluten free?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Navigating medication safety with Celiac disease can be incredibly stressful, especially when dealing with asthma and severe allergies on top of it. While I don't have personal experience with the HealthA2Z brand of cetirizine, your caution is absolutely warranted. The inactive ingredients in pills, known as excipients, are often where gluten can be hidden, and since the FDA does not require gluten-free labeling for prescription or over-the-counter drugs, the manufacturer's word is essential. The fact that you cannot get a clear answer from Allegiant Health is a significant red flag; a company that is confident its product is gluten-free will typically have a customer service protocol to answer that exact question. In situations like this, the safest course of action is to consider this product "guilty until proven innocent" and avoid it. A better alternative would be to ask your pharmacist or doctor to help you identify a major national brand of cetirizine (like Zyrtec) whose manufacturer has a verified, publicly stated gluten-free policy for that specific medication. It's not worth the risk to your health when reliable, verifiable options are almost certainly available to you. You can search this site for USA prescriptions medications, but will need to know the manufacturer/maker if there is more than one, especially if you use a generic version of the medication: To see the ingredients you will need to click on the correct version of the medication and maker in the results, then scroll down to "Ingredients and Appearance" and click it, and then look at "Inactive Ingredients," as any gluten ingredients would likely appear there, rather than in the Active Ingredients area. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/   
    • Scott Adams
      Protein or fat?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      What you're describing is indeed familiar to many in the Celiac community, especially in the early stages of healing. When the intestinal villi are damaged from Celiac disease, they struggle to properly digest and absorb fats, a condition known as bile acid malabsorption. This can cause exactly the kind of cramping and spasms you're seeing, as undigested fats can irritate the sensitive gut lining. It is highly plausible that her reactions to dairy and eggs are linked to their higher fat content rather than the proteins, especially since she tolerates lean chicken breast. The great news is that for many, this does improve with time. As her gut continues to heal on a strict gluten-free diet, her ability to produce the necessary enzymes and bile to break down fats should gradually return, allowing her to slowly tolerate a wider variety of foods. It's a slow process of healing, but your careful approach of focusing on low-fat, nutrient-dense foods like seeds and avocado is providing her system the best possible environment to recover. Many people with celiac disease, especially those who are in the 0-2 year range of their recovery, have additional food intolerance issues which could be temporary. To figure this out you may need to keep a food diary and do an elimination diet over a few months. Some common food intolerance issues are dairy/casein, eggs, corn, oats, and soy. The good news is that after your gut heals (for most people who are 100% gluten-free this will take several months to two years) you may be able to slowly add some these items back into your diet after the damaged villi heal. This article may be helpful: Thank you for sharing your story—it's a valuable insight for other parents navigating similar challenges.
    • Beverage
      Diagnosed celiac for 1-2 months ago and everything makes me bloated.

      By Beverage · Posted

      I had a very rough month after diagnosis. No exaggeration, lost so much inflammatory weight, I looked like a bag of bones, underneath i had been literally starving to death. I did start feeling noticeably better after a month of very strict control of my kitchen and home. What are you eating for breakfast and lunch? I ignored my doc and ate oats, yes they were gluten free, but some brands are at the higher end of gluten free. Lots of celics can eat Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats, but not me. I can now eat them, but they have to be grown and processed according to the "purity protocol" methods. I mail order them, Montana Gluten-Free brand. A food and symptoms and activities log can be helpful in tracking down issues. You might be totally aware, but I have to mention about the risk of airborne gluten. As the doc that diagnosed me warned . . Remember eyes, ears, nose, and mouth all lead to your stomach and intestines.  Are you getting any cross contamination? Airborne gluten? Any pets eating gluten (they eat it, lick themselves, you pet them...)? Any house remodeling? We live in an older home, always fixing something. I've gotten glutened from the dust from cutting into plaster walls, possibly also plywood (glues). The suggestions by many here on vitamin supplements also really helped me. I had some lingering allergies and asthma, which are now 99% gone. I was taking Albuterol inhaler every hour just to breathe, but thiamine in form of benfotiamine kicked that down to 1-2 times a day within a few days of starting it. Also, since cutting out inflammatory seed oils (canola, sunflower, grapeseed, etc) and cooking with real olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, and coconut oil, I have noticed even greater improvement overall and haven't used the inhaler in months! It takes time to weed out everything in your life that contains gluten, and it takes awhile to heal and rebuild your health. At first it's mentally exhausting, overwhelming, even obsessive, but it gets better and second nature.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.