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I don't understand how long it really takes to see if one is wheat/gluten sensitive. I've quit gluten for several weeks but I'm not sure if I see a reaction when I add it back in. (Mostly because I never feel that great to start with so I can't tell if I'm seeing a reaction or just having a bad day from my RA.)

I don't want to cut something out of my diet if I don't have to. I'm just not sure how long it takes to outrule this for sure.

Most elimination diets say a few weeks, right? But is wheat/gluten a different time frame?

I don't know the answer to your question, but I'll share my experience and hopefully it might help you.

I gave up gluten to see if it would help with my autoimmune thyroid disease. I had read that a large sub-population of people with autoimmune thyroid disease were also making antibodies to gluten. The researchers put them on a gluten-free diet, and all the ones who had both kinds of antibodies were able to heal from their autoimmune thyroid disease. They said the time-frame varied, but it took up to two years for a few of the older adults.

Within two weeks of going gluten free, my Graves' Disease (autoimmune hyperthyroid disease) resolved and has never returned, so that reacted very quickly. However, I also had the suppressing kind of antibodies, and after the stimulating ones went away, those became dominant and I manifested Hashimoto's (autoimmune hypothyroid disease). It took about a half a year for that to resolve, but it finally did and has never returned either.

Good luck! I hope you find some relief from your RA.

Wow, that could take a long time! But it may be worth it if I can do it. I'm kind of running low on hope. Thanks for the response. It does help!

Hi Leslie,

I think gluten issues can take longer than most other food intolerances, but that's just been my experience. I so hope you find some relief from your RA symptoms. It would be wonderful if this helped!

Also, just in case, you are being super-careful about eliminating every last little bit of gluten, correct? It won't work if you just eliminate 99%. I know because after being gluten-free for a couple years I accidentally ate a very small amount of gluten - just a few breadcrumbs - and my dermatitis herpetiformus (a skin manifestation that some celiac people have in reaction to eating gluten) came back a couple days after that and lasted for 6 weeks!

I agree, you don't want to give up any more food if you don't have to. But I think giving up gluten is a definitely worth trying in the case of any autoimmune disease. I'd recommend trying it for several months at least to see if it makes a difference.

Good luck!

If gluten is the only food that causes a reaction, I would think you would see at least some improvement within 1-4 weeks. But if you have other foods that are causing a reaction and you continue to eat them, you may not notice a change. That's where the elimination diet is helpful. Do what works for you, but rest assured that diet really can make a difference!

When I stop wheat, I feel the difference in a couple of days. My attitude is way better.. happier, not irritable. I'm more irritable eating wheat.. Brain fog clears up, and I have more energy. I'm not sure if it's a wheat 'allergy' or a gluten intolerance. I was tested positive for an allergy to 'grass' Wheat and gluten grains are grasses

I think anyone who suspects a gluten intolerance should get a blood test to see if they have any gluten antibodies. Here's why----if you do, then you may have Celiac Disease and can have further tests to find out for sure. If you do have Celiac Disease you must avoid gluten for the rest of your life and believe me it's difficult to do because gluten is in almost all packaged foods whether you know it or not. It is even in some cosmetics. Celiac Disease is very serious and can lead to cancer of the small intestine. That's why it's important to get tested by a doctor instead of self-diagnosing. If you go on a gluten-free diet and then go to the doctor to get tested, the test may be inaccurate. Then you will have to start eating gluten again for quite awhile before you can be tested. So doctors recommend you don't go on a gluten-free diet until after you have been tested first.

I know because I made that mistake myself and had to got through a "gluten-challenge." It was miserable. Not only did all my original symptoms return, but I also got new symptoms (severe itching being the worst). I was finally diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

I wanted to get tested for several reasons. First of all was just to know for sure and have a definitive diagnoses, second was for insurance purposes and thirdly for those who are diagnosed with Celiac, it's important for other family members to be tested also as it runs in families.

Thanks everyone. These were all very helpful. There are several reasons to give up both wheat and gluten so I will try it. Monday is my start date.

