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

[Sarah-0608]

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??

[darlindeb25]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.