What Good Things Have Happened To You Since Being Gluten Free

[Newbee]

Although it is disturbing to have a disease, I'm excited that being gluten free may do wonderful things for my body (kind of like a fountain of youth). Can others tell me what great things have happened to them since being gluten free? Like will my wrinkles go away? I've lost facial fat and I'm hoping that my face might fill out again. Or what other good things can happen?

[sreese68]

I feel better than I've felt in years!!! Just all of a sudden, it was like a fatigue and stress fog finally lifted. This started about two weeks ago - 13 weeks into diet and 4 weeks from gluten challenge. I feel cheerful! Optimistic! Like I can handle things and not get overwhelmed. My energy level is good - I don't feel draggy. I'm not procrastinating. I can think more clearly. Since going gluten-free, I've had a few hints of feeling like this (until I ate something that bothered me - I have multiple food intolerances), but this is the best so far.

I've started cooking more and more without getting so tired doing it. And I'm giving our house a MUCH needed cleaning out. My husband is thrilled. The kids not so much since I'm making them work, too! LOL! I told my husband that I didn't realize how bad I truly felt until I had this new way of feeling so good!

I will note that I had a tough time the first couple months or so gluten-free with fatigue and feeling down about the whole thing. And I had a number of days full of stomach pain trying to figure out what foods I react to. Now that I know how good I can feel, I won't feel as emotional when I find yet another food I can't tolerate. (still testing stuff)

[Newbee]

That's good to hear! I also have brain fog and am looking forward to being able to think clearly. People at work think I haven't been paying attention. They can't understand that I'm trying. Someone once said about me "it's like she doesn't remember what happened the day before." I couldn't argue with that as I had days where I could not. Just never knew what was causing it or what to do about it. What other good things have happened to people after going gluten free?

[paperbagprincess]

I definitely felt like I had more energy, but that could be because I'd had deficiencies for years that wouldn't sort themselves out until I went gluten free. I was diagnosed when I was 17, so I don't have a lot of experience about the wrinkles! Lol

Good luck.

[T.H.]

- Memory retention improved significantly. I had that 'can't remember the day before' thing, too, and when I don't eat gluten, that's simply gone.

- Fatigue is really gone.

- Depression is the big one for me, the one reason I would NEVER go back to this (aside from physical reactions). My dislike of myself, the feeling like it was an effort to get through every day, crying jags, anxiety, irrational anger and stress - gone. And considering this comes crashing back if I get low level glutening a few days in a row, and disappears once I get rid of the bad food, it's been very convincing!

- An odd one: I can tolerate crowds and music better now. I used to be really sensitive to loud noises, especially crowds. The noise and constant touching in the crowd would drive me nuts. Turns out, this is a symptoms for me. When I don't eat gluten, I can handle much louder sounds, brighter lights, touch, etc... When I get gluten cc, all of a sudden lights are too bright, noises are more grating, touch is irritating. I've never seen this in any medical literature, but I've now met other celiacs who have experienced the same thing. Who knew, huh?

- aches and pains are much, much lower. Creaky joints, some nerve pain, carpal tunnel type problems - they're all pretty much gone now.

- dizziness and balance problems: gone.

- injuries from activities that shouldn't even CAUSE injury: stopped. I swear, it feels like my body can finally build strong muscles and tendons instead of ones on the verge of collapse.

- getting every cold and flu that comes along: gone. I went from getting sick at least once a month to over an entire year without catching cold one, single time. It was amazing!

- For me, the cooking, too. I'm not a great cook, honestly, but I'm slowly becoming a much better one, with all the cooking I do now!

- lost weight like mad on the diet. But I was overweight when I went into it. Many people I know who were underweight go the other direction.

aaaand, that's all I can think of for now! :-)

[Newbee]

These are great things to hear have resolved! Thanks for posting!! I also have had issues with carpal tunnel syndrome the last few years. I thought it was because I work with a computer. I'm glad I didn't get the surgery as it seems my symptoms would probably have remained. I have osteopenia (was diagnosed at 35). I've heard once you are gluten free you'll have significant gain in bone density the first year or two (like 15%). I'm hoping that is true. I'd really like to get back to normal if possible (and without going on those bone building medications like Boniva). Have others had good fortune building their bones back up? And/or what other good things have happened for you?

