How Long Did It Take?

[phil1]

What symptoms did you have and how long did it take for them to go away after you went gluten free? I

[jigsawfallingintoplace]

well done on your first 11 days. I have been gluten-free for just over 2 months and felt really good - totally symptom free after about 5 days.

I had some issues creeping back around week 3 when I realised through the wisdom on this forum that I must cut out dairy. I did this and felt better again in a matter of days.

I have had a bad week this week after accidental glutening by a prepacked microwaveable rice which was inadvertently served up by my other half as he got the packets mixed up. This brought a severe crash to constipation, irritability, brain fog, numbness, severe cramping and general low mood.

I cannot believe how low I was at the start of the week but I used the opportunity to remind myself firmly that it is my reponsibility to check and double check everything I eat while I am at the kindergarten gluten free stage of recovery.

To feel any benifit for me I had to go strictly gluten free - i dont have any issues with that as I am desperate to lead a normal pain free life. I know I am serious about it as I have actually had nightmares where I am being forced to eat gluten and those dreams have been highly traumatic.

Keep coming back here and read, read, read - knowledge is ultimately power to us as we go through this journey.

[sreese68]

Sorry to have to tell you this, but 8-9 months. Stomach felt better after 2 months give or take, but I had to eliminate a LOT of foods to get there. Here's a link to a post I made at my one-year mark: I now feel better than I have in 20 years. I feel alive and energetic. I'm 43 and have been known to tire out my 30-something friends. As much as I hate the restrictions, the end result is well worth it. Keep at it!

[Victoria6102]

I've been gluten fee for a year and 8 mOnths and maybe feel a little bit better. I'm starting to wonder if I'm just going to feel sick for life! but from what I've read on here, most people feel better within a few months. Good luck!

[Pauliewog]

I went gluten free in Feb. and in April I finally felt the foggy brain was gone. My energy was back. In fact, there were days when I'd go to take a nap as usual and I couldn't even sleep! For me, I really started feeling better once I relaxed about going gluten-free. And to do that I just stopped eating ANYTHING processed (and I don't eat out). I have a handful of spices, oils and gluten-free soy sauce that I rely on. Other than that I eat whole food. I think eliminating all the chemicals in processed food is a big help. It becomes a lifestyle change but after a while it gets easier. I make sure to cook extra for dinner so that I can use it somehow for lunch the next day. For breakfast today I had an egg, rice and some sauteed kale. Lunch was a salad, salmon and olives... I won't get sick from a carrot and I find eating this way really reduces my stress over food and I feel better.

[GladGirl]

Three months into this now after being dxd. The first week I lost 11 lbs! I am sure it was due to edema in my body tissues, but like many here have said, I stopped all "processed" foods and made my meals to include eggs, fish, steamed veggies (thank God for my steamer), and yogurt. I have also dabbled with making my own bread with rice flour, and other gluten free ingredients. Kind of enjoy this part!

So, at this point I have now lost 20 lbs, still need to lose about another 20 to be at ideal weight. I have not tried excercising too much at this point since my muscles and joints were so inflamed, but plan to do so soon. Since our bodies have been "poisoned" by gluten, my take was trying to eat foods that would be easily digestible, and that would mean to me as something my system did not have to work too hard to break down. Steamed foods along with tapioca, rice, so forth. I have not eaten much in the meat department since that is not so easy to digest, staying with fish and chicken.

Amazing how much better I feel at this point, and am thankful that so far I am not lactose intolerant!

Wishing you the healing that you need to feel better soon!

[GF Lover]

If you have other conditions other than celiac, I'm talking thyroid. Arthritis, heart disease, etc, in those conditions where damage has already taken place it won't resolve 100%. You may find some relief in inflammation but the arthritis has already caused damage. Same with thyroid, you will still need meds for life. And I'm sure there are 1000's more that won't be reversed because of damage. Even tho in Celiac the villi do tend to heal, there is a point where it cannot come back from. I have read research on that celiac statement.

I know you want everything you have to resolve in 3 weeks but that's just not how it works. I am gluten free and still being diagnosed with unrelated crap. I am not in the medical profession and these are my options. Be well.

[BabsV]

Everyone is going to have a different answer for this...depends on how long you were ill before diagnosis, what your symptoms were, how your body heals, how strictly you follow the diet, accidental glutenings, etc.

The doctor who diagnosed me said to give the diet a minimum of 3 months for ANY improvement and 6-12 months to see real improvement.

I am at 9+ months gluten-free and most of my symptoms have improved or disappeared except for abdominal pain. We're still working to figure out what is causing it and how best to treat it.