Is Gluten Free A Cure All?

[bluebonnet]

i've read the battles and scars of many of you in your "signatures" and i am just curious how much healing and recovering from the damage in your body from years of undiagnosed celiac? i hold out hope of my hair growing in thicker, skin healing, bone and joint pain disappearing, gi issues and insomnia a thing of the past and not needing to constantly use eye drops/lubricants + so much more. i guess i'm hoping that going gluten free will be a cure all for the years of damage.

its been a great comfort coming on this fantastic site and getting so much helpful info and support on dealing with celiac. i visited my doctor today and while he was pleased to see i've lost 10 lbs and responding well so far, he gave me my news from the rest of the testing we did during the course of diagnosing. he said i have irreversible dessication on my spine and that normally he doesn't see that kind of damage in someone my age (37) ... more like over 50 or 60. i'm deficient in d and b. gotta get rid of this imflamation!!!

but since yesterday i've become gassy and bloated again and the d & c are back. so now i wonder if its nerves or is it still the adjusting period (i'm almost 1 month gluten free) and i looked back on my food journal and i'm just not seeing where i could have eaten gluten. i am questioning everything and not sure what to think. its crazy!

i know i'm all over the place with my post ... guess it could be a few different topics but as i sit here with my hip pain (mri said bursitis which is reversible!) and tummy troubles i am just curious to hear the success people have had with healing if anyone cares to share.

[AKcollegestudent]

i've read the battles and scars of many of you in your "signatures" and i am just curious how much healing and recovering from the damage in your body from years of undiagnosed celiac? i hold out hope of my hair growing in thicker, skin healing, bone and joint pain disappearing, gi issues and insomnia a thing of the past and not needing to constantly use eye drops/lubricants + so much more. i guess i'm hoping that going gluten free will be a cure all for the years of damage.

For me, it's a semi-cure all. Going gluten free helped with my joint pain; I still have bad days, but good days are no longer an endangered species. But I also had to go soy and dairy free. Soy free looks like it's here to stay; dairy free is definitely cow-dairy free, and limited goat-dairy. And I've been gluten free since May; I consider there to have been a lot of improvement. My insomnia is mostly a thing of the past, unless I've been glutened. I don't avoid stairs all the time now--I can manage multiple flights at least 80% of the time. I don't have to hibernate in my room with a migraine more than three or four times a month.

But I still haven't reversed a lot of the damage. The tension headaches are still around; my spine's still screwed to pieces. Standing for long periods still makes me cry and my fingers are twinging as I write this. I suspect that there are some things that are here to stay. (My light sensitivity, for one.) But other things are healing, albeit slowly.

It's a process. We didn't incur the damage overnight; it can't heal itself overnight either.

[one more mile]

All people get gas. Maybe its just "normal" gas.

Being gluten free is not a cure all for me but It did cure about 85% of my problems.

[Nor-TX]

I agree. Being as gluten-free as I am... almost completely but not quite has made a difference to my quality of life. My stomach has gone down, I am not "foggy" any more and I seem to be sleeping a little better. My problem is that I am also dealing with Colitis, IBS and a Dairy intolerance... I'm not sure what to eat so I am not eating alot. gluten-free pretzels seem to be close to my heart right now.

[tarnalberry]

There are other things that can go wrong with the body besides celiac, so there is no reason to expect going gluten free will be a cure-ALL. But it's also hard to know if there is a second issue occurring at the same time, or if symptoms are gluten related. At one month gluten free, it hasn't been very long at all, and many chronic issues may take a year or more to subside. But if there are other contributing factors, you may need to pursue additional issues as well. (For instance, I have fibromyalgia which is NOT related to gluten - it came on after years of being gluten free. I need to treat that on it's own, apart from remaining gluten free (and dairy free, and soy light).)

[Reba32]

I've been gluten free, AGAIN, since December 14th, and immediately noticed a difference in my belly and wasn't being constantly followed around by that cloud of noxious gas all the time! I did a 8 week gluten torture challenge to get the definitive diagnosis and appease my husband who figured I had only given up bread and junk food to make his life hell. Before that I had been gluten free for about 8 or 9 months.

I felt probably 100% better than I had EVER felt in my entire life, but I wasn't 100% "cured". If you follow.

I figure I've had gluten intolerance/Celiac disease my entire life, and it was always misdiagnosed as one thing or another. I'm infertile, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in like 1993 (after years of "gee, we don't know what it is), had Grave's Disease, joint pain for I don't know how long, migraines, IBS, tinnitis and etc ad nauseum.

After a few months, everything really starts to feel better, but I don't think anything will ever be cured after so many years of damage.

I guess how well you heal depends on how long you've been sick.

[GFinDC]

gluten-free helped most of my digestive issues. But I still had sore joints, ankle swelling, insomnia, ear ringing, some GI problems. I felt a lot better when I went from soy light to soy free. Took a week and a half to really get past most of the remaining issues. I am not 100% yet but I do feel like I am on the right track to get there, or at least close. You really need to cut out 100% of any gluten though for it to happen. I am also dairy, carrot, coffee and tea free. Tomatoes are still off the menu, although I stubbornly try them now and then. Won't be trying them again for months though.

[T.H.]

Well, let's see, successes and failures. :-)

Going Gluten free didn't do it for me. I noticed no change except I felt worse! Like many people here, I had to drop a lot of other foods as well. Some were allergies I never knew I had (like sugarcane, waaah), some may be intolerances, and some? I don't even know. Seriously. I just know that if I eat them, I feel depressed, or in pain, or get earaches - weird stuff.

But after going gluten free AND dropping all the hordes of other foods that seemed to be messing with my body? (I'm at 6 months for this, now)

-My carpal tunnel has improved significantly. almost completely gone.

