[Guest]

This may be a naive question in the sense that maybe it's one of those things that's completely different for everyone but I'm hoping some of you can share your experiences with me. Quick background - I've been told I have IBS for about 12 years, always C-related but my bigger complaint is chronic pain, sometimes so bad that it just drains me. I've experimented with diet many times but have never tried eliminating wheat so I'm willing to give it a try. Never realized how many products have wheat in them! So my question is how long does it take on a wheat-free diet to see if it helps? Is it a matter of just a few days or a week or maybe longer? It seems at this point that it's going to be an extremely difficult experiment for me but I'm willing to give it a try if I think there's hope. Appreciate any comments you can offer.

 

[eric]

Sickofpain, you might want to check out this website which will help you. http://www.celiac.com/ It has a gluten free diet and support group

. ------------------ http://webpotential.com/ericibs/index.htm

 

[SteveE]

I tried it for 3-3.5 weeks and got significantly worse & had so little energy that my wife and I both thought I would die if I went for even a day longer. (I'm mainly a D, though). My sister is a C, and she's found that whole wheat seems to be ok, but too much of the PROCESSED white flour makes her worse, so she avoids that & gets her energy & fiber from lots of fruit.My opinion (bottomline): Unless you've had a small bowel biopsy which clearly shows that you are a celiac, don't avoid whole wheat, but definately consider reducing some of the processed white flour stuff.

 

[marianne]

Have you tried chamomile for the pain? This simple and safe herb always helps me. If you make tea, be sure it is strong (two teabags or two teaspoons to one cup of water, steep 20 minutes - drink hot or cold); I have started to use a non-alcoholic chamomile extract, I just put a dropperful of the extract in water and drink it. You can carry the extract around with you and it is more convenient than the tea.

 

[Guest]

I've been wheat-free for a couple years now, although I cheat a tiny bit once in a while. I don't know if it will relieve your pain, but I felt much better within a week. I had more energy and was much less depressed and cranky. It is difficult to avoid though. It takes a lot of attention to ingredients and finding alternatives. Let us know how you do if you try it.

 

[Guest]

I have had alot of success cutting it out of my diet. The first week or so is hard and you don't feel great generally, it was like going through withdrawl. It's all up hill from there though. I can't say whether it will work for you for sure. Why don't you start cutting it out slowly. Cut out the breads you may have in the mornings then cut out breads at supper. See how you feel after that. I don't think it's wise to cut anything totally out of your diet but cutting back alot may really help.

 

[sickofsick]

Hi sickofpain, I was on a wheat free and gluten free diet for about 2 years but it took a month for me to see significant improvement. From there on in it just got better and better. The first week I actually felt worse and if it had not been for all the reading I did on it first I think I would have given up then. Its not easy but if you start to feel much better its well worth it, good lucksickofsick