[Poppi]

I could go on and on. There are the obvious ones of course. I have more energy, less pain, brain is clearer etc but what is exciting is what the relief from those symptoms has allowed me to accomplish.

At the beginning of April I could not walk my 5 year old to school 6 blocks away, everything hurt too much and it would take me days to recover. In the last month I have completed 4 10+km hikes and passed my intro level sea kayaking course which was a hard 8 hour day of paying attention including 6 hours paddling in ocean swell with wet exits and rescues. It was incredibly hard work but I did it. That has definitely been my proudest achievement in all this.

I have rediscovered the love of baking. My freezer is full of brownies, cookies, banana bread, muffins and cakes. Not everything is perfect but I am starting to love cooking again, who needs gluten?

I am starting to think about returning to school. I never completed my biochemistry degree because I just felt so stupid all the time. The brain fog was intense, I had no energy and sitting all day was really painful. I transfered into an easier Environmental Technology program and completed that but I'd love to return to the chemistry lab.

I was an avid knitter before I went gluten free and that was mostly because my hands were the only part of me that didn't hurt all the time. I haven't knit a stitch in almost a month because I've been so busy doing all the things I wasn't capable of before. I love knitting and will get back into it when the weather is cold again but I'm thrilled that it's no longer my only option. I'll have to get my spinning wheel out of storage and get back into that too.

[Newbee]

Sounds like you regained your life again. That's wonderful!! I've thought about going back to school also as I'm unhappy with my current career. But I've often wondered if I'd be able to make it through and pass classes as I can't remember anything any more. Has anyone noticed what they would consider not typical symptoms resolve?

[RacerX35]

Quick response to this. I have much less siezure activity . Makes me less moody and as stated by others, have a clearer head.

Later,

Ray

[anabananakins]

I feel like another person!

- So much more energy. My bedtime is no longer 8.30pm :-) I used to feel permanently exhausted

- balance immensely improved. I no longer walk into things.

- brain fog lifted. My short-term memory is mostly back.

- heartburn, bloating, black shadows under my eyes - gone

- no more stomach aches. I thought that was how we knew we'd eaten. Now I notice my stomach no more than, say, my elbows.

- no more weird blotchy rashes

- my feet used to always hurt first thing when I got out of bed. Now I can jump out of bed, no pain.

- I'm no longer constantly thirsty. Doctors could never work that one out, they just made me have yet another diabetes test but those results were fine. I used to have to live with the constant thirst, because otherwise I'd drink 5+ litres of water per day and still be thirsty and it was bordering on dangerous.

- most recently, I've found that I'm happy to wear my hair loose. I used to hate the feel of it on my face, and I've worn it pulled back in a pony-tail near my entire life. Now it doesn't bother me. I have no idea if it's connected.

Also, I got back from the doc this morning and my bloods were awesome - vit D up, B12 up.

[GlutenFreeManna]

This is going to be a LONG list....In no particular order:

I lost weight (still overweight and working on this though)

my hair stopped falling out

my hair is thicker, shinier and fuller and it's got a natural wave back (as opposed to being like straw while it was falling out)

my nails stopped splitting and started growing again

Debilitating joint pain is gone

muscle spasms gone

no more seizures--this is major I can drive again

shaky hands gone

improved short term memory--still getting better

improved memory for numbers

no more asthma attacks--I used to react to heavy perfume, not any more. Only time I have had trouble is when I had brochitis/pnuemonia.

seasonal allergies are better

haven't had a sinus infection since going gluten-free

no more anxiety attacks/fear of public places gone

I no longer get car sick

no more nausea when eating

chest pain/racing heartbeat gone--I had cut out caffiene thinking it was to blame but I can now drink caffiene without a problem.

No more depression/suicidal thoughts. I used to have these thoughts of "maybe it would be better if I died". I never really WANTED to die and that was not like me at all but life had gotten so hopeless. I now find I have these fleeting thoughts of death only if gltuened.

no more racing to the bathroom--I can drive several hours without needing to stop wheras for a while I needed to stop at every rest area on a road trip and sometimes couldn't make it to a reststop at all and would be running into a store or ff place to use their facilities.

