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 Quickly Did Your Symptoms Go Away?


Tim86

Recommended Posts

Tim86 Apprentice

I want to know about your experience when you first started on a gluten free diet. Please don't try to guess what my experience might be...I just want to know about yours. :)

Please tell me as best you can remember, how long did it take for these symptoms to be definitely improved. Not necessarily completely better, but improved enough that you had no doubt there was an improvement. Please give an amount of time for each symptom (I'm sure they all take different amounts of times to get better).

IBS

Acid Reflux

Sleep problems

Lack of energy

Headaches

Memory Fog

(I'm only listing the symptoms that I'm interested in)

I just started on a gluten free diet a few days ago. I don't have a diagnosis...I'm doing this to self-diagnose. I know everyone's experience is different...I just want to hear from all of you! Thank you so much!!!


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



ravenwoodglass Mentor
I want to know about your experience when you first started on a gluten free diet. Please don't try to guess what my experience might be...I just want to know about yours. :)

Please tell me as best you can remember, how long did it take for these symptoms to be definitely improved. Not necessarily completely better, but improved enough that you had no doubt there was an improvement. Please give an amount of time for each symptom (I'm sure they all take different amounts of times to get better).

IBS

Acid Reflux

Sleep problems

Lack of energy

Headaches

Memory Fog

(I'm only listing the symptoms that I'm interested in)

I just started on a gluten free diet a few days ago. I don't have a diagnosis...I'm doing this to self-diagnose. I know everyone's experience is different...I just want to hear from all of you! Thank you so much!!!

IBS- Within a week-was on elimination diet so very strict only 5 foods at the time

Acid Reflux- didn't have

Sleep problems- a couple months

Lack of energy - a couple months - sublingual B12 helped a great deal

Headaches- I had migraines and haven't had one since I went gluten-free, unless glutened

Memory Fog- a couple months again the B12 helped and I should have taken it sooner.

jerseyangel Proficient

IBS--The D stopped within a day or two, my whole digestive system felt calmer and for the first time in a long time I wasn't aware of my stomach all the time. For me, these symptoms came back after about 4 months due to additional food intolerance.

Acid Reflux--I never had it before I went gluten-free. I developed it after and found it was relieved completely by omitting legumes. I also have a hiatal hernia, which I'm sure has something to do with it.

Sleep problems--Almost immediately I began to sleep deeper and wake up more refreshed and less anxious. My dreams were more vivid (not bad, just easier to remember)

Lack of energy--This took many months to get better.....probably 18 months or so. This got worse before it got better.

Headaches--I had aching in the back of my head and neck that began to abate soon after going gluten-free. A week or two.

Memory Fog--Another symptom that took longer to improve for me--again, maybe 18 months.....I still get this when glutened.

Tim86 Apprentice

Come on people!!! Let's hear what you have to say!!! :unsure::unsure::unsure: Over 100 people have read this thread, and only 2 have responded so far (but thank you so much to those two :) ).

Please just take a couple moments and share your experience with any of the symptoms I had listed.

This looks like an awesome forum, and I don't want to lose faith in it right from the start. :(

leadmeastray88 Contributor

IBS - 2 weeks

Acid Reflux - 2 weeks

Sleep problems - 2 months

Lack of energy - 1 month

Headaches - 2 weeks

Memory Fog - Didn't have this

Overall, I felt 100% better by the 2 month mark. The gluten de-toxing takes awhile! :)

chasbari Apprentice

I want to know about your experience when you first started on a gluten free diet. Please don't try to guess what my experience might be...I just want to know about yours. :)

Please tell me as best you can remember, how long did it take for these symptoms to be definitely improved. Not necessarily completely better, but improved enough that you had no doubt there was an improvement. Please give an amount of time for each symptom (I'm sure they all take different amounts of times to get better).

IBS (Doesn't really apply... D got better on and off over the first 2 months)

Acid Reflux: 48 hours of starting paleo which was 2 months after starting gluten-free

Sleep problems: 1 week of gluten-free

Lack of energy: 1 week after starting gluten-free

Headaches: not so much a problem for me.

Memory Fog: a few weeks into paleo (10 weeks from starting gluten-free)

CS

Mike M Rookie
Come on people!!! Let's hear what you have to say!!! :unsure::unsure::unsure: Over 100 people have read this thread, and only 2 have responded so far (but thank you so much to those two :) ).

Please just take a couple moments and share your experience with any of the symptoms I had listed.

