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Intestinal Healing Time

Ms. Skinny Chic

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Ms. Skinny Chic Explorer
Ms. Skinny Chic
Posted

My Physician put me on the gluten free diet recently.

I was dx'ed for having issues with wheat as a kid, which I ignored as an adult.( BIG MISTAKE)

Currently, the gluten free diet is going great.

I would like to know how long it took some members here to heal internally.

I am tired of looking sickly and skinny...

PS. I have read it takes from 3 months to 2 years to heal on some medical websites. My doctor say's a few months possibly and the change should be dramatic.

What were your experiences with this???????????????

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ShayFL Enthusiast
ShayFL
Posted

No drama here....still healing....slowly but surely. :)

MaryJones2 Enthusiast
MaryJones2
Posted
My Physician put me on the gluten free diet recently.

I was dx'ed for having issues with wheat as a kid, which I ignored as an adult.( BIG MISTAKE)

Currently, the gluten free diet is going great.

I would like to know how long it took some members here to heal internally.

I am tired of looking sickly and skinny...

PS. I have read it takes from 3 months to 2 years to heal on some medical websites. My doctor say's a few months possibly and the change should be dramatic.

What were your experiences with this???????????????

I'd say 3 months to 2 years is pretty accurate. It took about 18 months before I felt great every day. It really helped me the first year to ask myself do you feel better this month than last month? And now I ask that in years. So, it does take a while but your doctor is right that you'll see some pretty dramatic changes in the first few months. Best of luck.

pele Rookie
pele
Posted

I am into my 20th gluten free month and still healing. I got a bit better at first then things went downhill until I went on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. This is a grain-free, sugar-free healing diet for gut ailments. It has made a huge difference.

Depending on how long you have been malnourished, you may have damage to your endocrine system, nervous system, liver, bones, etc. that may require more than dietary change. Have you had yor Vit D level checked? This is very important. Some docs will order a blood panel to check various Vit B levels, iron and so on.

My GI doc said the gut heals in 3 weeks of going gluten-free. A lot he knows.

TrillumHunter Enthusiast
TrillumHunter
Posted

It's been a year and half for me. I have noticed my digestion seems more regular over the last month. I had lots of ups and downs over the past 18 months. I had my gallbladder out at the end of July and I have gotten consistently better since then. Nothing seems to bother me anymore but my whole family is gluten free and I don't eat many processed foods. I also don't eat out very often. Two years of being very careful and taking good care of one's self seems reasonable to me. Three weeks sounds laughable.

I will say within a month of going gluten-free I felt tremendously better in general. The fog and fatigue lifted that quick. But the c&d and all the tummy trouble took much longer.

mftnchn Explorer
mftnchn
Posted

I'm 18 months gluten-free and still have lots of ups and downs. I started SCD in July and it has also made quite a difference for me. Healing was slowed or prevented due to villi damage for me that prevented me from make carb digest enzymes. So eating carbs was causing more damage, lots of bacteria/parasites to flourish, etc.

My genotype is associated with more damage and slower healing, so I am simply hoping to see more stability and improvement by 2 years.

spunky Contributor
spunky
Posted

I'm only self-diagnosed but my experience says 2 years is your safest bet. I've read on the net where some people say they got better faster than that... for me, though, my first six months were like an intestinal roller coaster... after six months, I started having good days that seemed normal for the first time in many years... then a lot of back and forth, reacting weirdly to foods I'd never reacted to before, thinking I was glutened by cc here and there and never sure... and FINALLY, when I hit the 2 year mark I was having consistently decent health. Now I'm just over 2 1/2 years, and I feel GREAT every single day. It was a long haul, and some days I felt like I wasn't getting better.

You might get lucky, and I do hope so, but you might wanna plan on giving it a couple of years to really see consistent, good health come back.

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Ms. Skinny Chic Explorer
Ms. Skinny Chic
Posted
  • Author
I'm only self-diagnosed but my experience says 2 years is your safest bet. I've read on the net where some people say they got better faster than that... for me, though, my first six months were like an intestinal roller coaster... after six months, I started having good days that seemed normal for the first time in many years... then a lot of back and forth, reacting weirdly to foods I'd never reacted to before, thinking I was glutened by cc here and there and never sure... and FINALLY, when I hit the 2 year mark I was having consistently decent health. Now I'm just over 2 1/2 years, and I feel GREAT every single day. It was a long haul, and some days I felt like I wasn't getting better.

You might get lucky, and I do hope so, but you might wanna plan on giving it a couple of years to really see consistent, good health come back.

I am hoping for a miracle. My problem is that my school attendance is starting to be a problem. Half the time, I am sick or having intestinal issues. I have noticed my weight is improving slowly. In the early stages of the gluten diet - I was eating things accidentally that contained gluten & wheat. That is what slowed my healing down - All those accidental flare ups, after having contact with bad foods. It seems a lot of people here require two years to get to a normal place in their lives.

Great to hear, you are doing better now.. :P

Ms. Skinny Chic Explorer
Ms. Skinny Chic
Posted
  • Author
I'm 18 months gluten-free and still have lots of ups and downs. I started SCD in July and it has also made quite a difference for me. Healing was slowed or prevented due to villi damage for me that prevented me from make carb digest enzymes. So eating carbs was causing more damage, lots of bacteria/parasites to flourish, etc.

