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Will Someone Tell Me What's "normal" Following Starting A Gluten-free Diet

Sarah-0608

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Sarah-0608 Newbie
Sarah-0608
Posted

Hi all...I'm Sarah and I was diagnosed via blood test (although the endoscopy was negative) 4 weeks ago. I was wondering what was a general idea of the recovery time, and what your symptoms were like, because I still feel nearly as sick as I did before starting the gluten-free diet and being only 18 I didn't think it should take that long to heal. Should I consider that this is not celiac? Or am I just messing this diet up? When am I going to be better??

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darlindeb25 Collaborator
darlindeb25
Posted

Sarah, going gluten free is just the beginning. Your body needs time to rid itself of the toxins, then it needs time to heal. You didn't get sick overnight, and you will not feel better overnight. 4 weeks really is not a long time, for some, it takes 2 yrs to heal, some, like me do not heal totally, but i was sick for more yrs that you are old, before finding out about celiac disease.

Keep eating gluten free, and soon you will feel better each day. Are you watching all vitamins for gluten, any meds...gluten hides in so many places???

Treen Bean Apprentice
Treen Bean
Posted

It took me about a year and a half to heal. Just be patient with your body. It will there.

God Bless,

Treen Bean

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

It takes time. Be sure to check all your toiletries, makeup, lotions etc and also if you have a significant other a kiss after they eat or drink gluten is off limits until they have throughly brushed their teeth. Also try to eat as simply as you can right now. Fresh whole foods rather than processed and if you live in a gluten home make sure that you and your family or roommates become real familiar with all the precautions we need to take. Hang in there and post any questions you need to or vent if you get frustrated. We have all been there.

Green Eyes Rookie
Green Eyes
Posted

Hi Sarah,

Just thought I would chime in!!! I'm kinda at a disadvantage in giving information on how to heal. I wasn't sick before diagnosis, and feel good after diagnosis. Although it has certain advantages, sometimes I don't know when I've done something wrong. It takes a good amount of gluten for me to even have a reaction.

Having said that. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. I take every mistake (glutening) as a learning experience.

Do you have the "unsafe ingredients" list? That helped me more than anything. Be sure what you are eating is gluten free. Being 18 with celiac is difficult. Hang in there it does get better.

Jennifer

mftnchn Explorer
mftnchn
Posted

Also, you might experiment with dairy free. The damage to the intestinal villi impacts production of carb digestion enzymes, in particular lactase. So milk is often a problem initially. From there, if you don't improve, you might consider other carbs (check out the SCD for an approach to that), other food intolerances because many of us are prone to them. Be aware that soy has also been shown to cause villi damage in some people, so that is often another one that is problematic. Food intolerances are common among us because the damage to the intestine leads to leaky gut and proteins getting into the bloodstream where antibodies form. It may or may not settle down in the future.

Hang in there and keep posting...there is lots of help available here.

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    • catnapt
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By catnapt · Posted

      highly unlikely  NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean ground turkey but not much) I was off dairy for years but recently had to add back plain yogurt to meet calcium needs that I am not allowed to get from supplements (I have not had any problem with the yogurt)   I eat almost no processed foods. I don't eat out. almost everything I eat, I cook myself I am going to keep a food diary but to be honest, I already know that it's wheat products and also barley that are the problem, which is why I gradually stopped eating and buying them. When I was eating them, like back in early 2024, when I was in the middle of moving and ate out (always had bread or toast or rolls or a sub or pizza) I felt terrible but at that time was so busy and exhausted that I never stopped to think it was the food. Once I was in my new place, I continued to have bread from time to time and had such horrible joint pain that I was preparing for 2 total knee replacements as well as one hip! The surgery could not go forward as I was (and still am) actively losing calcium from my bones. That problem has yet to be properly diagnosed and treated   anyway over time I realized that I felt better when I stopped eating bread. Back at least 3 yrs ago I noticed that regular pasta made me sick so I switched to brown rice pasta and even though it costs a lot more, I really like it.   so gradually I just stopped buying and eating foods with gluten. I stopped getting raisin bran when I was constipated because it made me bloated and it didn't help the constipation any more (used to be a sure bet that it would in the past)   I made cookies and brownies using beans and rolled oats and dates and tahini and I LOVE them and have zero issues eating those I eat 1 or more cans of beans per day easily can eat a pound of broccoli - no problem! Brussels sprouts the same thing.   so yeh it's bread and related foods that are clearly the problem  there is zero doubt in my mind    
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