Gi Heals In 7-10 Days?

[kareng]

Just diagnosed. Had endo last week. Yesterday GI doc said that your intestines completely grow all new lining cells in 7-10 days. Therefore, in less then 2 weeks of gluten-free, your intestines should be healed & taking nutrients correctly. Anyone hear that before? Mostly I've heard on this forum that it can take months to heal. I know that my malnourishment will take a while to replenish everything.

[Wolicki]

  On 2/16/2010 at 2:47 PM, kareng said:

Just diagnosed. Had endo last week. Yesterday GI doc said that your intestines completely grow all new lining cells in 7-10 days. Therefore, in less then 2 weeks of gluten-free, your intestines should be healed & taking nutrients correctly. Anyone hear that before? Mostly I've heard on this forum that it can take months to heal. I know that my malnourishment will take a while to replenish everything.

I am not a doctor, but I think he's full of beans. It can take MONTHS to heal the intestines, longer if there are other issues, like yeast, leaky gut, etc. Doctors like to think in black and white, and unfortunately, Celiac is not black and white.

I've been gluten free for 7 months. While I feel tons better,there is still some healing going on (leaky gut).

[Jestgar]

I think a normal intestine repairs itself very quickly, but a damaged one will not necessarily follow the same time course.

[chasbari]

  On 2/16/2010 at 2:47 PM, kareng said:

Just diagnosed. Had endo last week. Yesterday GI doc said that your intestines completely grow all new lining cells in 7-10 days. Therefore, in less then 2 weeks of gluten-free, your intestines should be healed & taking nutrients correctly. Anyone hear that before? Mostly I've heard on this forum that it can take months to heal. I know that my malnourishment will take a while to replenish everything.

Just as in the normal respiratory tract where you have a fast turnover of the epithilium that lines it there is constant repair/replacement of the cells that LINE the tract.. respiratory or digestive. That, of course, would be in a normal healthy and functional system without any extraordinary damage. Because villus atrophy and perhaps severe villus blunting involves damage to the underlying structural component of the intestinal wall I think this if/than supposition on part of you doctor is, if nothing else, irresponsible if not severely misinformed. Big difference in the timetable of routine repair/replacement of the lining which is functionally meant to do just that as opposed to damage to the villi... whole different ball of wax by my understanding. If Dr. Greene is saying that there is an extended healing time I would tend to give his insight far more credence than what your present doctor is saying. Broken record here but after I was diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy, my rheumatologist (with a vested interest to find an excuse to prescribe a host of potentially harmful drugs to me if celiac were not the underlying cause of my RA) without ever looking at the biopsy evidence tried to tell me that I didn't even likely have celiac and that I needed to manage what was probably just IBS with all sorts of drugs that had already been harmful to my hearing and vision and kidney function.. I had to choose which doctor I was going to listen to and I chose my gastro instead. Doctors are not infallible. Some are very good, others...well....

[kareng]

UPDATE: My PCP was much more helpful. He let me have my Pathology report. The top portion & most of my small intestine is pretty much flattened. No way that grows back in 10 days. We have put the GI up for sainthood as he is performing miracles.

[sandsurfgirl]

Isn't there just one GI doc that has a clue? Just one?

It's so disheartening to hear that this so called doctor is telling people garbage like this, because if you have been sick for any length of time it can take months or even a year or two to heal. So patients will be panick stricken when they still feel like garbage 2 weeks later.

then there is also the fact that a gluten free diet is so hard to achieve so in the beginning you might be getting hidden gluten for awhile and not knowing it. It took me a full 2 weeks to get educated enough to get all the gluten out of my diet.

[kareng]

  On 2/23/2010 at 2:07 AM, sandsurfgirl said:

Isn't there just one GI doc that has a clue? Just one?

It's so disheartening to hear that this so called doctor is telling people garbage like this, because if you have been sick for any length of time it can take months or even a year or two to heal. So patients will be panick stricken when they still feel like garbage 2 weeks later.

then there is also the fact that a gluten free diet is so hard to achieve so in the beginning you might be getting hidden gluten for awhile and not knowing it. It took me a full 2 weeks to get educated enough to get all the gluten out of my diet.

Actually, after my endo, I found out that there is a GI practice that is good with Celiac. The good thing is that he knew what to biopsy & I know enough to go from there. My PCP was great. If I have a medically sound reason for a test, he agrees. I do worry about others who don't know as much, as GI offered no advice or help with diet, etc. Good thing we have these forums.