Need help with Enterolab results please!

Artluver22 · Post by **Artluver22** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 9:45 am

Hi again,
I received the results from EnteroLab tests A & C late Friday, and will receive results from the MRT testing on Monday. I don't know what I can eat, and I am sure when I get the next set of results, I will be limited even more. Would Phyllis at EnteroLab help decipher the results if I call her? BTW, as I mentioned in my intro post, I think I have mast cell issues. The Claritin didn't seem to work, so I have been on Allegra for 2 days. I'm not sure that's working either, as I had D last night after a small dinner. If I start to follow the low histamine diet as well, I'm afraid the only thing I will be able to eat are my fingernails!! Here are the EnteroLab results... oh, and does the "Food to which there was moderate immunological reactivity (2+)" mean that I can eat them in moderation or not at all?

Anti-gliadin 42 (not sure why this is so high since I have been off gluten for almost 10 months)
Anti-casein 17
Anti-ovalbumin 54
Anti-soy 54
Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 60 units (I have no idea what this means)
Foods to which there was no significant immun. reactivity: 0
Foods to which there was some immun. reactivity: 0
Foods to which there was moderate immun. reactivity: (2+)
Corn, rice, tuna, chicken, pork, walnut, cashew, white potato
Foods to which there was significant and/or most immun. reactivity: (3+)
Beef, almond, oat

Any help would certainly be appreciated. Thanks so much!

JFR · Post by **JFR** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 11:37 am

You are certainly very reactive to all the foods they tested for. The mean of 60 for the 11 antigenic foods combined with your results where there were no foods that you didn't react to at all and no foods with only a minimal reactions means that you had above normal reactions too all the foods tested for. I had similar results but not quite as dramatic (my means for the 11 foods was 38).

Since you need to eat something I would try lamb and/or turkey and/or venison and perhaps a white fish like cod as a protein source. Be careful of the quality of the proteins you buy, no turkey that has been injected with anything, only wild caught fish, maybe only 100% grass fed lamb. Looks like you should cut out all grains. Lots of people here seem to be able to eat sweet potatoes if you want something starchy and you can try some other well cooked vegetables. Your MRT results may help you there. You should also probably cut out all nuts although I make macadamia nut butter and have no problem with it. For oils extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil are good ones to try. I cut out all foods that were either +2 or +3. My approach was to eat a very limited diet for about a month and although I have branched out a bit I still stick to a very limited menu 18 months later. It is doable but it takes a lot of motivation. I found not living in that bathroom to be highly motivating and I still do.

These results are really goods news and bad news. The good news is that you have some answers as to what you are reacting to. The bad news is obvious. Your diet is going to have to be very restricted if you want to get better.

Good luck with it all,
Jean

Artluver22 · Post by **Artluver22** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 11:49 am

Thanks so much Jean for your help! This is all such a mystery to me, but I am willing to try anything to get better.

Leah · Post by **Leah** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 12:52 pm

Wow, those are some tough results, but like Jean said, at least you have some answers. She made excellent food suggestions also. Keep it very simple until you start seeing some positive results. Since grains are probably out for now, check out some Paleo recipes and just sub in the proteins you can eat. Also, beware of fiber foods like raw fruits and veggies, and beans and legumes. Turkey soup with carrots would be soothing. Just try to remember that you may be able to add some of these foods back into your diet ( the +2 foods) when you are doing better and there has been significant healing.

Taking Benadryl at night has helped me a lot with histamines. Maybe you can try that.

Good luck and keep us posted.
Leah

Artluver22 · Post by **Artluver22** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 1:03 pm

Thank you Leah! Yes, I have actually been taking either Benedryl or Tylenol PM for years to help me sleep at night. I am really feeling sorry for myself right now. I started emptying my fridge, freezer and cupboards, but that's so depressing! When I first found out I was gluten intolerant, I bought so many G-F cookies, cake mixes, etc. I guess I will have to get rid of those too. The turkey soup is a great idea. I will try that. I have a couple of Paleo cookbooks that I haven't even looked at, so I will pull those out. I know there are some people on this board who are on the Paleo diet. I'm looking forward but dreading what the MRT results will show Monday.
Diane

Post by **tex** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 7:09 pm

Diane wrote:Anti-gliadin 42 (not sure why this is so high since I have been off gluten for almost 10 months)

That can be explained by the fact that anti-gliadin antibodies have a half-life of 120 days. Most other food-related antibodies have a half-life of approximately 6 days. This means that if your anti-gliadin antibody level was very high (for example a hundred or more), it will take well over a year for it to decline to below the threshold at which it will no longer trigger a positive test result (and that's assuming that you don't accidentally ingest any gluten, or have any source of cross-contamination in your diet, even in trace amounts). This does not mean that you will be unable to reach remission before then, it simply means that it will take a long time for your immune system to return to a "normal" anti-gliadin antibody level.

Our anti-gliadin antibody level is not an accurate indicator of the severity of our sensitivity to gluten. Instead, it's a crude indicator of the length of time that we have been reacting to gluten. Your relatively high level at 10 months after adopting the GF diet suggests that you have probably been sensitive to gluten for years before you adopted the diet.

Diane wrote:Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 60 units (I have no idea what this means)

As Jean mentioned, that number indicates that you are quite sensitive to the foods that show up in the +2 and +3 categories. While it is possible that you might be able to tolerate some of the +2 foods as part of at least a 3-day rotation program, as Jean suggested, the safest plan (and the fastest route to remission) is to avoid those foods until you have been in remission for at least several months, and then it may be safe to test them (one at a time) to see if you can tolerate any of them.