I can drive several hours--at my worst I was too weak to drive much longer than 30 minutes and even did a 45 minute commute to work/school where I would pull off into a parking lot halfway through and rest for 15 minutes in order to make it all the way.

I'm no longer bed bound from the pain

hand and ankle swelling has gone--I have normal sized ankles and my wedding rings fit me again

no more pregnant looking swollen belly--although I am overweight the belly I had was NOT my normal fat belly. Drs had no way of knowing of course and just thought I was extra fat I guess. I'm certian this why a lot of overweight celiacs are ignored or just told to eat more fiber and exercise and it will go away. I was following drs orders of eating more whole wheat products and I just got fatter and sicker.

Anemia is gone.

Extreme fatigue is gone.

I can wear contact lenses again--my eye were SO dry I could not wear them for 3 or 4 years and I had worn contacts since I was in 5th grade.

I no longer have trouble with blurred vision/difficulty focusing my eyes. I thought my eyesight was just getting worse with age and I had actaully gotten a stronger prescription in my glasses during the time when I was really sick. When my dry eyes were gone and I went to see if I could try contacts again my eye doctor tested my vision and found it had gone BACK to the same strength as when I used to wear contacts. He had no explanation. I have no explanation. I just know that I got my "normal" vision back.

No more visual migraines/light induced migraines. This goes along with the eye thing--I used ot get eyestrain from very little time in front of a computer. I used to get migraines frequently where all I could do was lie in a dark room. I have had one or two migraines since going gluten-free but they were managable and not light sensitive as bad as I used to get.

My gums don't bleed as bad as they used to. All my life I've had bad gums. No matter how much I flossed they didn't get better. Dentists never believed me when I said I flossed twice a day. I didn't go to a dentist for 6 years because I was so tired of hearing the same thing and I didn't have insurance so why pay extra to be scolded and sit in pain during the cleaning? I went back last year and they didn't say a thing about my gums (I DID have a lot of tarter and regret not going regularly but fortunately no cavities). Then I realized that I have been flossing and I no longer taste blood in my mouth afterward. My gums are HEALING and almost healthy now.

No more canker sores on my tongue. I only get one if I have accidental glutne in a larger dose.

A skin rash on my arms and scalp has gone away. No clue if it was DH or not but it was itchy and painful. The dermatologist shrugged her shoulders at it, didn't biopsy and just gave me a bunch of creams that didn't work.

Haven't had a kidney stone or a bladder infection since going gluten-free. Used to have frequent kideny stones and UTI's.

Intense fear/anxiety of bugs has gone. For a while I was in a state where if I saw a spider I would sceam, run to another room and sitting a corner rocking back and forth while tears came streaming down my face, not knowing WHY my body was in a state fight or flight. NOW, I kill the spider and go on with what I was doing. Sometimes I even ignore the bug completely if it's up high somewhere that I can't reach.

My periods are normal. Never in my life have I had normal, evenly spaced ones before (until now). Hopefully this is a sign of my fertility coming back because I had three miscarriages.

A large cyst I had on one of my ovaries no longer causes me pain. I go back in a few months to see if it is gone or still there (have not have it checked since before going gluten-free).

Callouses on my feet are gone. Although, if anyone can explain how a bed bound person gets calloused feet they are a genius. That's what I had--a thick build up of skin on my feet so that they felt like sandpaper and stuck to my silk or flannel sheets. Now my heels are not smooth as babies bottoms or anything but they are not heavily calloused anymore (and I walk on them every day) and I have not been using any lotion or anything on them.

My lips are soft again--as opposed to cracked and dry to the point of bleeding no matter what I put on them and no matter the climate. I haven't needed chapstick at all this summer (did need it in the winter when we had cold whether but it was normal cold-whether chap that cleared up with an application of chap stick).

I no longer sleep for 12 hours and wake up feeling still tired. I sleep for 8 hours and wake up ready to get out of bed and get going.

I can walk in a straight line next to someone without running into them. Before I had balance issues and was always constantly overcorrecting to avoid running ino the person I was walking with (usually my hubby and this happened even if I was holding his hand).

I'm less clumsy in general, although I won't be trying out for any sports teams any time soon.

I'm sure there's more I haven't thought of. My memory is still not perfect.

