Questions About Recovery Time

[otnemem]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and new to the idea of gluten-intolerance. I had a very IBS-prone doctor for a while who would treat me with all different prescription medications and fiber supplements to no avail. He wanted me to try each treatment for 4-6 weeks and then get back to him. Maybe he's never had D before...

Anyway, I lost a lot of weight and was feeling tired and depressed, so I finally found a good doctor who had me tested for the works, and gave me the endoscopy and colonoscopy. They found no colitis, no Chron's, and surprisingly no inflammation at all. The only thing that they did notice was a slight shortening of the villi in my small intestine, but nothing conclusively pointing to celiac.

I've been taking Imodium everyday for about 8 months (since way before my new doctor), and I've had substantial success with it. Sure every once in a while I have a bout or two, but it has helped me live much more comfortably. My problems are really only in the morning, and it helps slow my gut and everything so that it's all very controlled. But my new doctor strongly advised me to begin a gluten-free diet, at least for a few months, so I can rule it out.

So I began about two weeks ago. A few things I've noticed - I'm much less gassy and bloated, but I am still having problems with D in the morning. So I continue taking the Imodium in the meantime. I'll take it one day, be fine for that day and the next, and then the day after that my bowel habits continue like they did before. Is this normal? How long does it generally take to regain "control" of this aspect of digestion? I believe I'm feeling much better physically, but I'm still having this issue, which is very saddening...

I'm also taking a liquid multi, zinc supplement, and roughly 9 g of l-glutamine a day (4.5 g after my morning workout, 2 g doses throughout the day).

Thanks for any guidance...

[KaitiUSA]

It's great to see any improvement so soon. Many people vary with how long it takes for symptoms to go away. Mine took 3months to feel alot better but still was not back to normal until the 8 months. For some people its longer and for some shorter. Depends on the extent of damage, age, etc.

[laurelfla]

  otnemem said:

My problems are really only in the morning, and it helps slow my gut and everything so that it's all very controlled. But my new doctor strongly advised me to begin a gluten-free diet, at least for a few months, so I can rule it out.

So I began about two weeks ago. A few things I've noticed - I'm much less gassy and bloated, but I am still having problems with D in the morning. So I continue taking the Imodium in the meantime. I'll take it one day, be fine for that day and the next, and then the day after that my bowel habits continue like they did before. Is this normal? How long does it generally take to regain "control" of this aspect of digestion? I believe I'm feeling much better physically, but I'm still having this issue, which is very saddening...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

otnemem, i had the same kind of bowel habits you're describing, in the morning and controlled with Immodium... and I improved greatly on the gluten-free diet, probably about two weeks into it... i couldn't get completely rid of the D though until recently. i think this is because i was ingesting gluten without knowing it, because it took me awhile to figure out what all gluten was in. i'm still learning! good luck to you and i hope you continue to improve!!