Trying A Gluten Elimination Diet...

[NathanielPrime]

I got a villi test for celiac disease, and was negative. I suspected a gluten intolerance to be possible, so I started a gluten free diet. How long do I need to wait until I can do the gluten challenge? I'm about 3.5 weeks into the diet. I don't really feel any different so far.

[T.H.]

There doesn't seem to be any consensus on this, but most people here would say at least a few months. If you have neurological symptoms, even longer.

My son was negative and we did a gluten 'trial' at 1 year gluten free, if that says anything.

And for the symptoms - do you have symptoms that are not going away? With my 2 children, they went gluten free (1 positive and 1 negative) and did not really improve a lot. Some, but not completely. We then went a little further and went off all 8 major allergens, too, and that actually showed improvement. We kept a food journal and slowly added food back into the diet, and found a few other 'bad' foods along the way.

Also - are you dairy free currently? Many celiacs are lactose or dairy intolerant until they heal up, so it can help to drop the dairy in the first few months, too.

[eatmeat4good]

My son "tested" gluten after one week off of it. Ate pizza. Got violently ill. Had eaten it probably every week of his life but we didn't notice any reaction until it was out of his system for those 4 days and then re-introduced. For him it didn't take very long.

When I went gluten free I could tell immediately if I even had Cross Contamination because I got migraines and stomach problems immediately. Whatever symptoms you were suspecting were gluten intolerance should reappear once you eat gluten again. I would think you could "test" it now and be able to tell something about your reactions. But it is totally up to you how long you wait before testing. Some do weeks, and some do months.