When Did You Notice A Change

[Minette]

I know I'm probably being impatient, but I'm just curious. Sarah went gluten-free 10 days ago and I haven't noticed a single change in either her behavior or her health (from what we can see). I assume it's too soon for her to gain weight, but I was hoping she would at least have more energy, be a little less whiny, and have a better appetite.

I know some of it is personality and some may be due to external factors (i.e., not getting enough sleep) that have nothing to do with celiac. And she was never acutely miserable, so maybe the change will not be that dramatic anyway, if it ever comes. But I'm just wondering when it might be reasonable to hope to see some difference.

[Mizzo]

We saw reduced tummy pain in a few days but it took almost 2 months for all of her anxiety, mood swings , constipation etc.. to fully subside.

Every week my DD got a little better but really it took a few months for all of her daily problems to go away.

[Mom2J112903]

We saw a gradual improvement over a YEAR. Now as soon as he injest gluten, it is within 12hrs we see the reaction starting.

[MitziG]

It was very, very gradual for my son. When he was dx with celiac, I thought going gluten-free would make an immediate difference, but it didn't. But, a year and a half later he is a different little boy. He is happier, better behaved and his sensory processing disorder is greatly improved. The tummy aches are few now, and no longer severe. About 7-8 months in before I could really see noticeable improvement. His antibodies took over a year to come down, and he had severe villi damage (Marsh 4) so I think healing was just a long road for him. He still has a few issues, but removing casein from his diet a few months ago seems to be the additional boost he needed to heal. Be patient. While some people see a night and day difference right away, I think for the majority it takes quite some time. I know for myself, I didn't feel noticeably better until around the 7 month mark either. Has Sarah been dx with celiac, or are you trying the diet to see if it helps her issues?

[Minette]

Has Sarah been dx with celiac, or are you trying the diet to see if it helps her issues?

She was officially diagnosed about two weeks ago after her scope. She had a "probable" celiac dx based on blood tests back in March, but it took us a while to get through the rest of the process.

Thanks for the replies!

[MitziG]

She apparently has significant damage then, and I would guess, like my son, you aren't going to see big results for awhile yet. The healing has to happen first! Don't be discouraged, it will happen!

[Minette]

Coincidentally, my husband just sent me her pathology report, which said "moderate to severe villus atrophy (modified Marsh type 3B)" in one spot and "severe to complete villus atrophy (modified Marsh type 3B-3C)" in another. So I guess it could be kind of a long road.