Time To Conception From Starting Diet

[gf2010]

I have a friend who has not yet been diagnosed with Celiac(hopefully having test soon), but suspects gluten sensitivity. She has had 4 miscarriages in the past 2 years. She carried a baby to full term almost 10 years ago, so her doctors are puzzled as to why she is unable to carry a baby to full term now. She is just starting to believe there might be a connection to gluten intolerance.

I am trying to find information for her on how long the body can take to repair itself(in relation to fertiity) once you go completely Gluten Free. She tried Gluten Free for 4 months(maybe longer) and when she was unable to convceive, she became unmotivated to continue on with the diet.

I am trying to find information to encourage her to stay on the diet for a while, and to give her body a chance to repair. But I can't find information specifically relating to recommendtions on how long to try Gluten free, especially if you have not been diagnosed with Celiac yet.

( I also want to note that I know you should have the test before going gluten free, but she is having some insurance isses with the test, so is looking to make some improvements in the mean time.)

Thanksfor any help.

[tarnalberry]

The tests will be useless if she's been gluten free before them, so she needs to decide if she's going to stick with the diet OR get tested before starting it.

What I've read generally recommends being gluten free for six months prior to trying to conceive. Four months is not very long to correct nutritional deficiencies if she has any, especially if she wasn't tested for and specifically treated them.

If she notices a difference on the diet, or gets a positive test, however, she should *stay* gluten free, as that is clearly evidence she needs to. There may be a secondary complication causing infertility, but if the diet makes a difference, and she doesn't stay on it, she'd then have two things contributing to infertility, one of which she already knows about.

[gf2010]

I will absolutly inform her again,that if she is going to do the testing, and wants it to be reliable, she is going to need to wait to start the diet. My son has lived with Celiac for 9 years, so I understand it is imparitive to test before eliminating gluten. I think she has foud ome resistance wtih her doctor and is having trouble getting the test covered by insurance, so she is trying to decide if she should give it a go, and see if she is able to conceive. They have had every infertility test in the book.. so she is very hopeful this will work.

I was pretty certain that 4 months gluten-free would not be enough to help, so I will pass along what you have shared.

Thanks so much for the help.

[Laree Foss]

I am in the same boat but went gluten free on a suspicion before knowing that the test would be inaccurate.. I lost my baby a year and a half ago (and have been trying again since) and got really sick and didn't know what was wrong with me (before I was diagnosed). I have now been gluten free and symptom free for 4 months but have not been able to conceive since my last loss... really being gluten free is a healthier way to live anyway so you friend should stick with the diet and make a permanent change and instead of trying to get her insurance to pay for the celiac testing she should get her hormones and fertility system checked. also it might help her to track her ovulation. Fertilityfriend.com has free charting system to keep track of her fertility signs and has free education on how to maximize her chances. I've been doing it since september and it's helped I think a lot putting pressure off trying to have lots of sex and not knowing when to do it...so to be so TMI and I am not trying to sound like an infomercial but the way you do it is with that website and a bassel body temp thermometer. I might have spelled it wrong but it's like 7 dollars at walmart and much cheaper then fertility tests that do the same thing. I agree with tarnalberry about not adding to the fertility problems by going back on gluten just to get a positive test result. It will put her progress back at least another 6 months and I know from experience of doing that. Tell her to stick with it if it makes her feel better and use her good health as the motivation. She should also maybe talk to someone to get her frustrations out. Worrying about getting pregnant is just going to cause her to have fertility issues. Stress never helps. Hope this helps.

[shandango]

I was gluten free for 5 years with occasional gluten cheating and now have been completely gluten free (no intensional cheating) for 1 year before I got pregnant. I was not intentionally trying to get pregnant either, it's almost as if my body just all of a sudden decided to become fertile after years of not ever worrying about becoming pregnant. I have had 2 miscarriages since I was 22 (also both not intentional pregnancies), I am now 30 and years of using NO birth control (at least 10 years to be exact). I never had the infertility looked into because I wasn't concerned about having kids so it was quite convenient for me.

Then last November I went in for a routine pap smear and while getting the check up my doctor examined my breasts which were terribly sore and we talked about my 12 hour menstruation in October and he decided a pregnancy test was necessary. Test came back positive and I was needless to say shocked as hell.

So please let your friend know it can take a long time to correct the infertility Celiac causes, but patience is a virtue.

Also I did not wait until I was diagnosed to go gluten free, my tests will never be conclusive but I know in my heart what is wrong with me and going gluten free cured all of my symptoms and lead to a much more productive life. I do not recommend my methods but my gastroenterologist told me himself the tests are not 100% reliable and he is certain I have Celiac, positive test or not.

Good luck!