This looks like an awesome forum, and I don't want to lose faith in it right from the start. :(

IBS-ABOUT 1 WEEK

Acid Reflux- CURED IN 3 DAYS UNLESS GLUTENED AND THEN COMES BACK FOR ABOUT A DAY OR TWO

Sleep problems- ABOUT A MONTH IN THE BEGINNING, NOW IF GLUTENED, TAKES A FEW DAYS TO GET BACK TO NORMAL

Lack of energy-TOOK ABOUT 6 WEEKS TO NOTICE IMPROVEMENT, ONE YEAR FOR BIG DIFFERENCE

Headaches- NEVER HAD AND STILL RARELY EVER GET A HEADACHE EVEN WHEN GLUTENED

Memory Fog-NOTICED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE THAT EVERYTHING WAS MUCH BRIGHTER AND CLEARER AFTER ABOUT A WEEK GLUTEN FREE. TOLD THE DOCTOR THAT I DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHY EVERYTHING INCLUDING COLORS WAS SO MUCH BRIGHTER/CLEARER AND HE JUST KIND OF LOOKED AT ME AND SLOWLY SHOOK HIS HEAD UP AND DOWN AND DID NOT ANSWER. WILL GET FOGGY MINDED FOR A FEW DAYS IF GLUTENED AND EVERYTHING IS JUST DIMMER LOOKING. SORRY FOR YELLING! LOL! Mike


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



elonwy Enthusiast

IBS - about 3-6 months (its a wide time frame, but it came and went for a while)

Acid Reflux- the next day

Sleep problems- about two weeks

Lack of energy - 3 months

Headaches - 3 months

Memory Fog - almost instantly noticed a lessening in this, but took about 6 months to really be gone for good.

Gfresh404 Enthusiast

IBS - A day or two - also had to eliminate dairy.

Acid Reflux - A day or two, still get occasionally due to issues with digestion of fats. Oils seem to cause me the most trouble, and dairy of course.

Sleep problems - I'd say I started sleeping like a rock after about a week.

Lack of energy - Still struggling with that, Vitamin B supplements help a lot but I really do not like taking them, the less unnatural stuff I have to put in my body the better. I hate to say it but I think it could take up to a year and a half to notice a major difference. I still need the occasional nap.

Headaches - Gone within a day or two.

Memory Fog - Cleared up in about a week.

Just FYI - I have only been gluten-free since Jan 1st of '09.

nasalady Contributor
I want to know about your experience when you first started on a gluten free diet. Please don't try to guess what my experience might be...I just want to know about yours. :)

Please tell me as best you can remember, how long did it take for these symptoms to be definitely improved. Not necessarily completely better, but improved enough that you had no doubt there was an improvement. Please give an amount of time for each symptom (I'm sure they all take different amounts of times to get better).

IBS

Acid Reflux

Sleep problems

Lack of energy

Headaches

Memory Fog

(I'm only listing the symptoms that I'm interested in)

I just started on a gluten free diet a few days ago. I don't have a diagnosis...I'm doing this to self-diagnose. I know everyone's experience is different...I just want to hear from all of you! Thank you so much!!!

IBS - better within a few days

Acid Reflux - better within a few weeks

Sleep problems - better within a few weeks

Lack of energy - better within a month

Headaches - better within a few days

Memory Fog - better within a few days

NOTE: I have only been gluten-free since 25 November 2008. Only the diarrhea/IBS is completely gone, and it comes back if I've been glutened. The other symptoms remain, although they are definitely diminished in intensity.

Good luck with everything!

JoAnn

sugarsue Enthusiast

It makes sense that you are only interested in the symptoms that affect you so our experiences are not that helpful I'm sure but here they are anyway to be supportive and participatory....

Regarding dd (age 6)

IBS - her bowel and gas issues were much better after a couple of months. Still very sensitive after 6 months and she gets diarrhea very easily.

Acid Reflux - don't think she had this

Sleep problems - 1 month she no longer needed melatonin to go to sleep on a regular basis

Lack of energy - 1st week she was outside JOGGING (unheard of prior). Next couple of months energy levels really went up but very much a daily process

Headaches - she didn't complain of headaches

Memory Fog - I don't know if she had memory fog but she is doing much better in school now after 6 months.

pele Rookie
Come on people!!! Let's hear what you have to say!!! :unsure::unsure::unsure: Over 100 people have read this thread, and only 2 have responded so far (but thank you so much to those two :) ).

Please just take a couple moments and share your experience with any of the symptoms I had listed.

