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Posted 4/16/2013 3:38 PM (GMT 0)
For a while now, I've talked on and off about trying a gluten free diet. I finally started on Sunday April 7th, and I am still awaiting any signs of improvement. No discernible improvement in my uc symptoms that I can see: my morning bms seem the same, no decrease in urgency, no other positive effects I can notice. On the negative side it seems my bms might be a little looser than before, perhaps due to me having less fiber in my diet after leaving out the bread I'd normally have with my breakfast and lunches.

How long have you given a diet mod before you give up on it? I figure another week or two on this... just in case there is some healing going on.
Posted 4/16/2013 3:50 PM (GMT 0)
(diet fanatic)You're not doing it the way it should be done. It's you're fault. It must work cause it works. (/diet fanatic)


;)
Posted 4/16/2013 3:53 PM (GMT 0)
I tried the same for 2 weeks and it didn't help me. everyone's body works differently. Maybe you could try adding a probiotic like VSL?
Posted 4/16/2013 3:54 PM (GMT 0)
I think if you go at it for 3 weeks and see no changes you can walk away with some confidence that this is not an issue for you.

You've only been GF for 9 days. I noticed the first changes at day 10, by day 14 I couldn't argue with results and by the time 3 weeks were up I was completely convinced.
Posted 4/16/2013 3:57 PM (GMT 0)
it takes a month for me -
Posted 4/16/2013 4:00 PM (GMT 0)
Gluten free didn't work for me either. Sorry. :-/ I did it twice for several weeks each time... SUPER strict. Just didn't help. I swear one of those times I got worse. I seem to have no problems with gluten while in remission. In fact I think my body LIKES bread. LOL Dairy is MY enemy, but even being dairy free during a flare doesn't do much. I need stronger stuff to come out of it.
Posted 4/16/2013 4:51 PM (GMT 0)
The fanatics will say that you have to do it for months and that if you don't improve it is because you cheated somewhere along the line. The three crutons you ate on your salad one day threw you right back to the beginning and you have to do it all over again for another few months. They will say that just one molecule of gluten will destroy the gluten free diet. While I believe there are those that have gluten intolerances because of damage to their colon, the majority do not have a gluten intolerance and therefore will see no benefit from such a restrictive diet. If you think you might actually have an intolerance though it doesn't hurt to try. It can help in some. I just wouldn't bet the farm on it.
Posted 4/16/2013 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
www.huffingtonpost.com/robynne-k-chutkan-md/all-that-bloats-is-not-ce_b_431128.html

Most people are not gluten intolerant. The gluten free craze is doing more harm than good for celiacs because of all the replacement junk ingredients being added to the new GF products.
Posted 4/16/2013 5:15 PM (GMT 0)
yup, you guys are right - what was i thinking - guess i'll go back on the drugs that were doing nothing for me and quit this goofy gluten free thing - this whole remission fiasco is getting boring anyway - thanks for enlightening me -
Posted 4/16/2013 5:19 PM (GMT 0)
"yup, you guys are right - what was i thinking - guess i'll go back on the drugs that were doing nothing for me and quit this goofy gluten free thing - this whole remission fiasco is getting boring anyway - thanks for enlightening me -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"

finally, you see the light... lol ;p
Posted 4/16/2013 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
lol. Huffington Post is never a credible news source.


Again, people are different. Some will see results and some will not. Too bad it didn't for you, iPoop.
Posted 4/16/2013 6:20 PM (GMT 0)
Lol such a polarized topic, hey I'm highly skeptical of diet mods, but I'll try anything once if there is a chance it'll help. Haha and I've been good too, no gluten -- not even a crouton (I don't generally do salads, and I've never really liked croutons). I'll hang in there for a couple more weeks with the gluten thing, likely till the end of the month. After that, it's gone unless there are tangible improvements. I'm glad it works from some, but it certainly doesn't for all.

And props must be given to Somedude as you're a riot haha.
Posted 4/16/2013 6:54 PM (GMT 0)

Sibby said...
lol. Huffington Post is never a credible news source.


Again, people are different. Some will see results and some will not. Too bad it didn't for you, iPoop.

Did you even see the bio of who wrote the article? She's one of the top GIs in the country who specializes in integrative treatments.

I tried going gluten free and it did nothing for me. It's just sad news for people who are real celiacs.
Posted 4/16/2013 11:59 PM (GMT 0)
I am gf at the moment, but it is not high FODMAP. Other parts of wheat are though, and gf is a work around to avoid wheat. Whole Foods has a gfdf bread that is low FODMAP ok, but most of them have inulin.

I don't believe my colon is radically healing, but I do have reduced functional symptoms (less gas!) that is helping a lot with my meds.

