Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

How Long Until gluten-free Diet Helps My Symptoms?

abbycat1

Recommended Posts

abbycat1 Newbie
abbycat1
Posted

I finally had my endoscopy done six days ago, along with Prometheus bloodwork. I started gluten-free diet that day. I've had diarrhea (which is my worst symptom) twice since then, including today. I am staying gluten-free at least until I see the doc for results in a month, but I am wondering how long it takes to see some improvement. The diet is harder than I thought but I am really trying to be very careful and am determined to stick to it. How long did it take you to feel better after going gluten-free?

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


BabsV Enthusiast
BabsV
Posted

Everyone is going to have a different answer...depends on symptoms, extent of damage, how quickly your body recovers, how strictly you follow the diet, any accidental glutenings, etc.

I am almost 5 months into the diet and while I am definitely improving I am certainly not 100%. Words of wisdom that were passed from these forums (thank you IrishHeart and others!) to me early on: take a probiotic, keep a food diary and skip the gluten-free replacement foods - go natural and simple at the beginning. I was having lots of problems with all sorts of foods - reacting to loads of things even though they were gluten free. My body's response mechanism was in overdrive and it wasn't until I went on a very simple diet of rice, potatoes, fish, and cooked vegetables (plus bananas - I always did ok with bananas) that I really saw some improvements. I've since been able to start adding other foods back into my diet, today I tried a small piece of cheddar cheese and was able to tolerate it! Big news since this is the first dairy I've had in months.

It is a matter of small steps versus leaps forward for many from what I've read. You have to have patience and give it time. The doctor who diagnosed me said that I should give it 3 months before expecting ANY change (possibly) and 6-12 months on the diet until I started to feel like my old self.

Good luck!

addis001 Apprentice
addis001
Posted

This was an amazing question.. Since I'm already trying to fit gluten free foods into my lifestyle already. You would think it would work overnight. But after two days of doing the gluten free foods, all I have is diarrhea and stomach cramps..

But even though I still need to see a GI. I feel like a proactive approach is helping me to cope better.

Metoo Enthusiast
Metoo
Posted

It takes some people 6 months or more.

The first week I still had a lot of stomach pain (my main symptom) until someone on here said that some people have to stop eating oats even if they are labeled gluten free. Which I was eating everyday. As soon as I stopped the oats, my stomach pain stopped. It took me until 3-4 weeks before I felt like a new person. After that I have accidental glutenings that then take me 2-3 weeks to heal from. (which are miserable since I react worse now).

pricklypear1971 Community Regular
pricklypear1971
Posted

Are you eating milk products? Lots of Celiacs have issues digesting it, either temporarily as they heal or permanently.

Give it a whirl.

abbycat1 Newbie
abbycat1
Posted
  • Author

Yes, I do eat cheese, maybe that is aggravating my system. I'll skip that and see how it goes. Thanks, everyone for your responses!

abbycat1 Newbie
abbycat1
Posted
  • Author

Just wanted to post an update in case it will help any newcomers like myself; it has been one week since I've experienced an episode and it is so wonderful to NOT have to worry about rushing to the bathroom! I went off dairy since my last post and started taking a probiotic and both of those combined with the gluten free seems to have done the trick. I am thrilled! I am still getting used to the diet but there is so much information available here and on the internet that I am learning fast. Thanks to everyone here for their support. I won't get my blood and biopsy results until Feb 2 but at this point the results don't matter to me; I am staying gluten free and NORMAL forever! YAY!

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Bubba's Mom Enthusiast
Bubba's Mom
Posted

I'm so glad you're doing better. I think we kind of expect we're going to feel fantastic right away once going gluten-free and when we don't we get frustrated?

Stay with a mostly whole foods diet (meat, veggies, fruits, eggs, and dairy only if you tolerate it.)

If you eat gluten-free versions of processed foods it isn't good for healing.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. xxnonamexx
      - xxnonamexx replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      32

      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

      I made it through the holiday w/o being glutened. I had my brother cook with gluten-free breadcrumbs and I didn't get sick. I baked cookies with gluten-free flour and had dry ingredients for cookies in ziplock bag. I also made gluten cookies as well and guess I did good washing to avoid CC. My wife also went to a french bakery and bought a gluten-free flourless...
    2. xxnonamexx
      - xxnonamexx replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      32

      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

      What do you mean it would not allow any celiac to eat gluten again. I think if this helps cross contamination when eating out at a non dedicated gluten-free restaurant this would be nice not to encounter the pains. But is their a daily enzyme to take to help strengthen the digestive system?
    3. SamAlvi
      - SamAlvi replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      2