[anna34]

constant mild headaches gone

iron level up

depression gone

energy level better than ever

brain fog gone (didn't realize it was a symptom - thought it was just me getting old/tired)

gums improved - dentist says at least 10 times better in just three months on diet

dark eyelids lightening up - hoping dark circles start to go away too

no more C, bloating etc...

not hungry all the time

cracked heels and cracked lips much improved

[rosetapper23]

GlutenFreeManna,

I'm not a genius, but I can tell you what my integrated-medicine doctor told me about my calloused feet. He said that the skin thickens when it's nerves are damaged due to neuropathy. My feet were terribly thickened with callouses--actually, it was like they were each covered with one large callous. Unfortunately, in addition to celiac, I also had to undergo chemo, which caused even more neuropathy in my feet. Even after treatments that stimulated the nerves in my feet, one foot still has some callouses, but my feet are much better than they used to be when I ate gluten.

BTW, your list could have been written by me...except for the seizures.

[GlutenFreeManna]

GlutenFreeManna,

I'm not a genius, but I can tell you what my integrated-medicine doctor told me about my calloused feet. He said that the skin thickens when it's nerves are damaged due to neuropathy. My feet were terribly thickened with callouses--actually, it was like they were each covered with one large callous. Unfortunately, in addition to celiac, I also had to undergo chemo, which caused even more neuropathy in my feet. Even after treatments that stimulated the nerves in my feet, one foot still has some callouses, but my feet are much better than they used to be when I ate gluten.

BTW, your list could have been written by me...except for the seizures.

That make a lot of sense! I forgot I also had tingling and numbness in my legs and arms so I'm sure I had some nerve damage.

[Newbee]

I really appreciate everyone taking the time to give thoughtful responses. These are wonderful! It is odd to me to hear things associated with celiac that I never would have thought of (like being thirsty and having cracked lips or having calluses on your feet). I too have always had trouble with walking into the person I'm next to. I never associated it with balance problems. Just thought I wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing. Let's keep building the list! What else has improved for everyone?

[krystynycole]

-I love being able to stay out as long as I choose with my friends. It is now my husband saying he wants to go not me

-Being able to shop with my mom without running to the bathroom in the middle of the store and then having to call her and figure out where the heck she is! Even more being able to shop Black Friday Sales!!!

-Being able to go on vacation and not worry about bathroom locations while riding in the car or if I will be able to go to the bathroom on the plane in a seconds notice without worrying about them being in-use or too much turbulence and the stewardess gets mad when a grown woman says she can't hold it.

-Finding new delicious recipes...I found a great mango peach salsa that my non-gluten free husband loves and asks for all the time. We would have never known otherwise.

-I am able to take long walks with my husband at night in the cool breeze of the summer nights

So many more things but there is not enough space to write them all!

[Bubba's Mom]

I've only been gluten-free for 9 days. I'm so glad to see this question was asked!

It's so nice to see people focusing in on the positives. Right now, it seems like there are so many negatives in my life?

I hope one day I can write a long list of symptoms that have been relieved.

Today at the market I found out I can have Boar's Head cold cuts. Yay!

[come dance with me]

Not really for me but for my dd who tested positive about 6 month ago now:

My dd put on weight and is no longer sick all the time. In semester 2 last year she had 25 days off school but in semester 1 of this year she's been late 10 days due to appoinments but only had 7 days off in total and 2 of those were for hospital appoinments that take all day so she wasn't even sick those day. Her behaviour has improved which I think is because she can focus on her work rather than the pain she was in from the food she was having. In the last few months alone she has gone from being one of the kids at the bottom level in the class to bringing home As and Bs on her report card and reading way beyond her age level. The biggest improvements so far are definitely in her general health and I'm so happy she's now putting on weight. I don't have the problem of her not eating anymore. I used to put food down for her then she'd eat little bit and leave it. The poor little thing knew it made her sick but wasn't able to tell me in the right way why she wasn't eating

[UpbeatPete]

gluten-free since 5/9/11

Fatigue Gone

Migraines Gone

Joint Pain Gone

Only sleeping 7 to 8 hours (Was sleeping 12 to 14 and still felt tired)

Short Term Memory is almost normal again

Able to do Math in my brain again

Running, Swimming, and playing basketball again, finally after 2 years.

