Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • 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 Did It Take?


phil1

Recommended Posts

phil1 Apprentice

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


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



jigsawfallingintoplace Newbie

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 Enthusiast

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 Contributor

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! :P but from what I've read on here, most people feel better within a few months. Good luck!:)

Pauliewog Contributor

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 Rookie

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 Rising Star

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.


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



BabsV Enthusiast

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.

Archived

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


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      129,874
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Kelly Bates
    Newest Member
    Kelly Bates
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.3k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • terrymouse
      I have an endoscopy booked for mid-September to test for Celiac. My gp seems convinced it is celiac and I should eliminate gluten right away, but the gastroenterologist I was referred to says if I'm totally gluten-free then they won't be able to detect celiac from the endoscopy, and I should load up on gluten 2 weeks before the test. So I guess I shouldn't eliminate gluten then? Or stop and start again closer to the appointment date. But I'm also on the wait list in case they can get me in sooner, because I'm losing weight. I don't want to have to go back and do it over again if I can help it. They also were unsure if there isn't something else wrong with my stomach, so that's a possibility. I don't have the details but from what I understood my blood tests results were positive but on the low end. So I'm getting mixed up here, do I go gluten-free or not? Would 2.5 months of being gluten-free make any noticable difference? 
    • knitty kitty
      Being low in B12, Folate B9, ferritin, zinc and copper sounds consistent with anemia which can often occur with Celiac.  What did your doctor recommend? What about your Vitamin D?  It helps regulate the immune system.  
    • ehb
      @knitty kitty thank you I am exploring these options, I really appreciate all the suggestions and info. I am only slightly below the normal range for folate, zinc and copper. And in the low end of the normal range for B12, ferritin, and vitamin A. I’m good for carotene magnesium and iron, but I’ve been taking 400 mg magnesium daily 
    • Alibu
      I just had my endoscopy the other day and the doctor took 12 samples because he said if we're going to find something we're going to find it today LOL. But when he got down there, he said everything looked good. So I have it in my head again that it's going to be negative because everyone I've heard of who had a positive biopsy had their endoscopies where the doctor was like yep, I can see the damage. My tissues all look great apparently. So if they come back negative, I'm not sure where to go from here. Could it still be a non-celiac gluten sensitivity even with my blood work? I thought NCGS didn't show up on blood tests. Is it possible that the biopsy still comes back positive even if everything looked healthy on endoscope? I had it done at a big hospital in the state, so I would think they'd have the kind of equipment where they'd be able to see it well. I even have pictures in my report and they don't seem to have the damage that others have seen.
    • trents
      That's just it. When they are doing an EGD, even with biopsy, if they aren't thinking about celiac disease they may miss it. They should take several samples from both the duodenum and the duodenum bulb. Damage can be patchy and easily missed if sampling isn't through. And patch damage may explain lack of dramatic symptoms. Let me assure you that we frequently have posters on this forum who were silent celiacs for years and were diagnosed incidentally with celiac disease when their docs were checking for other things. They developed other medical problems such as anemia or vitamin and mineral deficiencies, neurological deficits, Hashimodo's thyroid, osteoporois, etc. - non GI symptoms - but their docs recognized those problems as often connected to celiac disease and had them checked for celiac disease, both blood antibody testing and biopsy, and found damage. A couple of years ago the Mayo Clinic did a large study involving over 300 people. They started with those officially diagnosed with celiac disease and also tested their first degree relatives. They found that almost 50% of  the first degree relatives tested positive for celiac disease and many or most were totally caught by surprise because they were largely asymptomatic. Their diagnosis was confirmed by biopsy. I really don't have anything more to say. You have some decisions to make.
×
×
  • Create New...