HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR INTESTINES TO HEAL?

barbieAnn · Post by **barbieAnn** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 7:33 am

Hello all -

I had a quick question - approximately how long does it take for the intestines to heal if you are following a gluten free diet? I know there is no one answer to this question, but I was just curious to know how long it took for some of you.

I had my endoscopy last week and the doc told me I definitely do not have celiac and I can eat whatever I want. But I am not listening to him and have been eating gluten free.

Post by **tex** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 2:27 pm

It takes from 2 to 5 years for the gut to completely heal (for cellular histology to return to normal) , but you will be able to enjoy remission long before that. Without budesonide it takes anywhere from a few weeks to more than 6 months to reach remission after all of the diet changes have been made. At that point the diarrhea and most of the symptoms will end. The fatigue and brain fog may take up to a year and a half to two years before they fade away completely.

Tex

Deb · Post by **Deb** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 3:01 pm

Barbie Ann, it took me two years before I felt like I was better and my hair was thickening, etc. As Tex said I felt better long before that though, probably within 2-3 months. I am now seven years into this and though I had a pretty severe joint pain flair from a large accidental ingestion of gluten last summer,
I seldom have digestive issues these days except for some heartburn. Hang in there. It does get better. Deb

brandy · Post by **brandy** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 5:03 pm

Barbie Ann,

Also young folks will heal faster than older folks i.e. a 25 year old will heal faster than an 85 year old.

I was good (GI wise) at 6 months but it took 2 years to get rid of the brain fog.

barbieAnn · Post by **barbieAnn** » Mon Jan 01, 2018 7:08 am

Happy New Year everyone -

I have been on a gluten free diet for a few weeks now - I am going to order the Enterolab tests this week through Jean -

I'm just frustrated because I'm following the diet but am still having diarrhea, nausea etc. This morning I woke up to a lovely incontinence event. It just gets me so depressed.

jlbattin · Post by **jlbattin** » Mon Jan 01, 2018 8:44 am

Barbie Ann,

It took me about 2 years to try to figure everything out and feel like I had good healing. Did I have set backs along the way? Yes indeed.

You mentioned being gluten free, but are you also dairy and soy free? Most of us just have to be. The reason I ask is that when I ate chicken and rice for 3-4 months to get some good healing under my belt, I was also eating green beans. I was still having some issues. When I cut out the green beans, I felt a lot better. Soy is in everything and you have to read labels carefully.

barbieAnn · Post by **barbieAnn** » Mon Jan 01, 2018 11:22 am

Jari,

You are right - I know that I will have setbacks but it's just so frustrating.

It's funny that you mentioned the green beans because that's all I was eating this week with chicken! I thought that was safe but apparently not. I will have to be more careful and check the ingredients on everything. Can you give me some suggestions for veggies that do not contain soy that are safe? I know that everyone has different safe foods but if I can just get a rough idea -

Thank you so much!

jlbattin · Post by **jlbattin** » Mon Jan 01, 2018 11:46 am

I'm not sure how long you've been at this. I didn't eat any veggies at all (other than the green beans that I had to cut out) for 6 months or longer. Now, I can eat cooked carrots, potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower. Some cooked squash........right now, that's about all that I've tried.

brandy · Post by **brandy** » Mon Jan 01, 2018 12:10 pm

You may need to avoid veggies for a bit. Otherwise: overcooked carrots, canned pumpkin overcooked, overcooked green beans, overcooked squash

Janie · Post by **Janie** » Mon Jan 01, 2018 2:29 pm

I avoided veggies for about 2 to 3 weeks and ate meat only. Also went dairy, gluten and soy free. I reacted to rice so I didn't use it. When I did add veggies.
I did them one at a time and over cooked. Stayed with one veggie for awhile.
I had plenty of setbacks. It took 5 to 6 mos. to get fairly normal stools. I 've been in remission for 1 year plus. I still eat pretty basic.

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Mon Jan 01, 2018 5:20 pm

in line with the responses above

younger healthy people can heal in about 6 months
as we age (and if we have other health issues) then the healing journey takes longer - 1-2 years.

check out the posts in the members success stories area to see how long the healing journey was for others...

ldubois7 · Post by **ldubois7** » Sat Jan 06, 2018 7:32 am

It took a few years to get the inflammation under control. Then, I still delt with gas/bloating for quite a while until I got that under control...it’s a long process.

My observations....
Eat very bland, very few foods to calm the storm
Be patient
Start vitamins D3, then magnesium to help with healing
Be patient
Once you have the trips to the bathroom under control, you can work on other issues like SIBO, bad bacteria, other annoying symptoms.
Be patient
It’s a journey...a process that doesn’t end...eventually you resign yourself to that fact and your new normal is a healthier, more aware you!
Happy New Year! Make it the best!

brandy · Post by **brandy** » Sat Jan 06, 2018 10:00 pm

eventually you resign yourself to that fact and your new normal is a healthier, more aware you!
Happy New Year! Make it the best!

So true! Many of us are healthier post MC healing than we were before we got MC.

Erica P-G · Post by **Erica P-G** » Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:45 pm

Hi
It took me 6 mo to start feeling decent...not great still had impromptu bathroom visits. The next year was finding a few safe foods and only eating them regardless of the holidays etc... I also only ate steamed carrots in my bone broth noodle soup I bet my Vit A was off the charts for the longest time!

during this time I was diligent with VitD3 5000-10,000 iu and around 800 mg magnesium. I really buckled down and let the gut heal as much as it could.

Now 2.5 years into this healing process I am enjoying winter squash, and a little broccoli. I enjoy my white minute rice and yellow potatoes often.

Hang in there...be as diligent to staying gf. Df. Soyf eggf and healing will happen slowly.

If you struggle with it you may be a candidate of using cholestrymine real sugar binder that is prescribed. Polly is a great source to ask about this aspect of a helper in healing. I resort to it once in a while to help get me over a wrong food choice that won’t let up with anything I do.

SherylR · Post by **SherylR** » Tue Jan 16, 2018 3:33 pm

I was healed. Or so I thought. Had added in quite a few new foods and was doing well. I guess I just added in too much or — I can’t have all the things all at the same time. Was constipated for awhile. Now back to diahrrea. It seems to be C or D. Haven’t been quite normal for awhile now. Sad. Sad. Sad. As I head back to square one.