(since undiagnosed acid reflux can cause elevated eosinophil counts in the esophagus. Yeah right! If not, she would do a 24 hour Ph scope (a tube down her throat for 24 hours to measure the acidity). Ha!I asked what she expected she might find and she said given that she’s an “allergic kid” (tree pollen and legumes), she’d be primarily looking for eosinophils (allergic inflammation cells) in the esophagus and/or colon. Intestinal biopsies would look for celiac disease or h.pylori missed by the blood and stool tests. I mentioned my MIL has elevated mast cells in her skin and colon (mastocytic enterocolitis), and she said that’s rarely seen in kids. That kids only get elevated mast cells on their skin. Of course no one thinks to do the special stain required to find it in their colonic biopsies, so of course they don’t find it! I think she said she would order the stain for it if I requested. I asked what the treatment would be assuming they find eosinophils, and she said “there is no treatment.” HUH? She would send us back to our allergist to do more food allergy testing to determine which foods to eliminate next. I asked, “can’t we skip the invasive testing then and simply go back for more allergy testing?” She admitting this could be an option. But of course she would choose the option that makes her $$.
I asked if she would consider ordering Enterolab tests, given how much they helped me and thousands like me. She said there is "no scientific basis for it" so she would not, but suggested my pediatrician might order it.
So I think my next step is to go to a nutritionist or a functional/integrative medicine practice that can order the non-mainstream stool and food sensitivity tests. I think she probably has microscopic colitis like me, either triggered by the e.coli infection in Guatemala or her tree pollen cross-reactivity issues. My friend with Crohn’s said her doctor said some people have watery diarrhea as their “normal.” As long as it’s only once or twice a day, and she is growing and developing fine (which she is), he said that can be considered a normal BM. Do you buy that? I think it’s a sign of chronic inflammation and intestinal permeability which will eventually lead to autoimmune diseases and/or IBDs. I imagine it’s mostly confined to her colon, therefore most of her digestion and absorption are not affected, but how long can I leave it alone? My husband wants to leave it alone completely – no more tests. I think I’ll eventually order her the Enterolab stool and gene tests I ordered for myself, but I need to justify the expense to my husband.
Ugh, on my own again...
Does that doctor have any kids of her own? If she has, I feel sorry for them. But then, she probably wouldn't subject them to such abusive treatment.
's uncle.
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