How Long Has It Taken For You To Feel Normal/healthy On The Gluten-Free Diet?

[GFLindsey]

Please answer the poll question and share your personal recovery experience!

[GFinDC]

I started feeling better almost right away. But had some symptoms that didn't go away and even got worse until I got soy out of my diet.

[Bobbijo6681]

There were definately major improvements right away, but I am still not 100%.

[O.N.]

I am gluten-free since the beginning of January. I got better almost immediately, and my health overall has improved dramatically . BUT I have discovered other food intolerances, and I developed new symptoms such joint pain and "needles" all over my body while I was already on a gluten-free diet.

So I don't feel healthy yet. I am taking lots of vitamins and trying to avoid foods that could cause negative reaction/ inflammation in my guts. I HOPE that my new symptoms will disappear or at least get milder sooner or later. It is not always a case as I know...

[Yoshi]

I was diagnosed the 1st part of February. Went gluten free immediately and felt fantastic for about 3 weeks. Then I suddenly started feeling bad -- almost worse than before I quit gluten. I've gradually gotten better, but haven't gotten totally back to that fantastic feeling. Last month, I had to have dental surgery for an old root canal that had abscessed. So, it's taking longer to get back to feeling better.

[GFLindsey]

I am just past the three month mark and I still feel pretty awful. It can be really disheartening at times, but it is helpful to hear that everyone has had their challenges. I am similar to others, because I have had some symptoms completely disappear (ulcers, diarrhea, ringing in my ears) but some have gotten worse or appeared out of nowhere (severe bloating, nausea, hair loss). I am hoping to find the right balance soon! I should probably cut out soy and dairy for awhile and see how that goes.

[sandiz]

Gluten free since beginning of Jan, started to feel better within 3 days. However, that feeling went away and have waves of before gluten free. My tummy is not as bloated and I feel more energy in my body but still not 100%. Having a bad time right now and I don't think stress helps.

[sa1937]

I've been gluten free since April 9 following my EGD/biopsy and I also felt better within three days. I know I am not there yet but I sure do feel better overall than I did before.

[eastvangal]

[font="Tahoma"]I too felt better almost immediately after going gluten-free. It's been a year and half for me and I think I've become better at avoiding gluten and so have more stretches of feeling well recently, which means for me - no stomachache(due to gas and "constipation", bloating) and resulting nausea, fatigue, depression, achy muscles and joints, foggy brain and so on.

Now I am tapering off Zoloft- on it for nearly twenty years.

-Was on 250mg-300mg,

-Now on 75mg alternating with 100mg.

-I started tapering a year ago.

It's going well, but this is another topic...[/font ]

[MagpieWrites]

To be honest, I'm not sure how much good my answer will be - I got seriously ill almost immediately following my diagnosis (brown recluse spider bites went bad, got shingles, and oh yeah... 3rd set of wisdom teeth came in and caused a massive blood infection. It's been... a year. ) so my view is likely skewed. I'm almost to my one year mark though, and have to say - for the first time I can ever remember - I feel... good. Kinda weird, really. I've been sick since I was a kid.

An added bonus to going gluten-free - since I actually HAVE energy, I'm doing all sorts of things I never dreamed I would do - started running, enjoy a huge variety of healthy/tasty foods (weird to crave raw broccoli and oranges).

I think the shift came at the 6 month mark for me, and I still have less than normal days as I figure this out, but I'm out of the woods now.

[detritus]

Getting close to the 3 month mark now; felt pretty bad for the first 3 weeks, then slowly started to see symptoms recede. At 2 months I felt like I was on solid footing, and felt like I was coming back stronger after the occasional accidental glutenings. But the last couple weeks I've been having wretched muscle/joint pain running up and down my right arm. And there haven't been any of the "good" days to balance the bad ones. I don't know if this is another part of the healing phase, or new sensitivities cropping up, or my body reacting to deficiencies, or something I have no idea about.Finding out that gluten was causing my problems gave me confidence to be able to overcome them, so it's hard to feel lost again. I hope this part of the battle doesn't last very long.....

[lynnelise]

I've been gluten-free for 6 months. I feel TONS better in general but am still having problems with fatigue and low energy. Some days I feel better than I have in years and others are just so-so. Of course there have been a few accidental glutenings which have set me back. I no longer feel like I'm wading through quicksand though so that's a good thing! Most of my aches are gone (I'm still having shoulder issues, but I think I injured it), my bloating, and GI issues are gone. Overall a great improvement!

[redsidekick]

Beginning my 15th month gluten free. Started to feel myself again around the ninth month of GFD. Every so often I don't feel so good again, but the discomforts that come about are less and less intense.

[i-geek]

I'm just over four months gluten-free. I was getting quite a long list of "do not eat unless you want pain" foods. After about a month, I could eat brassica veggies, peppers, and beans again and have a glass of wine with dinner. About another month and I could eat hard cheeses. Last month I added back in pork and dairy yogurt. This month: I've had ice cream twice this week- a major victory for me. Last December, right before going gluten-free, I took three lactase pills, ate about 1/4 cup ice cream, and spent the evening in the bathroom. Last Thursday I forgot to take lactase before eating ice cream (very busy day) and the complete absence of adverse symptoms meant that I didn't even realize my mistake until later. It's also nice to be able to eat a piece of fruit for an afternoon snack and not feel sick afterwards.

I've also noticed that gluten CC doesn't hit my gut quite as badly now, maybe because it's healed somewhat. The gluten migraines are much, much worse now, and even more obvious now that I'm no longer used to having a daily headache.

[Luvbeingamommy]

I have been gluten-free about 3 months and feel A LOT better, but not 100%. I am still dealing with nausea, that just won't go away completely....its's very frustrating.