Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • 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

New Gluten-free...how Long Until I Notice A Change?

GottaSki

Recommended Posts

GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted

Good Evening All-

I am trying very hard to be patient...am a 43 year old that has waited years for a correct diagnosis -- after many many many NORMAL blood tests my IgA tTA indicated celiac...had the biopsy to confirm 7 days ago...I went gluten free (well i am learning, but think i have been gluten free) for the past week. How long did YOU wait before symptoms improved after going gluten free? Thanks!

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


hez Enthusiast
hez
Posted

I did not feel better for 6 months. Then slowly things improved. By the 7th month I felt completly normal (who would have guessed!).

One thing that made my recovery slower (isn't hindsight great) IMHO was that I continued to have dairy and alcohol. In my anger I felt like just doing gluten-free was hard enough and I was not going to eliminate anything else from my diet.

I learned in month 5 that my lipstick had gluten! I learned in month 6 that eating cheese and pear that had been cut from the same knive that cut bread made me sick (did not find out about the knife until after I was sick).

I guess my point is that it takes time to heal. The healing time is different for everyone. There is a lot of trial and error. Be patient and you will feel better!

Hez

RiceGuy Collaborator
RiceGuy
Posted

It also took six months before I noticed anything much, but far longer for actual improvements. As with many on this board, I found certain sensitivities increased after going gluten-free, and have had to modify my diet several times. Now, slowly, I am starting to be able to add some things.

I think the time it takes depends on how long the damage has been going on, the dietary changes that are made, and probably various other factors which still elude the best researchers.

GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted
  • Author

Thank you Hez and Rice Guy...I function much better with realistic timeline. Back to being patient and studying my gluten-free manuals.

43 year old female, still waiting for results of biopsy 9 days ago...patience is a virtue or so I'm told.

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

To heck with the virtue and patience!! :P That's why we went undiagnosed for so long, because we were virtuous patient patients. And look how we suffered... I am an impatient patient now (not obnoxious, I hope, but not tolerant of being put off).

Youdah Newbie
Youdah
Posted

I'm fairly certain that I'm gluten intolerant, but I'm still waiting to talk to my doc about it. When I thought gluten was a problem, I have tried to be gluten free. Every day without gluten, and I felt a little better. Then, I decided that a "little bit" wouldn't hurt me, afterall, I've been eating bread and pasta all my life, and that little bit of Malt Vinegar in the Heinz 57 Sauce wouldn't do anything! Or so I thought. Within 3 hours, I was feeling as bad as I did before I started a gluten-free diet.

How long does it take? I think it's going to depend on you individually, and I think "how long does it take" is going to be partly dependent upon how successful you (and me) are with eliminating gluten and all those little hidden gluten sources, too.

GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted
  • Author
To heck with the virtue and patience!! :P That's why we went undiagnosed for so long, because we were virtuous patient patients. And look how we suffered... I am an impatient patient now (not obnoxious, I hope, but not tolerant of being put off).

LOL...I hear that...after years of being sick periodically and docs not finding anything...even I thought it might be in my head...until I got even sicker -- while laying down last summer I wrote a journal of all the times I could remember being sick...imagine my surprise to find out that there was one little blood test that no other doc thought to run on me.. tTG IgA...it was the 50th blood test I've had in the past year and the ONLY one that wasn't "normal". If I hadn't been pushy I'd still be wondering what the hell is wrong with me?????