Reading for pleasure again

Dizziness has gone away

Numbness and shaking in extremeties has went away

Finally feeling like the old me after almost 3 years

There are many other things, and as I remember I will update this.

[AmyE]

8years of chronic migraines went away!!! Fatigue even after 10 hours of sleep gone!! Severe digestive pain gone!! Acne disappeared!!!! And I was the one that found out!! Drs couldnt figure it out!!

[jenngolightly]

I ditto on the the physical improvements, but I was talking to a person at work today and I realized that since my Celiac diagnosis I have totally re-prioritized my life. I finally get to put "me" first. I know a lot of moms have that problem, and it took me many years to figure out how to do it without feeling guilty or whatever. But now I put my health, happiness, and family ahead of my career. I used to want to be the "boss" - but now I'm comfortable in my job and know that what I do outside of my work day is what makes me be the best I can be.

I'm much healthier now, but I'm oh-so-much happier than before because I spend more time getting to know who I am (besides what I do for work), and I get to enjoy my kids without worrying that I'm not at work. I also like my job. I'm fulfilled.

So how do I spend those extra hours that I used to spend at work? Well, I've learned to cook a little. And the kids help out sometimes, so it's a great chance to spend some time being healthy and getting to spend some time with them - hard to find that time now that they're teens.

[Brooksbelle]

Only 3 weeks gluten-free (except for a couple oopsies/ouchies as I learn what's safe for me to eat) and I feel like a miracle is occurring in my body!

• I have ENERGY for the first time in over a decade
  
• Severe night sweats are GONE
  
• My abdomen is "quiet" and pain-free, finally
  
• Brain fog is gone
  
• My appetite has normalized (not hungry all the time)
  
• Did I mention that my pain is GONE!
  
• Diarrhea and Constipation gone!
  
• Depression is lifting (on meds for years, but going gluten-free is really turning things around
  

[melikamaui]

This is going to be a LONG list....In no particular order:

I lost weight (still overweight and working on this though)

my hair stopped falling out

my hair is thicker, shinier and fuller and it's got a natural wave back (as opposed to being like straw while it was falling out)

my nails stopped splitting and started growing again

Debilitating joint pain is gone

muscle spasms gone

no more seizures--this is major I can drive again

shaky hands gone

improved short term memory--still getting better

improved memory for numbers

no more asthma attacks--I used to react to heavy perfume, not any more. Only time I have had trouble is when I had brochitis/pnuemonia.

seasonal allergies are better

haven't had a sinus infection since going gluten-free

no more anxiety attacks/fear of public places gone

I no longer get car sick

no more nausea when eating

chest pain/racing heartbeat gone--I had cut out caffiene thinking it was to blame but I can now drink caffiene without a problem.

No more depression/suicidal thoughts. I used to have these thoughts of "maybe it would be better if I died". I never really WANTED to die and that was not like me at all but life had gotten so hopeless. I now find I have these fleeting thoughts of death only if gltuened.

no more racing to the bathroom--I can drive several hours without needing to stop wheras for a while I needed to stop at every rest area on a road trip and sometimes couldn't make it to a reststop at all and would be running into a store or ff place to use their facilities.

I can drive several hours--at my worst I was too weak to drive much longer than 30 minutes and even did a 45 minute commute to work/school where I would pull off into a parking lot halfway through and rest for 15 minutes in order to make it all the way.

I'm no longer bed bound from the pain

hand and ankle swelling has gone--I have normal sized ankles and my wedding rings fit me again

no more pregnant looking swollen belly--although I am overweight the belly I had was NOT my normal fat belly. Drs had no way of knowing of course and just thought I was extra fat I guess. I'm certian this why a lot of overweight celiacs are ignored or just told to eat more fiber and exercise and it will go away. I was following drs orders of eating more whole wheat products and I just got fatter and sicker.

Anemia is gone.

Extreme fatigue is gone.

I can wear contact lenses again--my eye were SO dry I could not wear them for 3 or 4 years and I had worn contacts since I was in 5th grade.