My genotype is associated with more damage and slower healing, so I am simply hoping to see more stability and improvement by 2 years.

It seems everyone here is overcoming the celiac obstacle slowly.

PS. I wish you the best with your recovery.

:)

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  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @rei.b,  I understand how frustrating starting a new way of eating can be.  I tried all sorts of gluten-free processed foods and just kept feeling worse.  My health didn't improve until I started the low histamine AIP diet.  It makes a big difference.   Gluten fits into opioid receptors in our bodies.  So, removing gluten can cause withdrawal symptoms and reveals the underlying discomfort.  SIBO can cause digestive symptoms.  SIBO can prevent vitamins from being absorbed by the intestines.  Thiamine insufficiency causes Gastrointestinal Beriberi (bloating, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea or constipation).  Thiamine is the B vitamin that runs out first because it can only be stored for two weeks.  We need more thiamine when we're sick or under emotional stress.  Gastric Beriberi is under recognised by doctors.  An Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test is more accurate than a blood test for thiamine deficiency, but the best way to see if you're low in thiamine is to take it and look for health improvement.  Don't take Thiamine Mononitrate because the body can't utilize it well.  Try Benfotiamine.  Thiamine is water soluble, nontoxic and safe even at high doses.  I thought it was crazy, too, but simple vitamins and minerals are important.  The eight B vitamins work together, so a B Complex, Benfotiamine,  magnesium and Vitamin D really helped get my body to start healing, along with the AIP diet.  Once you heal, you add foods back in, so the AIP diet is worth doing for a few months. I do hope you'll consider the AIP diet and Benfotiamine.
    • captaincrab55
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      Imemsm, Most of us have experienced discontinued, not currently available or products that suddenly become seasonal.   My biggest fear about relocating from Maryland to Florida 5 years ago, was being able to find gluten-free foods that fit my restricted diet.  I soon found out that the Win Dixie and Publix supper markets actually has 99% of their gluten-free foods tagged, next to the price.  The gluten-free tags opened up a  lot of foods that aren't actually marked gluten-free by the manufacture.  Now I only need to check for my other dietary restrictions.  Where my son lives in New Hartford, New York there's a Hannaford Supermarket that also has a gluten-free tag next to the price tag.  Hopefully you can locate a Supermarket within a reasonable travel distance that you can learn what foods to check out at a Supermarket close to you.  I have dermatitis herpetiformis too and I'm very sensitive to gluten and the three stores I named were very gluten-free friendly.  Good Luck 
    • rei.b
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By rei.b · Posted

      Okay well the info about TTG-A actually makes a lot of sense and I wish the PA had explained that to me. But yes, I would assume I would have intestinal damage from eating a lot of gluten for 32 years while having all these symptoms. As far as avoiding gluten foods - I was definitely not doing that. Bread, pasta, quesadillas (with flour tortillas) and crackers are my 4 favorite foods and I ate at least one of those things multiple times a day e.g. breakfast with eggs and toast, a cheese quesadilla for lunch, and pasta for dinner, and crackers and cheese as a before bed snack. I'm not even kidding.  I'm not really big on sugar, so I don't really do sweets. I don't have any of those conditions.  I am not sure if I have the genes or not. When the geneticist did my genetic testing for EDS this year, I didn't think to ask for him to request the celiac genes so they didn't test for them, unfortunately.  I guess another expectation I had is  that if gluten was the issue, the gluten-free diet would make me feel better, and I'm 3 months in and that hasn't been the case. I am being very careful and reading every label because I didn't want to screw this up and have to do gluten-free for longer than necessary if I end up not having celiac. I'm literally checking everything, even tea and anything else prepacked like caramel dip. Honestly its making me anxious 😅
    • knitty kitty
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      So you're saying that you think you should have severe intestinal damage since you've had the symptoms so long?   DGP IgG antibodies are produced in response to a partial gluten molecule.  This is different than what tissue transglutaminase antibodies are  produced in response to.   TTg IgA antibodies are produced in the intestines in response to gluten.  The tTg IgA antibodies attack our own cells because a structural component in our cell membranes resembles a part of gluten.  There's a correlation between the level of intestinal damage with the level of tTg antibodies produced.  You are not producing a high number of tTg IgA antibodies, so your level of tissue damage in your intestines is not very bad.  Be thankful.   There may be reasons why you are not producing a high quantity of tTg IgA antibodies.  Consuming ten grams or more of gluten a day for two weeks to two months before blood tests are done is required to get sufficient antibody production and damage to the intestines.  Some undiagnosed people tend to subconsciously avoid lots of gluten.  Cookies and cakes do not contain as much gluten as artisan breads and thick chewy pizza crust.  Anemia, diabetes and thiamine deficiency can affect IgA antibody production as well.   Do you carry genes for Celiac?  They frequently go along with EDS.
    • rei.b
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By rei.b · Posted

      I was tested for celiac at the same time, so I wasn't taking naltrexone yet. I say that, because I don't. The endoscopy showed some mild inflammation but was inconclusive as to celiac disease. They took several biopsies and that's all that was shown. I was not given a Marsh score.
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