Short Reprieve - What Would You Do?

[Deanna in CO]

Hi all,

Well, thanks to a multi-day asthma attack, I'm on a "short burst" of 40 mg prednisone for 5 days. So how would all you more experienced folks handle this? Anything different you would eat (obviously no gluten, dairy, or egg for me and no almonds b/c I'm sensitive to them as well)? Fresh fruits and veggies? Extra supplements since my absorption should be better for a few days? I'm figuring this is similar to being on Entocort, only for a shorter time period - so what do people do on Entocort that's harder to do on diet alone?

I'd love to use this as a "jump start" to Entocort itself (I know there's been discussion of that strategy on this board), but my dh is still holding out hope that after the first of July we will try the other Enterolab tests, and I don't want to take Entocort at least until those are done. So for now it's just going to be a short reprieve.

Thanks,

Deanna

[brandy]

Hi Deanna,

As a 4.5 month Ento user I'd recommend the extra supplements.

I understand your thoughts about the "jump start" option. I am a CC er who didn't get the Enterolab testing until 8 weeks after my last pill and then got the results 3 weeks after that. The 8 week thing was kind of random---I kind of followed the guidance of another poster. It is possible I could have been tested sooner but I never called the lab.

My decision not to do the Enterolab testing early wasn't any kind of educated decision on my part or anything. Early on with this disease I had a lot of neurological issues and it was hard for me to mentally grasp a lot of the concepts that were being discussed on this board until much much later.

While on Ento I pretty much assumed all 4 categories were problematic. I wasn't the perfect patient in that I didn't give up yogurt until 2 weeks b/f getting off Ento and I only did that then as an insurance policy. Duh, I ended up feeling better almost immediately. I thought I was soy free through it all but actually had a fair amount of soy contamination that I didn't realize until around 3 months after my last pill.

In the big picture it is probably preferable to get the Enterolab testing b/f going on Ento. For me the negative to getting the testing later was I found it kind of stressful getting off of Ento without having had the Enterolab testing. It wasn't so much a gut thing but more of a mind/stress thing.

Just thought I would post my experience in case you decide to cave in. I don't want to encourage or discourage you either way. Brandy

[Deanna in CO]

Brandy,

Thanks so much for the thoughts. I actually did the "big 4" and the genetic testing a few weeks ago, and I'm glad I did as I discovered I am not very sensitive to soy (had a 5 on that one). I'm going to try it again soon; since I'd already been off it a few months I'm still wondering, but I'd been off egg the same amount of time and that was 11, and I'd been off dairy at least 2 months longer and that was 32, so we'll see.

I want to get the 11-food panel when we can swing it financially, after the 1st of July, and that's why I need to wait on the Entocort (if I decide to take it at all - I keep hoping I'll be enough better by then that I won't need it).

Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts.

Deanna