I'm probably not going to get tested. I had been seeing natural doctors for a couple years. There were knowledgeable and had a lot of good theories about my health. Unfortunately, that journey was a huge waste of time and money. So I am very turned off to doing more tests unless there is great evidence that I need it. What I wouldn't do to have those many THOUSANDS of dollars back.

Also, I did the ED diet for 3 weeks and felt no better. Therefore I concluded that my problem was not allergy related. But still, it seems wheat is a different case (and time frame).

Anyway, I'm still confused about a lot of things but giving up gluten seems worth a try.

QUESTIONS: For oatmeal, I need to get Bob's Red Mill, correct? Because the cheap brands may be contaminated, right? What about things like buying lentils, rice, split peas? Must I buy certain brands? Are there other specific pitfalls?

And btw, I have RA (really bad knee pain) but not really other symptoms or problems. I think if I had multiple health problems I would be more concerned that I had CD. But what do I know? RA is frustrating. It seems that every time I see a list of symptoms for any problem, RA is on it. I guess that's why the natural docs tested me for "everything in the book." I did have the expensive allergy blood tests done a couple years ago and it didn't show many red flags.

I can only eat Bob's red mill GF rolled oats. I have also found that i only tolerate Lundberg's brown rice. Most other grains (quinoa, millet are my other staples) tend to be find if I buy Bob's red mill, the one they carry at Costco (quinoa), or Arrowhead mill's. I buy most of those grains on Amazon as their prices tend to be best and you can subscribe and save on most of them and save even more money.

I would avoid all condiments if possible, unless you really scrutinize every label. I tend to do best when I eat very very simply.

Hi

If you have celiac or gluten intolerance, you will start to feel better almost right away, but it can take 2 or 3 years for your body to heal completely, if it will depending on age and level of damage and compliance to the diet. Until then you won't feel 100%. I'm just now starting to feel more energy and less day to day struggle and I've been at it for 2 and half years. You MUST be VERY careful not to ingest even a crumb of gluten in order for you to be able to tell if it makes a difference.

As to grains etc., I've seen that Nuts Online carries certified millet and quinoa and oats. It's mail order but the prices look good. I may try some myself. www.nuts.com. Try to ignore the tempting troublesome nuts, dried fruit, candy etc. It gets easier. Use your computer and look companies up, send emails etc. Most places are very happy to help out. The gluten intolerance group has a great website with long lists of certified companies. RESEARCH is key!

RRC

Bob's sells both regular and gf oats, so be sure you get the gf ones. Some people are bothered by the gf oats too. Its an individual thing.

Be sure to read the labels on the things you buy. Watch for the warnings about being "produced in a facility that processes wheat". Even foods that are naturally gluten-free can be cross-contaminated in such a facility.

My first time on the elimination diet, I gave up after 3 weeks too. Then I listened to Burgess (google his name on the forum and you can read his story). He said it can take a very long time to reduce inflammation, so in things like arthritis, it can take a lot longer to see results. I had a flair earlier this year, and it took me a good three months of eating only the foods I had already identified as "safe foods" (for me) for the inflammation and swelling in my fingers, hands, and wrists to resolve.

Good luck!

I forgot to add that beans, peas and lentils are fine, BUT, with dry legumes, make sure that you sort through and remove any mystery grain that often comes along in the package.Then wash thoroughly, like until the water runs clear. Lentils and split peas are the worst for this. i often find one or two or up to a couple teaspoons of grain per cup. Larger beans are generally no problem but I sort them anyway. When I started doing this, it made all the difference. Canned beans are fine. I'm a little wary of canned lentils just because I know how contaminated they are. But that's my quirk.

I have not eaten oats in over two years. I miss them but.... I have another friend who just doesn't want to take them chance. It's up to you if you want to include them in your ED diet. Personally, I would leave them out to be on the safe side. It's true that some people can't handle even GF oats and you don't know that until you eliminate them. You can always plan to test GF oats while you are doing the ED.

Good Luck