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How Long Until Symptoms Disappear?


Eliza82

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Eliza82 Apprentice

Hello all,

I have not had a Gastroenterologist confirm that I have Celiacs Disease, since my body is too weak for a Colonoscopy at this time, but he thinks I either have celiac disease or IBS. I have had blood work done which came back negative, but that doesn't mean I might not have a gluten intolerance. I'm hoping someone else out there can offer any insight or help with my current issue or just someone who has a similar situation to reach out and say hello.

I was having stomach bloating, pain, gas, constipation and diahrea on and off for about a year and went to my (former) primary care doctor and he thought I had Giardia so he gave me flagyl. The stool tests came back negative for the Giardia but it was too late - I was already taking the Flagyl. It messed up my system pretty bad and gave me a 13 month migraine, numbness in my feet and hands, chills, naseau, weakness, metalic taste in my tongue, depersonalization (brain fog - I am unsafe to drive at this time), jittery arms & legs, forgetfullness, no energy, hives on skin and in private areas, puffy feeling face even though its hard for others to spot, redness on my skin, excessive sweating and a pungeant body odor and so many other things. My thought was that maybe I had a gluten-intolerance and the doctor missed it and gave me the Flagyl which made my whole system MUCH worse. I am getting acupuncture treatment and taking chinese herbs for the relief of some of my symptoms. My migraine is almost gone and some of my naseau has resolved but there are many symptoms that are still there. I don't like medications and try to do things naturally and I'm sure you can understand why.

I have just taken the gluten out of my diet last Sunday so its one week today. I am noticing a little reduction in my hives but I'm not quite sure yet. I'm hoping its the gluten that is making things worse, but I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket so I don't get down if this is not the case.

How long do people generally see a change in their stomach and other symptoms when they go gluten-free? I do realize every body is different, but I'm just looking for others opinions.

Thank you and have a wonderful day!

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WheatChef Apprentice

I saw mainly negative results the first week followed by very favorable results starting in the 2nd week. Since then I've been getting glutened a decent amount so who knows how things are going, currently at 2.5 months and still noticing a new positive change occurring each week.

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carecare Enthusiast

Hi,

My husband saw pretty immediate cessation (first couple days) with his indigestion upon going gluten free. His diarrhea issues improved but did not completely go away for about 5 months. I believe it just took that long for his intestines to start to heal. He went gluten free in October...and it wasn't until February that the diarrhea was gone completely. Now it's May...and it's been a couple months of not one episode of diarrhea or indigestion. We've been married for 18 yrs and he's never went more than a week or two without bad cramps and diarrhea....so this is huge for him. He feels great now too! My husband was one to not want to see a doctor...so he did this on his own.

Good luck. Some people I've heard improve with all their symptoms right away...some take a couple weeks but I've also read it could be quite a few months for healing to take place (as in my husband's case.)

CC

Hello all,

I have not had a Gastroenterologist confirm that I have Celiacs Disease, since my body is too weak for a Colonoscopy at this time, but he thinks I either have celiac disease or IBS. I have had blood work done which came back negative, but that doesn't mean I might not have a gluten intolerance. I'm hoping someone else out there can offer any insight or help with my current issue or just someone who has a similar situation to reach out and say hello.

I was having stomach bloating, pain, gas, constipation and diahrea on and off for about a year and went to my (former) primary care doctor and he thought I had Giardia so he gave me flagyl. The stool tests came back negative for the Giardia but it was too late - I was already taking the Flagyl. It messed up my system pretty bad and gave me a 13 month migraine, numbness in my feet and hands, chills, naseau, weakness, metalic taste in my tongue, depersonalization (brain fog - I am unsafe to drive at this time), jittery arms & legs, forgetfullness, no energy, hives on skin and in private areas, puffy feeling face even though its hard for others to spot, redness on my skin, excessive sweating and a pungeant body odor and so many other things. My thought was that maybe I had a gluten-intolerance and the doctor missed it and gave me the Flagyl which made my whole system MUCH worse. I am getting acupuncture treatment and taking chinese herbs for the relief of some of my symptoms. My migraine is almost gone and some of my naseau has resolved but there are many symptoms that are still there. I don't like medications and try to do things naturally and I'm sure you can understand why.

I have just taken the gluten out of my diet last Sunday so its one week today. I am noticing a little reduction in my hives but I'm not quite sure yet. I'm hoping its the gluten that is making things worse, but I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket so I don't get down if this is not the case.

How long do people generally see a change in their stomach and other symptoms when they go gluten-free? I do realize every body is different, but I'm just looking for others opinions.

Thank you and have a wonderful day!

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sa1937 Community Regular

I went gluten free following my endo/biopsy on April 9 and was surprised that I saw some positive results in only three days. Not that I'm completely there yet but it was so encouraging as I was hoping to feel somewhat better in a couple of weeks or so. I know everyone is different.