This looks like an awesome forum, and I don't want to lose faith in it right from the start. :(

Tim, You are funny!! Some of us have posted stuff that no one has ever replied to!

Okay, here goes:

IBS: bloating gone in 2 days. The rest started to heal after about 4 months on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Is it healed yet?? I don't know, but the past two weeks have been good.

Acid R: N/A

Sleep: restless leg sydrome gone in two months, that helps me sleep.

Energy: Still improving slowly, not normal yet

Headaches: N/A

Memory Fog: Huh?

hhdavid Apprentice

I've only been on the diet one month today (yea!) but here's my symptom resolution:

IBS: bloating/stomach pain stopped almost immediately. The D is much better but I still have my days.

Acid Refux: almost immediately

Sleep: still working on that, but I am not sleeping near as much as I did when I was sick. I would sleep so I wouldn't know I was in pain.

Energy: Still improving slowly, it gets better every day. Still not normal yet, but it's like daylight and dark compared to a month ago.

Headaches: within days.

Memory Fog: I still have moments that I mispronounce words, can't think of the word/person's name I'm trying to think of. And I'm still forgetting stuff, but not like I was before I went gluten-free.

mushroom Proficient
Come on people!!! Let's hear what you have to say!!! :unsure::unsure::unsure: Over 100 people have read this thread, and only 2 have responded so far (but thank you so much to those two :) ).

Please just take a couple moments and share your experience with any of the symptoms I had listed.

This looks like an awesome forum, and I don't want to lose faith in it right from the start. :(

Maybe you are not getting the number of responses you hoped for because our symptoms were different from yours, and you specifically told us not to respond :lol:

IBS - don't believe in this; had gas and bloating, which is different

Acid Reflux - didn't have

Sleep problems - depends on the gas and bloating; still get sometimes

Lack of energy - didn't have

Headaches - didn't have

Memory Fog - Didn't have

See what I mean?? :P

TearzaRose Explorer

First of all I felt better IMMEDIATELY. The very first day I felt like a new woman.

IBS-not really that, more like bloating and severe cramping: 1 day

ACID REFLUX-N/A

SLEEP PROBLEMS:1 day

ENERGY: on and off, but first day was very energetic

HEADACHES: N/A

MEMORY FOG: 1 day

nb-canada Apprentice

IBS - within 2 days saw an improvement. Did not even feel anything wrong with my stomach after 2 days - my son had same experience. BM's decreased from 5 to 7 times per day to 2 within a couple weeks of going gluten-free. Very seldon get a <gurgling> stomach any more.

Acid Reflux - was on medication so was already improved. Tried stopping meds a couple times in the first six months & still had heart burn. Haven't tried stopping since.

Sleep problems - within 2 days could do without sleeping pills (which didn't work anyway :( )

Lack of energy - after 1 year has improved but still have not much energy. Could be due to Hypothyroid - started meds in December.

Headaches - did not have.

Memory Fog - did not have, I think :P

Pegleg84 Collaborator

Hi

this is really interesting for me too, since I've just started on the Gluten free diet (1 week now), as a self-diagnosis thing.

It hasn't been long enough to tell, but my stomach problems have diminished, constipation is getting better, and i think I've started to sleep better too.

sorry, not much help to you, but just be aware that everyone has different symptoms and the only way for you to know if you'll get better is to give it a shot.

prayin4achange Newbie
IBS- Within a week-was on elimination diet so very strict only 5 foods at the time

Acid Reflux- didn't have

Sleep problems- a couple months

Lack of energy - a couple months - sublingual B12 helped a great deal

Headaches- I had migraines and haven't had one since I went gluten-free, unless glutened

Memory Fog- a couple months again the B12 helped and I should have taken it sooner.

I am really interested on an elimination diet also. I tried one time before and even with research was kind of confused. Can you please share what foods you did eat and how you reintroduced other foods to cancel out any other allergies/intolerences?? Thanks!

Tim86 Apprentice

UPDATE: It has been about 3.5 weeks now, since I went gluten-free. My IBS has improved significantly, and I think I might be having fewer headaches (not sure yet). But no other improvement in the other symptoms. It is getting to be a real struggle to stick with it. My IBS wasn't debilitating, it was just a nuisance, so I'm having a hard time giving up so many of my favorite foods just for that one symptom. I've been eating a lot more salads and fresh fruits. For lunch, I often eat packets of tuna, with potato chips. I put the tuna on the chip. It's good for a couple days, but I'm already getting bored of it. Today at work somebody brought in some delicious pastries, and it is so hard not eating one. :( It's borderline torture!