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      Hi, thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, no other antibody tests were ordered. I am a 32-year-old male. About two months ago, I ate pancakes and then developed severe diarrhea that lasted the entire day. At night, I became unconscious due to fluid loss and was admitted to the ER, where I received IV fluids. Two days later, I ate bread again and once...
    4. trents
      - trents replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      2

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @SamAlvi! Were there any other antibody tests ordered? Particularly, was there a "total IGA" test ordered to check for IGA deficiency. When people are IGA deficient, celiac panel IGA test scores, such as the TTG-IGA, are likely not valid. If a total IGA test was not ordered, I would request such to be done. Note:...
    5. Scott Adams
      0

      Homemade Gluten-Free Egg Drop Soup

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,844
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    donnawebb265
    Newest Member
    donnawebb265
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • xxnonamexx
      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

      By xxnonamexx · Posted

      I made it through the holiday w/o being glutened. I had my brother cook with gluten-free breadcrumbs and I didn't get sick. I baked cookies with gluten-free flour and had dry ingredients for cookies in ziplock bag. I also made gluten cookies as well and guess I did good washing to avoid CC. My wife also went to a french bakery and bought a gluten-free flourless chocolate cake dedicated gluten-free it was out of this world. 
    • xxnonamexx
      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

      By xxnonamexx · Posted

      What do you mean it would not allow any celiac to eat gluten again. I think if this helps cross contamination when eating out at a non dedicated gluten-free restaurant this would be nice not to encounter the pains. But is their a daily enzyme to take to help strengthen the digestive system? 
    • SamAlvi
      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      By SamAlvi · Posted

      Hi, thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, no other antibody tests were ordered. I am a 32-year-old male. About two months ago, I ate pancakes and then developed severe diarrhea that lasted the entire day. At night, I became unconscious due to fluid loss and was admitted to the ER, where I received IV fluids. Two days later, I ate bread again and once more developed severe diarrhea. I ended up in the ER again and received IV fluids. In my country, Pakistan, doctors are unfortunately not very thorough, so they treated me for a stomach infection. I visited three or four doctors, including a gastroenterologist, but it seemed like they just wanted to keep me on medications and IV fluids. Eventually, I did some digging myself and started connecting the dots. For years, I’ve had excessive gas buildup and frequent loose stools, but I never paid much attention to it. I also cannot easily digest dairy products. Two years ago, I had a CBC test that showed iron deficiency. My doctor told me to eat more meat and said it was nothing serious. However, for the past five years, I’ve also had severe motion sickness, which I never experienced before. Whenever I get on a bus or in a car, I sometimes lose consciousness for 10–20 seconds and wake up sweaty, and occasionally I feel the need to vomit. After more research on the internet, I came across gluten and celiac disease, so I got two related tests (TTG-IgA & TTG IgG) done along with a stool test and another CBC. The stool test showed weakly positive blood. Ever since eating those pancakes and bread, I’ve had a burning sensation in my gut. My doctor reviewed my tests, he told me to completely stop eating gluten and started me on IV fluids for 20 days, saying that I had severe inflammation in my gut. It has now been two months since I quit gluten, and I’m still not sure whether this is celiac disease or gluten intolerance. I don’t really trust doctors in Pakistan, so I thought I might get some help here.
    • trents
      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @SamAlvi! Were there any other antibody tests ordered? Particularly, was there a "total IGA" test ordered to check for IGA deficiency. When people are IGA deficient, celiac panel IGA test scores, such as the TTG-IGA, are likely not valid. If a total IGA test was not ordered, I would request such to be done. Note: "Total IGA" goes by other names as well. I will include a primer on celiac disease antibody testing which does a good job in covering the nomenclature variations connected with the various tests. Elevated IGG scores can certainly indicate celiac disease but they are more likely than elevated IGA tests to be caused by something else.  
    • GlorietaKaro
      Am I nuts?

      By GlorietaKaro · Posted

      Thank you— yes, valid and essential— The issue either doctors is that every one I have tried to talk to about this has essentially rolled their eyes and dismissed me as a hypochondriac, which gets discouraging. I believe a diagnosis would help me to be taken seriously by doctors as well as being validating, but can carry on without it.    There are many, probably most people in my area of my age and gender, who avoid gluten, but many just avoid it casually— eating the occasional plate of wheat pasta or a delicious-looking dessert, or baking cookies with wheat flour for gatherings.  That is not an option for me. I don’t eat other people’s cooking or go to restaurants that do not have strict cross- contamination procedures. It can be boring and lonely, and people do look at me as if I am being a bit dramatic but weeks of symptoms after a single small exposure has taught me to respect my experience.    Thank you very much for your response— sometimes I just need to hear that I am not crazy—
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.