Gluten free for how long?

[lisan1]

I tried going gluten free 2 months ago is that enough to try gluten again of should I wait and if so for how long?

[Cooper27]

You can definitely try a bit of gluten to see if it causes any notable reaction now, it's typical to try gluten after about a month.

I found gluten causes dermatitis in me. When I was looking into it more, I found out you can have flares up to 6 months after you've removed the gluten from your diet, so there is merit in trying to stick with being GF a bit longer. It took 4 or 5 months for my skin to clear up fully, and every time I had gluten, the flare would last up to a couple of weeks, so eating gluten just once a week (which I had been doing initially) is enough to keep a flare going.

[Cooper27 in reply to Cooper27]

If you do decide to try gluten again now, keep to a small amount (like a single biscuit or cracker) and wait 3 days to see if there's any reaction.

[greygoose]

I would stick it out for at least 3 months, if I were you. Give it a good go.

[lisan1 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks! Why is it 3 months?

[greygoose in reply to lisan1]

Well, could take longer, but at least three months is what is usually advised. Give the gluten time to leave the system.

[Fruitandnutcase]

Think I gave myself three or four months. I’d done a Medichecks thyroid antibody test and when I did one after that time my thyroid antibodies had gone down a lot, there was no way after that I was going to stop and over time they just went down and down. So there’s no way I’d go back to eating gluten. It may have been a coincidence that they went down but I wouldn’t take a chance that it was that. My CRP levels that were tested for my inflammatory arthritis went down too. Oh and my IBS improved a huge amount so I’ve been GF ever since.

I don’t find it difficult - I used to cook for lunches for a group that I belonged to and a couple of members were GF so I knew what to do and I joined Coeliac U.K. and got their handbook that lists every gluten free food and ingredient known to man, plus they have a good website and a magazine. I don’t really need that now that be honest. I cook most of my food from scratch. That might sound time consuming but I often use my slow cooker, but things like fish or a bit of steak or pasta are all quick and easy

I don’t find being GF particularly expensive ether unless I want to buy GF biscuits and cakes which I try not to do. If I’m baking I tend to use GF flour instead of regular flour.

On the other hand if you’re u feel it doesn’t work for you introduce gluten a bit at a time and see what happens.

[lisan1 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Thanks! Did you notice any difference in how you felt when you didn't eat gluten?

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to lisan1]

Not really but recently I had a ‘real’ croissant and last week I ate some of my husband’s bread when I ran out of mine - I use Genius Seeded Cob that I get from Tesco and they didn’t have any last week - and both times my irritable gut felt very irritable so I won’t be doing that again.

[Charlie-Farley in reply to lisan1]

I went gluten-free because I had raised antibodies in my private blood test. I’m A bit of a foodie anyway so it was just a bit of an alteration giving up the wheat products and oats for me. There are so many alternatives out there and actually because we are now cooking more rather than taking the shortcuts we are eating so much better. I started to notice profound improvements within two weeks and continue to do so. I have been gluten-free probably for just about three months now and there is no way I will be going back irrespective of whether I could or not.

No longer constipated, bloated or falling asleep after eating food it’s just been amazing and my husband has joined in as well and found similar benefits. It’s not such a windy city in our house either! LOL! Am I over sharing? Probably ! 😂

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Some people see significant improvements in symptoms on gluten free diet, either immediately or more slowly a gradual improvement .....but some people the only change is to see TPO antibodies slowly reduce

Like thousands of Hashimoto’s patients I found gluten free is essential. Despite zero obvious symptoms of gluten intolerance before going gluten free ......but it was an astonishing revelation

Been strictly gluten free ever since (since 2016)

[lisan1 in reply to SlowDragon]

My tpo-levels are within normal. I have like 250tg though.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to lisan1]

So you might not see any benefits on gluten free diet

Only way to know is to trial it .....then reintroduce gluten again after 3-6 months

[humanbean]

My tpo-levels are within normal. I have like 250tg though.

I have never had a positive TPOAb result. I did once have a TgAb result which was a smidgen over the range.

I went gluten free and got lots of benefits from it. Some of the most important benefits to me personally were reduced abdominal pain, much better temper, improved skin, and sleeping slightly better (although sleep still isn't great).

[jox1]

Just be aware with gluten free processed products that there may be gluten in them- even coeliac UK listed products may have it - gluten only has to be under 20 ppm in a product for it to be 'gluten free' - so probably best to avoid any processed products to establish a baseline and then reintroduce if really needed..... And yes some coeliacs do react to products that are labelled as GF- it's an individual thing I'm afraid....

