How long does it take to see results from diet change?

[KimH]

I was just wondering what most people experience in terms of remission from symptoms after they begin eliminating foods they are allergic to? Do you start to feel better within a short period of time, or does it usually take months?

My doctor also suggested I go yeast free (I don't know for how long). What do you think of that? I know yeast overgrowth is common, but it seems daunting for me to add that to my list of foods to avoid when my list seems so massive right now. I am getting another stool test done that will test for yeast (among other things), so I thought about waiting until I get those results in a few weeks and in the mean time concentrate on eliminating the foods from the Enterolab test.

Thanks,
Kim

[UkuleleLady]

I can't address the yeast issue, but surely someone will.

It took me four months WITH Entocort for the diet changes to really help. I think I had significant damage.

It's still a delicate balance and I have episodes of pain from time to time, if I eat too much fiber/vegetables/nuts. I still don't eat fruit. I recently stopped eating bananas and completely quit coffee and this has brought me further improvements.

I'm not in complete remission but I only go 1-2x day and it's not WD. But not normal. I'm still in healing mode and probably will be for a while.

The most amazing change for me is that I no longer have GERD after dealing with it for ten years. That alone, is worth the diet changes for me.

Best of luck to you in your journey.

[tex]

Kim,

In my response to your post in the other forum (discussions about EnteroLab testing), I forgot to mention that the longer we react before diagnosis/treatment, the more damage we accrue, and therefore the longer it typically takes for healing to take place. Also, young people heal much faster (and more completely) then older people.

Some of us test positive for yeast sensitivity, but yeast does not appear to be a permanent sensitivity. IOW, after we are in remission, most of us find that yeast is no longer a problem (unlike sensitivity to gluten, casein, soy, etc., which seem to be permanent sensitivities).


Nancy,

That's great news that your diet changes have eliminated your GERD problems. It's a crying shame that instead of recommending diet changes to treat GERD, doctors prescribe PPIs, which then go on to cause the development of MC or another IBD, or another autoimmune issue, osteoporosis, and in some cases, SIBO, including C. diff infections.

Some doctors do recommend diet changes, in the form of avoiding spicy foods, caffeine, citrus fruits, etc., especially close to bedtime, but virtually none of them get it right, because they fail to recommend the 100 % elimination of gluten and casein from the diet.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

Kim
it depends - there is no black and white answer..

depends on how long you had symptoms and how damaged the villi are.
depends on if you have eliminated or minimised ALL triggers (food, lifestyle etc)
depends on what medications you might be taking
depends on if you have any other health issues that are triggering the immune system/adrenals

yes, there are some that within a few months of eliminating major triggers that got to a good stage of the MC management plan
there are a few that it has been a continue issue and they struggle to achieve a good balance

pre mc, i was Yeast free 60-70% of the time
post MC Dx, i am 100% yeast free. Things like sulphides are yeast triggers, to be yeast free means eliminating, wine, cold and cured meats such as ham/bacon, frozen turkeys/chickens (they may say gluten free pretty much all of them have yeast/sulphides.)

the other aspect to this situation is that for alot of us, once we elminate a major trigger, lets say Gluten, we start to feel good and think 'Yeah' fixed and then we start reacting again, another ingredient becomes the main trigger. You eliminate that (lets say Egg, or Soy) and a few weeks later you feel better and think 'woo hoo' fixed and guess what, another ingredient can become a major trigger...
i was on this rollercoaster of ups and downs for 6 months, until i eliminated all my major triggers...

hope this helps

[UkuleleLady]

Nancy,

That's great news that your diet changes have eliminated your GERD problems. It's a crying shame that instead of recommending diet changes to treat GERD, doctors prescribe PPIs, which then go on to cause the development of MC or another IBD, or another autoimmune issue, osteoporosis, and in some cases, SIBO, including C. diff infections.

Some doctors do recommend diet changes, in the form of avoiding spicy foods, caffeine, citrus fruits, etc., especially close to bedtime, but virtually none of them get it right, because they fail to recommend the 100 % elimination of gluten and casein from the diet.

Tex

Well, Tex, I can't prove it (mainly because I never received my pathology report following my last upper endoscopy), but, I believe my GERD was caused by gluten (inflammation) and my MC caused by PPIs. Just my theory.

I hope others chime in with how long it took them to get results from diet.