I'll try to stick with it a few more weeks. But if my only symptom that gets better is IBS, then I don't know if I will stick with it.

Archived

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

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - Wheatwacked replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

    2. - knitty kitty replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

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

    3. - knitty kitty replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

    4. - Florence Lillian replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      11

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,356
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    JAGAPG
    Newest Member
    JAGAPG
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Wheatwacked
      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium.  A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake.  With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones.  Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 10,000 IU D3 a day since 2015.  My doctor says to continue. To fix my lactose intolerance, lots of lactobacillus from yogurts, and brine fermented pickles and saurkraut and olives.  We lose much of our ability to make lactase endogenosly with maturity but a healthy colony of lactobacillus in our gut excretes lactase in exchange for room and board. The milk protein in grass fed milk does not bother me. It tastes like the milk I grew up on.  If I drink commercial milk I get heartburn at night. Some experts estimate that 90% of us do not eat Adequite Intake of choline.  Beef and eggs are the principle source. Iodine deficiency is a growing concern.  I take 600 mcg a day of Liquid Iodine.  It and NAC have accelerated my healing all over.  Virtually blind in my right eye after starting antihypertensive medication and vision is slowly coming back.  I had to cut out starches because they drove my glucose up into the 200+ range.  I replaced them with Red Bull for the glucose intake with the vitamins, minerals and Taurine needed to process through the mitochodria Krebs Cycle to create ATP.  Went from A1c 13 down to 7.9.  Work in progress. Also take B1,B2,B3,B5,B6. Liquid Iodine, Phosphatidyl Choline, Q10, Selenium, D and DHEA.     Choline supplemented as phosphatidylcholine decreases fasting and postmethionine-loading plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy men +    
    • knitty kitty
      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it.  Gluten is  the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part.  Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate  ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein.   Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat, and bran is the protective covering of the kernel.   Little to no gluten there.   Large amounts of lectins are in wheat germ and can cause digestive upsets, but not enough Gluten to provoke antibody production in the small intestines. Luckily you still have time to do a proper gluten challenge (10 grams of gluten per day for a minimum of two weeks) before your next appointment when you can be retested.    
    • knitty kitty
      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3.  Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C.  Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine.   Weight gain with a voracious appetite is something I experienced while malnourished.  It's symptomatic of Thiamine B1 deficiency.   Conversely, some people with thiamine deficiency lose their appetite altogether, and suffer from anorexia.  At different periods on my lifelong journey, I suffered this, too.   When the body doesn't have sufficient thiamine to turn food, especially carbohydrates, into energy (for growth and repair), the body rations what little thiamine it has available, and turns the carbs into fat, and stores it mostly in the abdomen.  Consuming a high carbohydrate diet requires additional thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  Simple carbohydrates (sugar, white rice, etc.) don't contain thiamine, so the body easily depletes its stores of Thiamine processing the carbs into fat.  The digestive system communicates with the brain to keep eating in order to consume more thiamine and other nutrients it's not absorbing.   One can have a subclinical thiamine insufficiency for years.  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so the symptoms can wax and wane mysteriously.  Symptoms of Thiamine insufficiency include stunted growth, chronic fatigue, and Gastrointestinal Beriberi (diarrhea, abdominal pain), heart attack, Alzheimer's, stroke, and cancer.   Thiamine improves bone turnover.  Thiamine insufficiency can also affect the thyroid.  The thyroid is important in bone metabolism.  The thyroid also influences hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, and menopause.  Vitamin D, at optimal levels, can act as a hormone and can influence the thyroid, as well as being important to bone health, and regulating the immune system.  Vitamin A is important to bone health, too, and is necessary for intestinal health, as well.   I don't do dairy because I react to Casein, the protein in dairy that resembles gluten and causes a reaction the same as if I'd been exposed to gluten, including high tTg IgA.  I found adding mineral water containing calcium and other minerals helpful in increasing my calcium intake.   Malabsorption of Celiac affects all the vitamins and minerals.  I do hope you'll talk to your doctor and dietician about supplementing all eight B vitamins and the four fat soluble vitamins because they all work together interconnectedly.  
    • Florence Lillian
      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free.  I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree with me -  I just keep trying and have finally settled on Sports Research. I take NAKA Women's Multi full spectrum, and have not felt sick after taking 2 capsules per day -  it is a Canadian company. I buy both from Amazon. I wish you well in your searching, I know how discouraging it all is. Florence.  
    • catnapt
      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    
×
×
  • 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.