A little help please

I hate to admit I am finding things tough at the moment.

How long does it take to notice a real difference in symptoms after starting a gluten free diet?

I know that there probably isn't a clear cut answer to this but I am interested in finding out from my fellow Coeliacs how long it took you to notice a big difference and to feel well again after removing gluten from your diet.

I am now in week 5 of my gluten free lifestyle and I admit that during the past 2 or 3 weeks I had noticed a slight improvement in my symptoms e.g. I was not quite as tired as I have been feeling for months and months, but nevertheless still tired.

However, I am currently going through what can only be described as a bad spell and to save me from despair I thought I would turn to my blog and fellow bloggers for some advice. I have been feeling really ill for the past 5 days, the tiredness is back with a vengeance, and it seems like my symptoms are back to being as bad as they have ever been, despite noticing a small improvement in my symptoms initially. I don't think I have slipped up and eaten some gluten without knowing, as I have been so careful. But I really don't know what else could be wrong. Hence, my frustration! Any ideas?

I know I need to be patient and these things take time but if I am doing something wrong, I want to change that. Is it normal to have good and bad days whilst getting used to the gluten free diet? Am I doing something wrong? Or am I just jumping the gun a bit and expecting too much in the first few weeks?

 I recently read a suggestion online that you should change your toothbrush when you go gluten free even if it doesn't need changing yet just in case there is any gluten lurking in there. This is something I never even thought about but I have immediately thrown out the toothbrush and got a new one. I have brought a new chopping board so that I don't contaminate my bread with my husband's (gluten) bread. I no longer use our toaster and use the grill instead if I want toast. Despite being in to my 5th week of my gluten-free diet I am not really finding much improvement in my symptoms. And as far as I am aware I have been doing all I can to ensure that I don't have any gluten. I've read that some people can notice a difference in a matter of days, others it's a few weeks but then for some it could take up to a year for the gut to fully heal itself. I know I need to be patient but it's so tough! I want to feel better right away and I want to make all the sacrifices and changes to my diet seem worth it.

Anybody else have any other tips to help speed up my recovery or is it just a case of time? I would love to hear from you too if you are also struggling.

Thanks