And I agree with Gabes on the "it depends" notion. We are all so different, and what works for one might not for another.

Hugs to all of you.

[kayare]

I agree with "it depends." All of those factors matter. I was sick for a very long time and have lots of triggers. It took me a very long time, with medicine, to feel like I was stable. Today, after 20 months, I feel stable, but I know I still need more time to heal. I eat the same foods every day and am not in a hurry to add new foods back. It's easy for me to have a temporary setback; thankfully, I get back on track pretty quickly.

Kathy

[Gloria]

In my response to your post in the other forum (discussions about EnteroLab testing), I forgot to mention that the longer we react before diagnosis/treatment, the more damage we accrue, and therefore the longer it typically takes for healing to take place. Also, young people heal much faster (and more completely) then older people.

I've been reading this on the board for quite a while and have finally decided to openly disagree. I was diagnosed within 6 months of having symptoms and found this board right away. I adopted a GF diet immediately, and went DF, EF, SF and yeast-free as soon as I received my Enterolab test results a few weeks later. Yet I'm still struggling over 6 years later in spite of eating an extremely limited diet. There are many that become symptom-free after giving up 3-4 foods.

IMHO, the difference isn't how long we've had damage, but rather, how many intolerances we have, due to our genetics. Having numerous intolerances makes it much more difficult to find and eliminate all of them. We all look for the day that we've found our last one so we can begin to heal, but I've had to eliminate additional foods in my 6th year on this journey. Each time I do, I think it's surely "the one" and I'll finally be on the road to healing, but to date, that belief has not held true. I'm not the only one here in this predicament, and I believe we all share a long list of intolerances.

Gloria

[UkuleleLady]

Gloria,

I have so much respect and empathy for you. You clearly have done everything in your power, yet remission is still elusive. I've learned a lot from your posts.

Sincerely,
Nancy

[Leah]

Hi Kim. What everyone says is true. There just isn't one answer. I was Dx pretty quickly and eliminated most of the common foods while taking Entocort( six months with drugs). I got steadily better and healed enough to wean off the Entocort. That's when I discovered a couple more things that were bothering me.

Today, it's been almost two years. I feel great if I stick to my diet, but I have been able to add many foods back in that I was avoiding at the beginning ( beans, soy free chocolate, decaf coffee, salad, raw veggies…). I also discovered that mast cells were an issue with me, so I added antihistamines.

I don't know If I call this complete remission, but life is pretty good :)

Leah

[Lesley]

I agree with Gloria. I am still struggling after 2 1/2 years, and, from week to week, have no idea what will set me off. My MC is constipation dominated, so it's harder to know what food(s) and causing me to react than if I was D dominant.

Everyone is different, the damage done is different in each case, and the road to healing is sometimes a very long one.

[tex]

In my response to your post in the other forum (discussions about EnteroLab testing), I forgot to mention that the longer we react before diagnosis/treatment, the more damage we accrue, and therefore the longer it typically takes for healing to take place. Also, young people heal much faster (and more completely) then older people.

I've been reading this on the board for quite a while and have finally decided to openly disagree. I was diagnosed within 6 months of having symptoms and found this board right away. I adopted a GF diet immediately, and went DF, EF, SF and yeast-free as soon as I received my Enterolab test results a few weeks later. Yet I'm still struggling over 6 years later in spite of eating an extremely limited diet. There are many that become symptom-free after giving up 3-4 foods.

IMHO, the difference isn't how long we've had damage, but rather, how many intolerances we have, due to our genetics. Having numerous intolerances makes it much more difficult to find and eliminate all of them. We all look for the day that we've found our last one so we can begin to heal, but I've had to eliminate additional foods in my 6th year on this journey. Each time I do, I think it's surely "the one" and I'll finally be on the road to healing, but to date, that belief has not held true. I'm not the only one here in this predicament, and I believe we all share a long list of intolerances.

Gloria

There's no question that an extreme number of food sensitivities complicates recovery efforts dramatically, and frustrates the most well-intentioned recovery plans. With every disease, there are exceptions to every rule. But when answering questions by a newbie, I really can't justify basing my responses on non-typical cases. Statistically, I have to go with the most likely probabilities, based on our accumulated experiences over the 8 years that this board has existed. I have to decide (as we all do) how to organize my response in order to maximize the benefits (and minimize any confusion) for that particular member. And in general, the sooner we begin the proper treatment, the less damage we will accrue, so the faster we will heal. That should be self-evident. Sure there will be exceptions. This is not a perfect world, and MC is definitely not a perfect disease, nor is it a "well-behaved" disease (borrowing a phrase from the mathematics used in plate theory).