I haven't done the challenges yet, so I don't know what I might find out.
Posted 4/17/2013 12:12 AM (GMT 0)
I would think if you gave it 2 or so months, you would have exhausted that as being an option for you. I did SCD for 3 months, 3 difficult and long, expensive months. At that point, I figured it wasn't going to work for me. The side of me that loves and hopes every single person out there has luck with the natural methods and diet thinks you should give it some time but the realistic, life-experience i've been through says to tell you chances are it won't help. I hope the realistic side is wrong!
Posted 4/17/2013 12:29 AM (GMT 0)
I went gluten free for 2 and a half months. Nothing changed. When I started to eat low amounts of white bread (I eat no whole wheat anything) my symptoms actually improved.

It's crazy how different we all react to things. I always hoped I could change my disease thru diet. Oh well.
Posted 4/17/2013 1:14 AM (GMT 0)
lol. Huffington Post is never a credible news source.

Thing is the HuffPost is the place my hubby saw the article (2010) that made me try gluten-free again and I finally started toward remission (never before achieved). I tried gluten-free many years ago as part of SCD and didn't get significantly better. I have no idea why it worked for me when it previously did not but it did even in a bad flare, so bad I was facing doing stronger meds than I've ever taken and did not want to take.

Not everyone will respond to gluten-free or else it would be shouted from the mountaintops.

I personally think HuffPost is above average in Science articles (and other stuff too).
Posted 4/17/2013 1:31 AM (GMT 0)
I believe people should be getting medical reports from medical websites such as PubMed.

Since I was in the media industry, I've tried to stay away from HP and other media outlets to ensure an unbiased, zero-free slant. Doesn't always happen. Some good can come from it. But I don't trust most outlets for medical advice.

--

TotesMagotes, I had similar issues such as yourself, when I was on Imuran. When I had to change medication, I went GF and everything started evening out.
In some cases (NSSG, I think) diet doesn't help or hinder someone. It all really depends.
Posted 4/24/2013 7:42 AM (GMT 0)
Went 2 months strict gluten free and I felt no difference, ofc I was on pred but I even tried tapering the pred and my joint inflammation came back going from 20 to 15g. I was doing it for the arthritis, Lialda seems to have my stomach stuff under control.
Posted 4/24/2013 11:32 AM (GMT 0)

TotesMagotes said...
I went gluten free for 2 and a half months. Nothing changed. When I started to eat low amounts of white bread (I eat no whole wheat anything) my symptoms actually improved.

It's crazy how different we all react to things. I always hoped I could change my disease thru diet. Oh well.

The white bread helped because of the minor amount of resistant starch content. I've come to learn that not all gluten is bad, as it helps to bulk up the stool. Cooking and cooling pasta increases the RS content, which increases butyrate production in the colon.

It's really a matter of picking and choosing.
Posted 4/24/2013 11:44 PM (GMT 0)
It's true -- we all react differently, so your mileage may vary.

But I was gluten free for a month before I was fully in remission (and I was very close to remission when I became gluten free). I was extremely skeptical of any relationship of gluten to my condition and did not intentionally remove gluten from my diet. I went on a diet for a different purpose and just decided that I had to withhold judgment for a while and see if it worked for that purpose. It was only after a few weeks that I realized that my digestive health had dramatically improved. I'm crediting the gluten but I could easily be wrong. On the other hand, I've added back pretty much everything else that I had stopped eating and I'm still in remission.

I really hope it's gluten because if that's the case, I have a way to manage my UC. I'm scared to try gluten now because if I try it and I don't go into a flare, then I'll know it's just coincidence, and I don't want that to be the case.

Anyway. Just wanted to say. It was a month, or maybe 5 weeks for me.
Posted 4/25/2013 12:15 AM (GMT 0)
"I really hope it's gluten because if that's the case, I have a way to manage my UC. I'm scared to try gluten now because if I try it and I don't go into a flare, then I'll know it's just coincidence, and I don't want that to be the case."

and if you do go into a flare, in my experience, that can be scary too !

kinda why i will stick with a semi-strict (by my definition) diet - cuz if diet don't fix it, i'm back on the med train, only farther down the line - that's holy crappp scary !

Posted 4/25/2013 12:47 PM (GMT 0)
Gluten-free still appears to be doing nothing for my uc symptom-wise. Likely, I am giving it till this weekend and then exposing myself to gluten again to see if there is a reaction. If not, then I'm back on the gluten train as I've been missing breads, beer, and cookies.
Posted 4/25/2013 1:13 PM (GMT 0)
There isn't any evidence that gluten is bad for those who don't have coeliac disease (a real condition which should be taken seriously), so if going gluten-free doesn't work for you, don't sweat it: just go back to eating bread safe in the knowledge it isn't doing you any harm (at least no more harm than anything else).

I actually went gluten-free for six weeks a few years ago. Followed it compliantly. No change in symptoms whatsoever. Most people, whatever they may think, are not actually gluten intolerant, let alone have coeliac disease.
Posted 4/25/2013 1:18 PM (GMT 0)
Well, Garylouisville and others have pointed out- and indeed even one GI has agreed with me- that many with IBD can develop an intolerance/sensitivity to gluten due to their IBD even though they dint have celiac. That said, i agree if there is no improvement in symptoms, it is pointless.
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