Does Healing Occur?

[shirleyujest]

Hello, I'm a new visitor to this site in the past couple of days as I suspect I may have celiac disease. I plan to get tested but in the meantime am educating myself on a gluten-free diet.

A question for you... If one goes on the GFD, does healing occur? If so how long does it take, or does it vary depending on the damage.

Specifically I have reason to think I've been suffering from malabsorption of nutrients for some years (age 51) even though I eat a lot of fruits, veggies, nuts and lean meat/seafood. Does a person get to where they begin absorbing nutrients from their food?

Thank you!

[Gemini]

Hello, I'm a new visitor to this site in the past couple of days as I suspect I may have celiac disease. I plan to get tested but in the meantime am educating myself on a gluten-free diet.

A question for you... If one goes on the GFD, does healing occur? If so how long does it take, or does it vary depending on the damage.

Specifically I have reason to think I've been suffering from malabsorption of nutrients for some years (age 51) even though I eat a lot of fruits, veggies, nuts and lean meat/seafood. Does a person get to where they begin absorbing nutrients from their food?

Thank you!

Healing absolutely does occur, if you are good about sticking to the diet. Cheating will only hinder recovery time or may make it impossible to achieve if it's consistent. Time required really varies greatly from person to person. It took me about 3 1/2 years before all my symptoms resolved and my many vitamin deficiencies reversed themselves. I was 46 at the time of diagnosis so I wasn't a spring chicken!

I will tell you that I am now healthier than I have ever been in my entire life and my thyroid function (I have Hashi's) has improved dramatically, to the point where my Levoxyl dose has been cut in half. Absorption is working well but large weight gain will not be a problem if you eat a healthy and moderate diet.

At the time I was diagnosed, I had little to no absorption going on and was losing 1 pound PER DAY.

I would HIGHLY recommend reading Dr. Peter Green's book on Celiac Disease, titled "Celiac Disease: The Hidden Epidemic". It is one of the best books I have read on the subject and gives honest, medical truths about how to follow this diet correctly. There is much misinformation out there and it's important to get the basics down right as this is for life.

Good luck to you and if your testing proves inconclusive, you may want to do a dietary trial anyway. It is really the most definitive way to see if your problem is gluten.

[shirleyujest]

That's great to hear Gemini. Thank you for sharing your story and for the book rec, I'll definitely get that and try the diet.

[Gemini]

That's great to hear Gemini. Thank you for sharing your story and for the book rec, I'll definitely get that and try the diet.

You're welcome!