-My depression is gone like it never was.

-I have two partially herniated discs in my back that are permanent, but the pain that went with them has disappeared. If I accidentally eat a specific 'bad' food, the pain is back by the next day and hangs around for a few days.

-My frustration tolerance has improved unbelievably, and my anger level has dropped like a stone (and finding food I can eat has been a frustrating and time consuming process, so this seems like a pretty big deal to me)

-My plantar fasciitis hasn't bothered me in months

-joint and muscle pain disappeared unless I accidentally get a 'bad' food.

- My hair - thin as thin can be. I don't know if that's going to get better or not, but I am still working on not losing weight, so that might still be affecting it (I am hoping)

-acne, still here, but lessened.

-insomnia is less

-energy levels are higher

And..that's all I can think of. I hope it works well for you, and you are feeling great soon!

i've read the battles and scars of many of you in your "signatures" and i am just curious how much healing and recovering from the damage in your body from years of undiagnosed celiac? i hold out hope of my hair growing in thicker, skin healing, bone and joint pain disappearing, gi issues and insomnia a thing of the past and not needing to constantly use eye drops/lubricants + so much more. i guess i'm hoping that going gluten free will be a cure all for the years of damage.

its been a great comfort coming on this fantastic site and getting so much helpful info and support on dealing with celiac. i visited my doctor today and while he was pleased to see i've lost 10 lbs and responding well so far, he gave me my news from the rest of the testing we did during the course of diagnosing. he said i have irreversible dessication on my spine and that normally he doesn't see that kind of damage in someone my age (37) ... more like over 50 or 60. i'm deficient in d and b. gotta get rid of this imflamation!!!

but since yesterday i've become gassy and bloated again and the d & c are back. so now i wonder if its nerves or is it still the adjusting period (i'm almost 1 month gluten free) and i looked back on my food journal and i'm just not seeing where i could have eaten gluten. i am questioning everything and not sure what to think. its crazy!

i know i'm all over the place with my post ... guess it could be a few different topics but as i sit here with my hip pain (mri said bursitis which is reversible!) and tummy troubles i am just curious to hear the success people have had with healing if anyone cares to share.

[sandsurfgirl]

Most people have some sort of health issue with something. I am only 3 weeks into the diet, but I figure most likely I will still have asthma, allergies, and hypothyroidism. Yes they can be related and exacerbated by untreated celiac, but those are diseases in and of themselves that I have come down with and they need to be addressed separately. They run in my family and have genetic components.

I also think that it's not a good idea to blame everything on gluten. I mean yes it can cause back pain, and things you don't normally think of as celiac, but there is such a thing as a pulled back muscle, a stomache virus, the flu, a cold, etc. Just because you are gluten free doesn't mean you won't get these. You will get to know how gluten affects you, and then if something else pops up that's unusual then you need to seek treatment for that because it might not be from gluten and then you suffer needlessly waiting for the gluten to get out of your body when you really need a chiropractor.

I hate to say this, but I think it's unrealistic to expect that you will never be sick again or you will be the picture of health being gluten free and it's setting yourself up for disappointment.

[bluebonnet]

thanks for the responses! other than my thyroid i'm thankfully healthy with the exception of things gone wrong and *most likely* associated with celiac. i'm not blaming everything on celiac, but my spinal changes were from deficiencies so that i am convinced was from years of untreated celiac. since i'm still in the new phase i do assume gas/bloating is automatically from gluten if it hangs around for more than a day and maybe its not the case. i just looooved NOT feeling that bloaty feeling and i don't want it back, lol! i do know my hypothyroid is here to stay but will wish and work towards healing or improvement on the rest of the issues.

thanks for sharing your improvments ... they are encouraging!

[Mskedi]

It's a cure-much, not a cure-all, but what it does cure is pretty dang amazing.

I wish it would help with my increasingly bad allergies, but it seems my stuffiness will not be going away anytime soon.

[Scotty J]

I've tried very hard to be gluten free since September. It's a battle, one that most family/friends sympathize with but just don't understand the issues I have to deal with. That adds to my frustration...

But I'll be painfully honest - I have hated my life since this all blew up last year. I'm about ready to "walk into the water".

My wife, child & friends are dear to me but I'm tired of it all. I really have lost the inspiration to do anything anymore.

[sandsurfgirl]

I've tried very hard to be gluten free since September. It's a battle, one that most family/friends sympathize with but just don't understand the issues I have to deal with. That adds to my frustration...

But I'll be painfully honest - I have hated my life since this all blew up last year. I'm about ready to "walk into the water".

My wife, child & friends are dear to me but I'm tired of it all. I really have lost the inspiration to do anything anymore.

Scotty, I am so sorry you are suffering!!! You will find support on this board. Have you sought counseling to deal with your grief? You know, having a diagnosis like this makes you go through the stages of grief just like if you had a death of a loved one. You need to talk through your grief and process it in order to move on. HUGS to you and I will pray for your heart to have healing in addition to your body.

[bluebonnet]

I've tried very hard to be gluten free since September. It's a battle, one that most family/friends sympathize with but just don't understand the issues I have to deal with. That adds to my frustration...

But I'll be painfully honest - I have hated my life since this all blew up last year. I'm about ready to "walk into the water".

My wife, child & friends are dear to me but I'm tired of it all. I really have lost the inspiration to do anything anymore.

scotty j, i'm sorry to hear you are in such pain emotionally as well. i too will pray for you to find hope and the capacity to deal with your struggles. i'm sure you can and will find a lot of inspriation here from people who *know* many of the things you are dealing with. i hope you and your family can find strength daily. take care