I have been gluten free for two weeks now, how long should it be before I notice improvement ?

[lila2]

[Pink_Bear]

I would say I felt a bit better quite quickly, within a month or so, but it took about 6 months before I felt good. Now a year later absoutely nothing would persuade me to go back to eating gluten products, the difference is wonderful. That's an interesting point made in the previous post about vitamin D. I found out I was deficient about 6 months before I gave up gluten - and taking a supplement was another important step on my road to recovery, so definitely something worth getting checked. Best wishes for your recovery - do try and stick with it.

[lila2]

Thank you both for your replies. I have under active thyroid which is well medicated, take 5000 vit d , multivitamin , selenium, vit k and b12 . Sounds a lot but these have all helped me . However bowel not functioning and itchy skin problem on scalp and elbows also a lot of joint pain. I sound like a wreck !!!!!!!! Not seeing any real improvement but it is early days.

[zoombie in reply to lila2]

H lila2 your itchy elbows could be dermaritis herpetiformus or DH as its known by. I have it and dont have milk. Cant have soya mlk but found unsweetened almond milk good on cereal but check that it staes gluten free. Good luck

[Regalbirdy]

Hi lila2

It will take a while as the others have already said. I found the path to wellness has been a slow gradual process rather than an instant quick fix. It has been so worth going totally GF because I feel so much better now than I did a year ago (I am coeliac).

I would urge you to monitor how you feel when consuming milk products. Five months after I went gluten-free, I still felt like I was being glutened but was sure I hadn't eaten any gluten foods. The penny dropped one day when I had camembert for lunch and the symptoms came on within 10 minutes. I have felt much better since taking milk out of my diet. I wish the dietician had said to me in the beginning to take gluten AND milk out of my diet; and to then see if milk could be re-introduced after several months. I would have felt so much better that way and so much sooner. Casein is a milk protein that the immune system sometimes confuses with gluten protein. When this happens it is known as cross-reactivity. I think that is what may have happened to me (because my symptoms were inconsistent with lactose intolerance only).

It is entirely possible that you will find out about other food intolerances along the way. Soya was another culprit for me - it induces symptoms of depression and fatigue.

In the gluten summit recently, I heard that pure slippery elm and L-glutamine were very beneficial for those with gut problems. I've not tried either one - so you would have to do your own research on these.

I have found a regular multivitamin very useful. I also went back to the GP and asked to be put on B12 injections due to it being low. I had tried the B12 supplements (at 2000% RDA) but couldn't absorb them because of gut damage. Within eight hours of the first injection I felt much better! By the end of the initial series I felt like Zebedee from the magic roundabout! I had got much more energy and I didn't know what to do with myself! Still having these 10 months on.

Vitamin D can also cause fatigue and issues. I would urge caution with self-medicating on this because it is a fat-soluble vitamin and could possibly cause harm to your liver and kidneys in large doses. I have just finished a three month course of massive doses due to a severe deficiency but it was done under hospital supervision (46,000 iu per week - but DON'T try this at home on your own - I was having blood tests!).

My best wishes on your path to wellness. Be kind to yourself and good health should happen in time. It's very much a learning curve.

[rhy1]

Vit D deficiency is linked with a number of chronic problems, Holick does a good overview in his D-lightful lecture, you'll find it on youtube.

[DrTomOB]

Dear All

For those who have Registered for the Gluten Summit theglutensummit.com. they will be receiving an Announcement and a link to the upcoming followup Webinar, 'Now that You Know, Where Do You Go' where we will be addressing in more detail the path to wellness from the years of damage from GS, CD and NCGS.

Discontinuing gluten (in GS individuals) is a first pre-requisite in reducing the highly inflamed state most of our patients present with. But who says that is their only problem? Might they also have a dairy sensitivity? An opiate sensitivity? A lectin sensitivity? Intestinal Permeability? SIBO? Parasites? Helminths? Accumulated Toxicity?

I'm sure you see my point. However, with all that in mind, IN GENERAL, people should notice they are feeling/functioning better within 2-3 weeks. Still more to do perhaps, but they should notice a positive change.

Best to you

[groveller]

hi they forgot to tell me about vit d and also folick acid .soon as started taking these i felt so much better.so all i can say is when you have your blood test make sure you ask about supplements.also they forgot to tell me not to eating oats which lots of celiacs are prone to as well.good luck

[Jacks]

How long? Depends upon how old you are, how long you had been ill before diagnosis and what your Marsh status was. If you are young it can be weeks, but in your 5th or 6th decade you can be looking at years if you had a lifetime of undiagnosed gut problems.

[lila2 in reply to Jacks]

Hi, I have had gut problems for most of my life 54 now. what is Marsh status ?

[Jacks in reply to lila2]

It's the level of damage to your small intestine from coeliac disease. Whizz down to Pathology and the little 'graph' at the side (under the duodenum picture):

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeli...

[lila2 in reply to Jacks]

Had a look, thanks