Poll For Newbies.....

[rmmadden]

Hello all newbies.....

I have been gluten-free since December 2004 and was wondering how other newbies feel on a day-to-day basis?

It has taken me 5-months of being on the gluten-free diet before I have seen any kind of real improvement and even then it's not an everyday occurrence. I still have the occassional unexplained days where I just don't feel that great. I have taken the York Labs FoodScan test and am awaiting the results to see if I am allergic to anything else I am eating (They are very slow at that place!).

Rate your overall health based on the following scale and let's see where the numbers fall:

1 = I Feel Lousy

2 = I Feel So-So

3 = I Feel Okay

4 = I Feel Fine

5 = I feel Good/Normal

For me April was a 2. I had some other stress in my life as I was broad-sided by a woman who ran a red light and totaled my Van (Thank You God for lettimg me and my kids walk away unharmed).

May has seen an improvement and I would rate it 3+ (And I pray that I continue to show improvement).

Thanks for Playing!

Cleveland Bob

[Guest Viola]

Hi Bob, can we oldies play too?

I've been gluten free for almost 17 years, and I can still range from 1 to 5. Like earlier this month while visiting my parents I hung around the 2 mark with all the contamination in that house, but am back up to 4 again today

I think the longer your are gluten free, the better you recover from a contamination problem as long as it doesn't go on too long. It can however be difficult to track sometimes though. It took me three days to find the bread crumbs in Mom's tea kettle It sits next to their toaster.

[blueshift]

It is up and down with me and today is way better than yesterday..I ate Egg Beaters without reading the label a few days back...Argh! I sure took that for granted..

My bowel obstructs when things are bad and it is the equivalent of having appendicitis..So my days or weeks can fluctuate between minus 100 to plus 3 or 4..

I have had only one obstruction since realizing that I need to be gluten-free..and this is after 3 weeks..I don't expect a 5 for a few years..

[young5849]

My daughter is a 1 but she could feel much worse so I am thankful for that. IMHO the poll should have some other classifications because she feels lousy but like I said she is not debilitated or anything like that. TG

She is not confirmed anything yet, but I am betting on celiac (family history) and hate that I need to wait, but I am only feeding her the gluten products she absolutely wants. So I am not offering any sandwiches or cookies or pasta etc. We are currently ok. She has no idea I am experimenting. I just put her back on dairy products and she is excited she can have ice cream again.

[jknnej]

Right now I am at a 1.

There is something going on other than celiac disease...maybe an ulcer, maybe candida, I don't know but I am shaky and nauseeated every day.

[skbird]

I have been fluctuating for the most part between 3 and 4 but this month has seen a few 2s. I hit 2 last night at dinner and have been wallowing on the low end of 2 ever since. I would say I was almost a 1 but I still have my sense of humor... so I can't yet be that bad.

Stephanie

[JUDI42MIL]

Id say Im at 4 most days. Ive been gluten free for 11 months now. Im also vegan, so I think that helps in not getting gluten slipped in my food a lot. I mainly eat fruit and veggies.Only time I go down to a 1 is if we go out to eat. Somehow even veggies at a restaurant must get contaminated

[plantime]

I am at 1 right now. I had been drinking dandelion root infusion to help my liver, and I quit drinking it for a week to see if it really helped, or if I just thought it did. Now, my liver is inflamed again, nothing is moving through, and I hurt like hhhmmm. It will take a week back on the infusion to feel better.

[lucky28]

Hi, It took me about 2 weeks gluten-free to go from a 2 to a 4 and I maintained that for a little over a month. But unfortunately I would have to rate the last few days at a <1. I work in a restaurant and thought I knew what was safe or not but the summer help has started and I guess when we got busy last week the french fry fryer was contaminated and it took me almost a week to figure it out. Being as french fries are (were) one of the few quick foods I considered safe at work- I'll have to start packing my lunch/dinners, this is hard though because I will be working mostly doubles (13-14 hr) through July then I have school full time and will cut work hrs to about 35 a week. Anyway, my symptoms seem to be alot worse than before going gluten-free-I feel nausea, bloating, cramping and the Dreaded D. Last night I felt like cheech from "up in smoke" when he ate that burrito in mexico. (if anyone has seen the movie-funny there, not at work!!!!)

[Bonnie]

Hi guys,

Well this thread is quite depressing for me, being a Newbie. I thought I was going to eventually feel almost normal. I'm not expecting overnight success but a lot of you guys who have been gluten-free a long time still seem to have more bad days that I expected!

Aaagh! Feeling a definite 1 now after about 7 weeks gluten-free.

Yvonne

[cteach01]

I was just recently diagnosed with celiac disease and have been wf/gluten-free for one month now. I saw results almost immediately. My psoriasis was almost all gone after 1 week(after covering almost half of my arms and legs. I've only had 3 minor stomach problems and 1 day where I've spent in the bathroom since then. So overall things are better. I would put my self for the most part in a 3-4 range.

[princessfuzzball]

I'd have to put myself around a 3. I'm dealing with a really horrible ear infection right now, so that's not helping things, but I'm up around a 3 after being wf/gluten-free for about a month and a half. Hang in there!

[Turtle]

I'm still new (1 month and 7 days) and I range from 1-3. More 1's and 2's. But reading all the posts stating it gets better is very helpful and encouraging so THANKS!

[uclangel422]

about 2 months gluten-free

I would say that i am about a 3 right now although if you would have asked me sometime last week it would have been a 1. I didnt see much improvement until after a month but i was a lucky one with a good doctor.

[marycubs]

I've been gluten-free for about a month now... and overall I'm probably a 3. I've definitely been feeling better....and am hopeful for continued improvement.

Today I'm a 1 - had a tacobell hard shell taco last night. Oops- found out there is definitely gluten in it...and my body is punishing me today for being so careless ! No more taco bell for me !

Mary

[2old4]

I just went gluten free 3 weeks ago and before that I varied 1-3's all the time. Good days and bad. Since I changed my diet, I have been mostly 4 & 5's. This diet has totally confirmed things for me, physically and emotionally. I sure hope it continues to be that way.

2old4-Patty

[PreOptMegs]

I had been feeling bad too (1-3 most days) but I have been on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet for about 3 weeks now, and I feel close to 100% everyday. I highly recommend it to everyone!!! (www.breakingtheviciouscycle.com)

[gf4life]

Luchi23 accidentally reported ythis to us moderators, instead of posting it as a reply. So here it is, and please ignore my signature info for this post:

Hey Bob, great pole. It is interesting to see how other newbies, and even oldies fare from time to time.

I've been working on being gluten-free since August 2004 and it definatly a daily struggle. I would say that since then most of my months have been about a 4, but this month for some reason I've encountered more foods that bother me and so far I am about a 2-3 for the month of June.