The difference was almost immediate. I had been having increasingly diverse symptoms for several years: perpetually cold feet, hands and nose, thinning teeth, skin problems with perpetual zits, eczema, scaly elbows, dry skin, anemia, extreme fatigue, poor immune, sudden weight gain, edema (so much so that by the end shoes were very uncomfortable and my ankles hung over them), headaches, dry hair, reflux, choking/hoarse voice from the reflux, high acidity levels, and then at the end constipation/diarrhea. I had to be right by a bathroom within 10 minutes of eating.
It hasn't been that hard to make the switch at home - I just avoid anything containing wheat, rye or barley. Instead of pasta, I have rice noodles, rice or quinoa. There is gluten free bread called Udi's that isn't too bad, although it's expensive and there is an increasingly large selection of gluten free products out there, including a flour substitute that is quite good called celimix (usually you have to buy a whole collection of different flours and mess around with them to get something of a palatable taste and consistency but this stuff is good for crepes and muffins and cupcakes/cakes etc). Gravy can be thickened with that or cornstarch.
The tricky thing is reading labels for stuff where you might not expect it: broth (depends on the brand), ice cream (depends on the brand), potato chips (depends on the brand and flavour), soya sauce, cocoa, salad dressing, spices, certain brands of chocolate and so on.
Going out is more of a pain because you have to ask very detailed questions and also avoid eating anything fried - even if it doesn't contain gluten, there's no guarantee that other breaded things haven't been cooked in the same oil or on the same grill. There's also always the risk of cross contamination. Something as small as a breadcrumb can inflame and irritate the small intestine and do damage if you have a problem, so you have to be kind of vigilant.
New York Fries is okay (even their poutine) and so are McDonald's fries (dedicated fryer), DQ ice cream and most of their toppings are alright, Tim Horton's chilli is usually fine as are a few of their soups. Most restaurants and food companies have websites you can check. With potato chips it depends on the brand.
If you are at a potluck or someone's house, I've found it works best just to bring my own food. There's just very little that doesn't contain gluten in some form and I also don't like being "that person" who has food issues all the time. That way, I also know that no one has used a spoon from some other gluteny dish to dip into whatever I am going to serve myself.
I've found that I can much more easily pass up a lot of food without even a twinge. There was a lot that normally I might have just because it was offered, but that I wasn't really dying to have. I've lost 25 pounds and many of the other symptoms went away, so to me, the benefits by far outweigh the hardship (I also would like to live!). If you suspect you have a problem, get a blood test for antibodies before you go off gluten and if it comes back positive and you want absolute confirmation of how severe the issue is (gluten intolerant vs celiac), get a biopsy done right away. Sometimes the blood test gives a false negative, so even if you test negative, try going off for a couple weeks and see how you feel. Many doctors are really under-educated about this, so they are not likely to happen across the diagnosis themselves. I went to about 5 or 6 doctors and was told it was premature aging, that I was healthier than I thought I was, that all the symptoms were separate conditions, or that they really didn't know. It was through a friend whose husband nearly died of celiac's and whose children both have it that I happened across that possibility and went and got tested.