I realize that you immediately adopted a diet that avoided the major inflammatory foods, but I have grave doubts that your diet was actually "clean", because I also remember that we couldn't convince you to stop eating processed foods, and that went on for what seemed like an eternity, before you finally decided to cut them out of your diet. And based on my own experience, and the experience of many others here, many/most of those processed foods contain enough unlisted inflammatory ingredients that the probability is quite high (IMO) that you were continuing to fuel inflammation all that time, which means that your diet changes did not actually become therapeutic until after you stopped using processed foods. That surely led to additional damage.

But the bottom line is, as we all know, there are no rules about this disease nor it's treatment, that apply to everyone. I apologize for not including a disclaimer about non-typical cases in my post, but my posts already tend to be excessively long as a general rule, so it's difficult to justify allowing for every contingency with every post.

Tex

[Gloria]

We'll, Tex, here we go again. I am always hesitant to point out that some of us have a difficult time achieving remission because I realize that my case and the others are unusual. I do believe that it's important to give newbies hope.

I understand that you want to pinpoint a reason why I'm having trouble, but I think it's time to set aside the processed foods theory. I feel I need to make it clear about the "processed foods" I ate at the beginning of my journey. They were items like GF catsup, mustard, rice cakes, rice milk, SF chocolate, etc. Nothing in that list that is unusual compared to what others eat here. I gave all of them up four years ago and make nearly all of my foods from scratch, as you know. I would dearly love to eat carrots, potatoes, squash, etc. that others can, but they all give me D. Please stop blaming me for not being able to get better. It is discouraging enough to be in this situation.

Gloria

[DJ]

Hi Kim, I started seeing some results, but not complete remission very quickly. I had gut problems (intestinal plus GERD with a severe cough) for many years before "The Great Flood of MC." At the time of my diagnosis, I knew from a strict elimination diet from about 3 years ago that I had problems with gluten, dairy, soy, nuts, and I had put chicken and eggs in a maybe category. I avoided gluten, dairy, soy, and nuts but I did not eliminate them completely. Plus, at the time I began having D, I had also been taking two adult aspirin every night you years and I was prescribed PPIs for GERD. So, if you look at the list of things that are suspected to cause MC, I had all of them. Who knew?

When I was finally diagnosed, I went on Entocort, used this site - a lot - and bought the book. I then set out to do everything possible to fix the problem. I have gone progressively in the right direction but I know that eating offenders would set me back. I have reduced the Entocort several times and with each reduction, I need to pull back for a while on the amount of fruits and veggies I eat then I stabilize again at the lower dose. I am 6 1/2 months post-diagnosis and I consider myself improved but certainly not in complete remission. I have resigned to not eating certain foods in my future yet I look forward to increasing other foods - and I have increased some.

Early after my diagnosis, I was eating mostly meat and progressed in baby steps. It varies for everyone. Early in recovery is a time of learning, making some mistakes, and moving on. It takes a while but from what I'm seeing, working hard at it pays off.
Tex said:

Some doctors do recommend diet changes, in the form of avoiding spicy foods, caffeine, citrus fruits, etc., especially close to bedtime, but virtually none of them get it right, because they fail to recommend the 100 % elimination of gluten and casein from the diet.

During my many years of gut symptoms, I had recommendations to stay away from the foods Tex mentions above...spicy foods, tomatoes, coffee, citrus.... and I did it very precisely for long periods. It didn't help a bit.

Try your very best to learn how to REALLY eliminate your offenders. It should pay off. I have found the people on this board to be a tremendous resource. I could not have done it without them. Tex has dedicated years to helping other overcome this problem during a time when there were no reliable resources. If you follow what people have said, their doctors often don't know how to help.
Hang in there. Read the book!

[UkuleleLady]

Plus, at the time I began having D, I had also been taking two adult aspirin every night you years and I was prescribed PPIs for GERD.

Hi DJ,

Just wondering which PPI you were on when the D started. I was on Dexilant.

Nancy