The day after I cleaned out my gluteny pantry the following week, I didn't feel that great.

My biopsy was positive but my GI doc is out of town due to a family emergency so I'll find out more info and where to go from here when I have my follow-up appt. on May 20.

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    • cristiana
      Thank you for your post, @Nedast, and welcome to the forum. It is interesting to read of your experiences. Although I've not had TMJ, from time to time I have had a bit of mild pain in my jaw, sharp stabbing pains and tingling in my face which appears to have been caused by issues with my trigeminal nerve.  I read that sometimes a damaged trigeminal nerve in coeliacs can heal after adopting a gluten free diet.  I try to keep out of cold winds or wear a scarf over my face when it is cold and windy, those conditions tend to be my 'trigger' but I do think that staying clear of gluten has helped.  Also, sleeping with a rolled up towel under my neck is a tip I picked up online, again, that seems to bring benefits. Thank you again for your input - living with this sort of pain can be very hard, so it is good to be able to share advice.
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      I made an account just to reply to this topic. My story resembles yours in so many ways that it is truly amazing. I also suddenly became lactose intolerant, went a little under 10 years attributing all my symtoms to different body parts, never thinking it was something systemic until much later. I had the same mental problems - anxiety, depression, fatigue, etc. In fact, the only real difference in our story is that I was never formally diagnosed. When I discovered that my myriad symtoms, that had been continuous and worsening for years, all rapidly subsided upon cessation of consuming gluten, I immediately took it upon myself to cut gluten out of my diet completely. I live in America, and had lost my health insurance within the year prior to my discovery, so I could not get tested, and I will never willingly or knowingly consume gluten again, which I would have to do in order to get tested now that I have insurance again. But that is not the point of this reply. I also had extreme TMJ pain that began within months of getting my wisdom teeth out at - you guessed it - 17 years old. I was in and out of doctors for my various symptoms for about 5 years before I gave up, but during that time I had also kept getting reffered to different kinds of doctors that had their own, different solutions to my TMJ issue, an issue which I only recently discovered was related to my other symptoms. I began with physical therapy, and the physical therapist eventually broke down at me after many months, raising her voice at me and saying that there was nothing she could do for me. After that saga, I saw a plastic surgeon at the request of my GP, who he knew personally. This palstic surgeon began using botox injections to stop my spasming jaw muscles, and he managed to get it covered by my insurace in 2011, which was harder to do back then. This helped the pain tremendously, but did not solve the underlying problem, and I had to get repeat injections every three months. After a couple of years, this began to lose effectiveness, and I needed treatments more often than my insurance would cover. The surgeon did a scan on the joint and saw slight damage to the tissues. He then got approved by insurance to do a small surgery on the massseter (jaw) muscle - making an incision, and then splicing tissue into the muscle to stop the spasming. It worked amazingly, but about three months later it had stopped working. I was on the verge of seeing the top oral surgeon in our city, but instead of operating on me, he referred me to a unique group of dentists who focus on the TMJ and its biomechanical relationship to teeth occlusion (i.e. how the teeth fit together). This is what your dentist did, and what he did to you was boderline if not outright malpractice. 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This immense reduction in pain lasted for a little over two years. The treatment still ultimately failed, but it is not their fault, and it is still the treatment that has given me the most relief to this day. Later on, I even went about three years with very, very good pain reduction, before the joint severely destabilized again. This field of dentistry is the last line treatment for TMJ issues before oral surgery on the TMJ. There aren't as many denists around who practice this anymore, and the practice is currently shrinking due to dentists opting for less espensive, additional educations in things like professional whitening, which have a broader marketability. Getting this treatment is also very expensive if not covered by insurance (in America at least). My first time was covered by insurance, second time was not, though the dentist took pity on me due to the nature of my case and charged like a quarter of usual pricing. Most cases seen by these dentists are complete successes, and the patient never has to come back again. But occasionally they get a case that is not a success, and I was one of those cases. A little over a year ago, I began seeing the second dentist who keeps my TMJ stable in this manner. The first dentist retired, and then died sadly. A shame too, because he was a truly amazing, knowledgable guy who really wanted to help people. The new dentist began to get suspicious when my joint failed to stay stable after I was finished with the bite splint and his modifications, so he did another scan on me. This is ten years after the first scan (remember, I said the surgeon saw "slight" damage to the tissue on the first scan). This new scan revealed that I now no longer have cartilage in the joint, on both sides - complete degeneration of the soft tissues and some damage to the bone. 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    • SuzanneL
      I've recently received a weak positive tTG, 6. For about six years, I've been sick almost everyday. I was told it was just my IBS. I have constant nausea. Sometimes after I eat, I have sharp, upper pain in my abdomen. I sometimes feel or vomit (bile) after eating. The doctor wanted me to try a stronger anti acid before doing an endoscopy. I'm just curious if these symptoms are pointing towards Celiac Disease? 
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