How Long To Try Gluten-Free Diet?

[MommyL]

A bit of information for me:

Brother has confirmed celiac with biopsy, blood work..etc

"IBS" for 10+ years

Psoriasis

Anxiety and depression

Positive Enterolab IgA test

Negative celiac panel last year

Based on all the conflicting information with Enterolab, I am reluctant to permanently go gluten free, but I want to try a gluten-free diet.

How long should I try a gluten-free diet for? If I don't feel any better after a certain amount of time is it okay to try gluten again and will I know right away if I should not have it?

Thanks!

[Skylark]

Try it for a couple months. The "IBS" will clear up faster than that if your problem is gluten intolerance. The anxiety, depression, and psoriasis could start to get better too, although for me the psych issues took almost a year.

[rachel-gf]

I would say commit to being strict for 6 months. For that time, pretend that your celiac tests came back positive. :-)

If you can, keep a food log of what you're eating. If your problem isn't gluten, you'll want to know what it is. Dairy? Corn? Totally unrelated to food? Something else?

In your food log, you can also make notes on anything strange. Horrible IBS episode? Psoriasis looking better/worse than normal? I agree with the previous poster that the IBS is likely to clear up before the psoriasis or anxiety.

Every 2 weeks, make a detailed list of your symptoms and try to asses them. Is any symptom changing? You may forget just how rotten you were feeling even a few weeks before.

[Northern Celiac]

A bit of information for me:

Brother has confirmed celiac with biopsy, blood work..etc

"IBS" for 10+ years

Psoriasis

Anxiety and depression

Positive Enterolab IgA test

Negative celiac panel last year

Based on all the conflicting information with Enterolab, I am reluctant to permanently go gluten free, but I want to try a gluten-free diet.

How long should I try a gluten-free diet for? If I don't feel any better after a certain amount of time is it okay to try gluten again and will I know right away if I should not have it?

Thanks!

As yoda once said in one of the Star Wars movies"there is no try there is only do". Depending on the severity of your condition it could take up to 6 months to feel better.

[MommyL]

Thank you for your responses. It is a good idea to keep a good journal, especially every couple weeks to really monitor.

[bluebonnet]

i'm not at the 6 mo mark yet but i have seen so many improvements after 3.5 ... and i'm kinda starting over since i did a challenge for a few weeks but i feel like i'm "recovering" a bit faster. i have been keeping a journal since day 1 of foods, experiences, symptoms, improvements, etc. not so much the food anymore as the rest of it. the journal has already been helpful. i have many more issues i'm hoping show signs of reversing/healing. definitely give it 6 mo. if you have any suspicion it could be gluten. time will tell. good luck!