[Mistydeb01 in reply to jox1]

Definitely, I can’t eat GF pasta. Although I need to try a different brand before I rule it out completely. But each time I’ve had it, it makes me crash for 3/4 hours.

[WestBurrafirth]

Stay with your trial! After 2mnths there will still be gluten in your system

[Hidden]

I did some blood tests and then gave myself 6 months. I felt so much better, I never went back to it and I've been gluten free for 8 months now. My bloods show small improvements to FT3, but my antibodies have dropped a bit. I've seen a reversal in what I thought was IBS - I was suffering every day - and now I have no issues. I have no bloating anymore - I looked 8 months pregnant by the afternoon every day. No more Gaviscon and heartburn, that took a few months to disappear and finally my joint pain went, that took a few months too.

I accidentally ate something cross contaminated a few weeks ago and I was bloated within 20 minutes, I was unwell digestively for 3 or 4 days and I had joint pain for a week. Honestly, I felt awful (and then I got my Covid vaccine shortly after!)

So, I don't think 2 months is long enough to see all the potential benefits!

[Kenley in reply to Hidden]

I actually gave myself 9 months but didn't notice any difference in how I felt. I had not suffered from IBS or anything like that anyway. I was really strict for that length of time but decided not to continue as I couldn't really see the benefit. My antibodies came down a little but not much.

Having said that, I have very little gluten in my diet, just good bread occasionally and pasta even more rarely. I usually cook everything from scratch and don't eat processed food. It can be difficult to avoid gluten when you eat out (not that we can now) as it seems to creep in when you don't expect it. It seems we are all different but I think you would need to give it about 6 months to be sure. I have a friend who is also hypothyroid and she feels quite ill at the tiniest bit of gluten.

[Hidden in reply to Kenley]

I didn't think I was gluten sensitive and did it more as an experiment. I was probably eating a decent amount of it daily though, but my symptoms had only started about 4 years ago. I was really surprised by how I felt a month later

[Farrugia]

The first time I went gluten free for nearly a year. I felt better but my antibodies didn't go down so I started to re-introduce gluten. I think I was in denial that being gluten free helped so I was very keen to take the antibody evidence over the evidence of how I actually felt. After eating gluten for a while my old symptoms returned (it didn't happen straight away) - bloating, abdominal pain, itchy skin are the main ones. I decided to give gluten free another go and have been GF for a year now and I'm sure this time that I feel better because of it since the same symptoms have improved as last time. My antibodies are still high so sometimes I am still tempted to give up but I think it would be a mistake. It's hard when you don't have an immediate, clear cut, measurable reaction to gluten - if you did then the decision would be much more straightforward. It's really worth keeping a symptom diary while you're gluten free for a while and then continue it if you do decide to reintroduce gluten - it helps to make sense of what's going on. I think I've read on here that if you have Hashimoto's your antibodies can fluctuate a lot anyway so it isn't always the best indicator of whether gluten is affecting you.

[Mistydeb01]

I don’t have high antibodies, and I am not coeliac. But over the years I’ve had bad reactions to gluten (although I didn’t know it was gluten at the time). When my daughter was 6, I went through a phase of vomiting violently (stopped counting after 60 times a day) once a month for a few days. I remember thinking it was like something built up and then my body wanted rid of it. That lasted about 6 months. Another time I thought I’d gone alcohol intolerant, because I threw up for 3 days after 2 halves of lager - I’d been having a bad time with alcohol for a while, so I stopped drinking altogether for a few years. I’ve always bloated after eating in restaurants and sometimes would crash in the car/ taxi on the way home. Last year I started getting rib pain and crashing after eating weetabix, so I stopped eating it. Can’t say I feel better per se, but I’ve stopped crashing after eating and the rib pain is gone. I had fish and chips last month and I got rib pain & a bad dose of IBS - I’ve not had that for more than 20years. It’s unlikely I will be going back to gluten for a long time, if ever

[CapnM]

I have been GF free for 6 months and can not attribute causality to any health changes on the Hashi front but then I think I am also suffering with poor B vitamins.But I find being GF free makes me a) shop healthier and eat healthier b) be more conscious of what I am buying c) better digestion - feel lighter etc. So I decide to stay on it regardless.

I couple of times visiting my mother I have sneakily had gluten bread for lack of choice and I think I did feel a bit crappy both times.