I no longer have trouble with blurred vision/difficulty focusing my eyes. I thought my eyesight was just getting worse with age and I had actaully gotten a stronger prescription in my glasses during the time when I was really sick. When my dry eyes were gone and I went to see if I could try contacts again my eye doctor tested my vision and found it had gone BACK to the same strength as when I used to wear contacts. He had no explanation. I have no explanation. I just know that I got my "normal" vision back.

No more visual migraines/light induced migraines. This goes along with the eye thing--I used ot get eyestrain from very little time in front of a computer. I used to get migraines frequently where all I could do was lie in a dark room. I have had one or two migraines since going gluten-free but they were managable and not light sensitive as bad as I used to get.

My gums don't bleed as bad as they used to. All my life I've had bad gums. No matter how much I flossed they didn't get better. Dentists never believed me when I said I flossed twice a day. I didn't go to a dentist for 6 years because I was so tired of hearing the same thing and I didn't have insurance so why pay extra to be scolded and sit in pain during the cleaning? I went back last year and they didn't say a thing about my gums (I DID have a lot of tarter and regret not going regularly but fortunately no cavities). Then I realized that I have been flossing and I no longer taste blood in my mouth afterward. My gums are HEALING and almost healthy now.

No more canker sores on my tongue. I only get one if I have accidental glutne in a larger dose.

A skin rash on my arms and scalp has gone away. No clue if it was DH or not but it was itchy and painful. The dermatologist shrugged her shoulders at it, didn't biopsy and just gave me a bunch of creams that didn't work.

Haven't had a kidney stone or a bladder infection since going gluten-free. Used to have frequent kideny stones and UTI's.

Intense fear/anxiety of bugs has gone. For a while I was in a state where if I saw a spider I would sceam, run to another room and sitting a corner rocking back and forth while tears came streaming down my face, not knowing WHY my body was in a state fight or flight. NOW, I kill the spider and go on with what I was doing. Sometimes I even ignore the bug completely if it's up high somewhere that I can't reach.

My periods are normal. Never in my life have I had normal, evenly spaced ones before (until now). Hopefully this is a sign of my fertility coming back because I had three miscarriages.

A large cyst I had on one of my ovaries no longer causes me pain. I go back in a few months to see if it is gone or still there (have not have it checked since before going gluten-free).

Callouses on my feet are gone. Although, if anyone can explain how a bed bound person gets calloused feet they are a genius. That's what I had--a thick build up of skin on my feet so that they felt like sandpaper and stuck to my silk or flannel sheets. Now my heels are not smooth as babies bottoms or anything but they are not heavily calloused anymore (and I walk on them every day) and I have not been using any lotion or anything on them.

My lips are soft again--as opposed to cracked and dry to the point of bleeding no matter what I put on them and no matter the climate. I haven't needed chapstick at all this summer (did need it in the winter when we had cold whether but it was normal cold-whether chap that cleared up with an application of chap stick).

I no longer sleep for 12 hours and wake up feeling still tired. I sleep for 8 hours and wake up ready to get out of bed and get going.

I can walk in a straight line next to someone without running into them. Before I had balance issues and was always constantly overcorrecting to avoid running ino the person I was walking with (usually my hubby and this happened even if I was holding his hand).

I'm less clumsy in general, although I won't be trying out for any sports teams any time soon.

I'm sure there's more I haven't thought of. My memory is still not perfect.

I could have written this exact list! In fact I showed it to my husband who said "WOW! It's like you wrote it." Isn't crazy how many different things are affected by gluten? I am amazed at how much better I feel having only been on the diet for 7 months. (With several self-induced gluten challenges to "test" whether or not it was really gluten that was making me sick. It was.) I can't believe how much better I'll get to feel when it's been years instead of months! I feel very lucky today.

[love2travel]

I've been strictly gluten-free for five months and feel no physical improvements except I believe my mega dose of magnesium is helping with calf cramps. I also have other health issues that cause a lot of pain. But I feel good knowing that I am treating my body better (as I should have been all along!). So, I have learned a lot mentally!

[mom4fun]

Hello All ,

I was just diagnosed about a week ago and my head was spinning at first trying to put everything together. I'm sooo glad tha there is hope for me to finally feel better after countless years of symptoms.

I guess I have to wait just a little longer becuase I was also tested positive for H-Pylori and the antibiotics are severly kicking my behind.

Its nice to meet anyone that reads this.