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted
  • Author
LOL...I hear that...after years of being sick periodically and docs not finding anything...even I thought it might be in my head...until I got even sicker -- while laying down last summer I wrote a journal of all the times I could remember being sick...imagine my surprise to find out that there was one little blood test that no other doc thought to run on me.. tTG IgA...it was the 50th blood test I've had in the past year and the ONLY one that wasn't "normal". If I hadn't been pushy I'd still be wondering what the hell is wrong with me?????

oops...also had extremely low vit D. and long history of anemia...but haven't had anemia for past few years

mimommy Contributor
mimommy
Posted

I think it was already mentioned that the time it may take to feel better is in many ways dependent upon how much damage there is in your body. You may want to remove all dairy for a couple of weeks, as the villi (which are flattened as a result of the auto-immune response to gluten) are also involved in digesting and processing the proteins and sugars in milk and cheese. My little girl was actually misdiagnosed as lactose intolerant before finding out it was celiac, but the dairy sensitivity only lasted for a couple of weeks after going gluten free. Also, you may find--as many here have--that the longer you are not eating gluten, the more sensitive to it you become if cc'd (cross contaminated).

Removing gluten from your diet is a complete and total lifestyle make-over that could well change your life forever, but it is a process. Start by reading ALL labels and eliminating foods and cooking items from your kitchen that may be contaminated. Eat simple natural foods at first, then learn some new recipes. You may find, as we have, that you are a better cook and eating tastier, more nutritious meals than ever before!

And, you WILL feel better. Your body is a finely tuned instrument; let it heal and listen to it :)

Archived

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

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


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,168
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    watsonjennifer12
    Newest Member
    watsonjennifer12
    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

    • DAR girl
      Celiac and allergic to common subs and adds in prepared foods

      By DAR girl · Posted

      Looking for help sourcing gluten-free products that do not contain potato or corn derived ingredients. I have other autoimmune conditions (Psoriatic Arthritis and Sjogrens) so I’m looking for prepared foods as I have fatigue and cannot devote a lot of time to baking my own treats. 
    • Scott Adams
      Disregarded

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I am so sorry you're going through this. It's completely understandable to feel frustrated, stressed, and disregarded after such a long and difficult health journey. It's exhausting to constantly advocate for yourself, especially when you're dealing with so many symptoms and positive diagnoses like SIBO, while still feeling unwell. The fact that you have been diligently following the diet without relief is a clear sign that something else is going on, and your doctors should be investigating other causes or complications, not dismissing your very real suffering. 
    • Oldturdle
      Paying for my own Celiac screening at WalkInLab so a positive result doesn’t become part of my medical history

      By Oldturdle · Posted

      It is just so sad that health care in the United States has come to this.  Health insurance should be available to everyone, not just the healthy or the rich.  My heart goes out to you.  I would not hesitate to have the test and pay for it myself.  My big concern would be how you could keep the results truly private.  I am sure that ultimately, you could not.  A.I. is getting more and more pervasive, and all data is available somewhere.  I don't know if you could give a fake name, or pay for your test with cash.  I certainly would not disclose any positive results on a private insurance application.  As I understand it, for an official diagnosis, an MD needs to review your labs and make the call.  If you end up in the ER, or some other situation, just request a gluten free diet, and say it is because you feel better when you don't eat gluten.      Hang in there, though.  Medicare is not that far away for you, and it will remove a lot of stress from your health care concerns.  You will even be able to "come out of the closet" about being Celiac!
    • plumbago
      Paying for my own Celiac screening at WalkInLab so a positive result doesn’t become part of my medical history

      By plumbago · Posted

      Yes, I've posted a few times about two companies: Request a Test and Ulta Labs. Also, pretty much we can all request any test we want (with the possible exception of the N protein Covid test and I'm sure a couple of others) with Lab Corp (or Pixel by Lab Corp) and Quest. I much prefer Lab Corp for their professionalism, ease of service and having it together administratively, at least in DC. And just so you know, Request a Test uses Lab Corp and Quest anyway, while Ulta Labs uses only Quest. Ulta Labs is cheaper than Request a Test, but I am tired of dealing with Quest, so I don't use them so much.
    • Scott Adams
      Does Dailymed.nlm.nih.gov site have filters for gluten?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      PS - I think you meant this site, but I don't believe it has been updated in years: http://glutenfreedrugs.com/ so it is best to use: You can search this site for 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/   
×
×
  • Create New...