Gluten Free Before Conception

[sanamy]

Hi everyone. I am hoping someone can tell me how long I need to be gluten free before trying to conceive. I have secondary infertility and recently began having unusual rashes. My PCP gave me a blood test to identify any allergies, and a list of foods (including wheat) showed up. I did an elimination diet and determined that of the foods on the list only wheat caused any problems. I went gluten free and noticed remarkable improvements: no more rashes, dandruff was gone, complexion improved, sinus allergies improved, flatulence improved, I had more energy, and I was able to think more clearly. But most importantly, after over 2 years of trying I got pregnant a week after going gluten free. Unfortunately I lost the baby due to a chromosome abnormality. After my miscarriage I went back on gluten to get tested for celiac disease. I am hoping to learn definitively whether I have the disease to know how strict I need to be on the diet, as small amounts do not seem to bother me (in soy sauce, teriyaki, etc). I am still waiting to see if I get a diagnosis (the GI did blood work, then went on vacation so I haven't been able to get the results).

Whether I have celiac disease or not, it is clear that I am healthier on a gluten free diet and I am convinced that it is affecting my fertility. I have also read that eating gluten can be harmful in pregnancy if you have a gluten intolerance, so I will definitely begin a gluten free diet again as soon as possible. But no one seems to be able to tell me how long I need to wait to try to conceive after going gluten free. Can I try immediately or is it safer for the baby if I wait a few months?

[GlutenFreeManna]

I'm sorry about your miscarriage. I have had fertility problems and miscarriages as well prior to going gluten free. I don't think I have read anything set standards on here about how long is best to wait. That depends on each person's personal health and life situation. You should consult with your doctors about it as well. For me, personally, I have decided to wait until I am a at least a year gluten free before trying to get pregnant again. But I was very, very ill before gluten free. I think it's good to wait several months at least because it takes a while to get this diet down. If you have not been avoiding soy sauce (with wheat in it) or other forms of cross contamination you should start (once your testing is done of course). Just because you don't get sick from small amounts doesn't mean it's not doing damage to your body. This diet would be easy if it just involved not eating bread like a low carb diet. But it's much more complex than that and it can take time to learn all the labeling laws and terms and figure out how to avoid CC. And even if you know what is safe and what's not, it's easy to make mistakes or forget something.

[Skylark]

Whether I have celiac disease or not, it is clear that I am healthier on a gluten free diet and I am convinced that it is affecting my fertility. I have also read that eating gluten can be harmful in pregnancy if you have a gluten intolerance, so I will definitely begin a gluten free diet again as soon as possible. But no one seems to be able to tell me how long I need to wait to try to conceive after going gluten free. Can I try immediately or is it safer for the baby if I wait a few months?

I'm sorry about your miscarriage too. That must have been upsetting after trying so long. Yes, a lot of people around here have only gotten pregnant after going gluten-free.

If you have any signs of malabsorption, like low vitamin D, B12, or iron, you will absorb your prenatal vitamins and nourish the baby better after your gut heals up from the gluten-free diet. If you turn out to have celiac antibodies, once they fall to normal it's a sign that you are healing and absorbing your food. Otherwise, it seems to me like people tend to get rid of the signs of malapsorption around here in 4-6 months depending on how sick they started out.

[sanamy]

I'm sorry about your miscarriage. I have had fertility problems and miscarriages as well prior to going gluten free. I don't think I have read anything set standards on here about how long is best to wait. That depends on each person's personal health and life situation. You should consult with your doctors about it as well. For me, personally, I have decided to wait until I am a at least a year gluten free before trying to get pregnant again. But I was very, very ill before gluten free. I think it's good to wait several months at least because it takes a while to get this diet down. If you have not been avoiding soy sauce (with wheat in it) or other forms of cross contamination you should start (once your testing is done of course). Just because you don't get sick from small amounts doesn't mean it's not doing damage to your body. This diet would be easy if it just involved not eating bread like a low carb diet. But it's much more complex than that and it can take time to learn all the labeling laws and terms and figure out how to avoid CC. And even if you know what is safe and what's not, it's easy to make mistakes or forget something.

Thanks for your help. I did try asking the doctor, but she didn't give a straight answer before rushing out of the room. I've also tried researching the internet and can't find anything. I'm hoping not to wait too long since I am already 37 and my ob/gyn keeps telling me how much harder it is going to be if I wait longer. But I definitely know that I need at least a couple of months to figure everything out.

I was trying to avoid the known gluten containing items while pregnant (I knew to avoid soy sauce), but later discovered that I was eating gluten from other sources. It's so hard to figure out what is acceptable to eat! And since my symptoms are not severe I don't have any visible reactions to small amounts, which makes it even harder to realize when I am unexpectedly glutened.

[tarnalberry]

If you aren't dealing with a number of other issues that you need to heal (low iron, osteopenia, etc.), then I would wait as long as it took for you to feel CONFIDENT that you can be 100% gluten free.