Anyone Else 7 Months Gluten Free? Calling All New Years' Resolutioners!

[Chakra2]

I noticed a few posts recently that mentioned being 7 months gluten-free. I started this in January trying to resolve food allergy issues in my nightwaking baby. Did not dream that it had anything to do with my health issues!

Anyway, just wondering if there are other New Year's Resolutionists out there. I would love to know how you're feeling at this point. Which symptoms have resolved? Which issues are still troubling you? Have any of you been able to reintroduce any secondary food intolerance foods back in (eg dairy, soy)? What's your current treatment/healing regimen?

Chakra2

[bluebonnet]

i didn't do it as a new year's resolution ... its just the timing of my tests and diagnosis between dec. 09 and jan 10. anyway i went gluten free back in january but then i did an almost 1 month long challenge in may ... around 3 weeks so i'm not sure if i'm gluten free since january or "re-official" (is that a real word?) since may. either way ... gi problems have been most noticable and the quickest improvement. i still have joint pain. dh gone ... unless i eat gluten. i do feel like i've gained more energy and my ataxia is improving. my insomnia is improving as well. still have insanely dry eyes. i have even noticed a HUGE improvement with my svt ... i'm still not sure if heart palpatations are a "side effect" of celiac but they have calmed down tremendously ... so much that i can't believe its just coincidental. i feel i can concentrate better too. anxiety has gotten better too. dare i say many if not all issues are slowly improving. i will. but with faith and caution.

[India]

I went gluten free in January, not because of the new year but because that's when my biopsy was finally done. Since then, my periods have returned, my fingernails have grown and my anxiety is quite a bit better - I think the latter is connected to giving up soy.

I'm afraid that other than that, the rest of my symptoms remain and some new ones have made an unwelcome appearance. I seem to have many food intolerances and I'm currently trying an elimination diet that's making me feel wretched (and question my sanity), I feel less healthy than ever.

Sorry for the miserable reply :/

[i-geek]

Mine wasn't a new year's resolution. Rather, I chose Christmas as my gluten challenge following inconclusive celiac testing and the severity of my symptoms convinced me that I should never again eat gluten. I'd suffered for years with latent disease and had a few months of hellish active disease symptoms, so once I quit there was no going back.

Since going gluten-free my daily headaches have gone, my GI symptoms have mostly subsided, my sinuses and allergies have calmed down, my skin breakouts and mouth sores are very rare now, and I've been able to add back peppers, brassica vegetables, pork and dairy to my diet. My previously uncontrollable lactose intolerance has subsided to the point that I can now eat a full scoop of ice cream with only one Lactaid tablet (last fall I would take several tablets and still get sick from a small amount). I remain hopeful that someday I will be able to have children.

Bluebonnet- my heart palpitations and racing pulse are GONE. Not coincidental, IMO. I still get the dry eyes/dry mouth sometimes, which I suspect may be mild Sjogren's (not that I can get a doctor to take me seriously) but it really only flares up now if I've been CCed.

[DG61]

Hi, I'm another New Years newbie, but out of necessity not as a resolution as such. I am now so much better but know I still have a long way to go, and a lot to learn. It probably took me until May before I successfully excluded all the hidden and sneaky sources of gluten (such as the wheat and barley extracts in the soy milk used at my local Starbucks in Dubai!).

Along the way I have had to quit eating LOTS of other foods, most important ones being dairy, soy, fish, eggs, nuts and beans. I loved all of those and going without is harder and more inconvenient that giving up gluten but I live in hope that some of the secondary intolerances will sort themselves out in time. I have had to inflict gluten free diet on my husband as I'm proving "super sensitive" and despite my best efforts cross contamination at home kept making me sick.

But I feel so good now that my very restrictive diet is totally worthwhile. I no longer have fatigue, stomach pain, heartburn, acid reflux, migraine, neck pain, sinus trouble or the itchy feeling in my limbs. And my leaky gut and skin trouble is improving too, although more slowly.

I saw an immediate improvement when I started the gluten-free diet, but it took the elimination of all dairy and soy, a totally gluten-free kitchen, and various supplements (particularly l-glutamine) to really progress.

I am so grateful for this website, and the advice and support posted here - you guys are lifesavers!

[Chakra2]

Thanks for the replies! I'm hearing mixed responses about how people are feeling, which actually is helpful

for me. I feel sooooooooooooo much better (yes, that many o's better) than I did 6 months ago but I feel like I'm still learning and still have ups and downs.