People Who Were Diagnosed And Feel Much Better

[somersat]

And think clearly and are not hungry all the time?

Thanks!

[ravenwoodglass]

Yes but it did take awhile. It was about 6 months before I noticed a real difference with energy but the stomach pain and constant D ended before that happened. My tummy issues resolved within a month, with some slip ups of course gluten wise. Even after 8 years I sometimes still get glutened but now it is only about once or twice a year.

I was sleeping better almost immediately, but I had been up every night in the bathroom in agony for 5 years before that.

My thinking got clearer within a couple months. I think sublingual B12 helped a lot with that and it also seemed to help my ataxia resolve.

I hope this is helpful. We don't get celiac symptoms overnight, it is usually a process that leaves us ill for months or years before we finally are diagnosed. We don't heal overnight either. It takes some time. How much time varies with the individual, the systems under attack by the antibodies and how gluten free the person is.

[freeatlast]

And think clearly and are not hungry all the time?

Thanks!

Yes, that has been my experience. I'm still ADD, but now I have "episodes" not constant forgetfulness. When I started back eating wheat/gluten for three years between August 2005-August 2008, I WAS hungry all the time, gained 20 pounds, and had gas when I least expected it and couldn't control it sometimes. THAT was embarrassing.

Now, I can go back to skipping meals and not having to have snacks between all the time and do just fine After I went back on gluten free in August 2008, it took longer to get better than the first time when I was younger and didn't lose weight this time either. Then, last year I went on The Zone diet, stayed gluten free, and I lost weight and it got my system back in synch.

[chasbari]

Things certainly aren't perfect yet but instead of dreading going to sleep....if I could, I now sleep easily. I used to feel like I could never have enough padding on the mattress to keep me from major discomfort (in fact it felt like my body really wanted to be six feet under.) We took the mattress cushion off as I have no pressure points like I used to. The hunger has calmed down considerably although it took time and a real sense of withdrawal for months to get to the point where it became manageable. A side benefit is that my rheumatoid arthritis eased considerably as well.. to the point where I can not only walk, I can now run and sprint. My hearing and vision problems settled down and even though I lost most of my body fat and have a hard time maintaining weight I never get cold anymore. Used to be I could never stay warm. There are still rough patches but nothing like my average day used to be.. just a gentle reminder to be grateful for the good days!

CS

[tarnalberry]

People Who Were Diagnosed And Feel Much Better Do you sleep well, not obsess about food, and have lots of energy? And think clearly and are not hungry all the time?

Sleep well? Eh... I have restless leg, apparently independent of but worsened by low iron stores. Even when the iron is back up, there's still come RLS. It's better on meds, but I'm off meds due to pregnancy. With the meds, I'd say I sleep pretty darn well. Without them, I'd say I sleep well enough. (With the pregnancy in 3rd trimester... HAHAHAHA! I'm lucky if I get to sleep for seven hours in a night and only wake up sore and needing to pee three times a night. So, no, not well. )

Obsess about food? No, but I don't think I ever did. Well, I have been a fairly careful planner for a while - between wanting to lose weight many years ago (and needing to be very cognizant of my diet) and having reactive hypoglycemia. But I plan as best is possible, change plans if needed, and don't really obsess. Can you be more specific over how you obsess over food?

Have lots of energy? Eh, I have fibromyalgia separate from celiac (developed years after going Gluten-free Casein-free) so I'd never say I have lots of energy. (And again, with the pregnancy, I'm pretty much tired or exhausted most of the time. Can't really remember having a full bucket of energy for a whole day in ages. ) But different people have different natural levels of energy, regardless of how much they WANT to be able to do. I have a friend who is fairly go-go-go and always has something happening. Maybe she is often tired, but it certainly never seems that way. I know that I would never have been able to keep up with her. And I know people have commented that it seemed like I did an awful lot in the past, always on the go, but given the sorts of things I was doing, it wasn't all that energy draining for me. I also have had low testosterone levels for years - before the celiac diagnosis - and getting THAT treated definitely helped a lot as well. (No, my thyroid levels have never come back low, and they don't come back borderline low either. We keep an eye on them, but they continue to be fine as best we can tell.)

Think clearly? (Again, this is funny while pregnant, which essentially causes you to be drugged with endorphins at much higher blood levels than normal. Clear minded is NOT how I'd describe myself at the moment. ) I think that improving my sleep had FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR more to do with "thinking clearly" than the change in diet. I can't emphasize enough how enough GOOD QUALITY sleep makes a difference. You can get plenty of crappy sleep and still feel like a zombie (which I have had, thanks to the RLS).

Not hungry all the time? I find that hormone variations through my cycle affected my hunger levels more than being gluten free or not. And stress levels from general life. What makes the most difference to me to not be HUNGRY all the time is to eat properly balanced (in fat/carbs/protein) meals, to steady blood sugar levels.

A lot of people have had the changes you're looking for, but I think it's easy to think that the gluten-free diet will clear up everything, when a lot of these things are relative and have other causes that are common in our lives.