Diane wrote:When I first found out I was gluten intolerant, I bought so many G-F cookies, cake mixes, etc. I guess I will have to get rid of those too.

Please don't feel alone in that turn of events. Back when I was still trying to fine-tune my diet, I bought many, many mixes and other processed foods that I thought would be safe, but I virtually always ended up throwing them away, after failing to be able to tolerate them.

Do you mind if I add your results to our list here?

Tex

Artluver22 · Post by **Artluver22** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 7:40 pm

Tex,

Thanks for the in-depth info, as usual!! I was just whining about the foods in the pantry. I have actually had no desire for them anyway! I had a few small slices of turkey and 1/2 of a sweet potato tonight for dinner. So far, so good. I am really going to have to find more to eat though. My weight has gotten too low (words I never thought would EVER come out of my mouth!) and I look shriveled and gaunt.

Please be my guest and add my results to the list.

Diane

Jeanemcl · Post by **Jeanemcl** » Sun Oct 13, 2013 2:39 am

Ha! You should have come to my house for dinner...I had a few slices of turkey and some white rice. :cool:

I did top it off with a few spoonfuls of applesauce before I went to bed. I am sitting here this morning with my black coffee as I am not ready to face the headache if I give up this one cup. I am probably going to take a few days off at school this week as my energy level leaves something to be desired. It is FTE week which means it is our funding week so I have to get back and see the kiddos in order to have the school get there funds for me. I am trying not to stress over it.

Leah · Post by **Leah** » Sun Oct 13, 2013 11:37 am

I had to give up coffee. I did it by doing half caffeinated and half decaf and slowly increasing the decaf grounds until it was all decaf. Once I had no headache symptoms, I realized that even the decaf made my MC worse. Only herbal tea for me now :(

When it comes to keeping weight on, try to add some good fats to your diet. Eat the skin on your turkey. Avocado, olive oil, coconut oil ( this is yummy on the sweet potato)...etc.

Leah

Jeanemcl · Post by **Jeanemcl** » Sun Oct 13, 2013 11:47 am

Thanks for the suggestions....I will try those. I will have do work on the coffee thing though.....

Artluver22 · Post by **Artluver22** » Sun Oct 13, 2013 12:22 pm

Thanks Leah,

I'm down another 1/2 pound today. I would love the avocado suggestion, but I think it's on the high histamine list, isn't it? I would be very happy with that drizzled with olive oil. I have been addicted to guacamole for 50 years. If I could sneak that in again with maybe some corn chips occasionally... I don't know. Should I chance it?

I am wondering if one has mast cell issues and continues to eat high histamine foods but takes antihistamines, can you still eat a tiny bit of the food on rotation without it causing inflammation? I guess I had better wait for the MRT tests to come back tomorrow though before I try anything.

I had one more question. My EnteroLab results came back with 54 on the egg category. So, I guess that means I can't get a flu shot this year? I have had them every year with no problem, but they always ask if you are allergic to eggs. Now it appears that I am. So no flu shot? I am around my grandchildren constantly, who often get sick from germs at school. When I get sick, I immediately get bronchitis, so onto antibiotics.... I am about to start Bactrim for the 6 week old UTI that I can't shake. It's a very resistant strain of bacteria apparently. This just goes on and on...

Post by **tex** » Sun Oct 13, 2013 4:02 pm

Jean,

Remember that most of us do not have to stop drinking coffee — that applies only to those of us for whom it triggers an MC reaction.

Tex

Post by **tex** » Sun Oct 13, 2013 4:25 pm

Diane wrote:I am wondering if one has mast cell issues and continues to eat high histamine foods but takes antihistamines, can you still eat a tiny bit of the food on rotation without it causing inflammation?

Reactions to histamines are a dose-dependent phenomenon. IOW, we have problems if the accumulated level in circulation in our bloodstream exceeds a certain threshold level. As long as we stay below the threshold, we tend to be OK, but if we exceed it, things snowball in a hurry.

IOW, we can usually tolerate up to medium amounts of foods that have a moderately-high histamine level, and we may be able to tolerate small amounts of high-histamine foods, but if we eat too much of them (in the aggregate), then we will have a reaction (that may take some time to recede). That implies that one should be able to tolerate more histamine in foods if one or more antihistamines is taken prior to or with the ingestion of the food, but this is sort of like playing Russian roulette, using histamine instead of bullets. And the fact that we all tend to have different reaction thresholds further complicates the issue.

Diane wrote:I had one more question. My EnteroLab results came back with 54 on the egg category. So, I guess that means I can't get a flu shot this year?

In most cases, I would say that your test results shouldn't be an issue that would prevent you from getting a flu shot, because the EnteroLab results are based on the detection of IgA antibodies, and IgA antibodies are not connected with anaphylactic reactions. Anaphylactic reactions are associated with IgE antibodies. Unfortunately though, if you are sure that you are having mast cell problems, that might possibly put you in a higher-risk category.

It's a complicated situation, because if you only have mast cell issues within your digestive system, then IgE antibodies might not necessarily be present. The possibility can't be ruled out, though. And if (like many of us) the mast cells in your GI tract also trigger respiratory or dermal allergy symptoms, then that is clear evidence that IgE antibodies are involved, and that could possibly put you at risk of an adverse reaction to a vaccine.

So the important question is, "Do you actually have mast cell issues, or are you avoiding high-histamine foods as a precaution to maximize your chances of achieving remission, just in case you might be sensitive"?

Tex

Artluver22 · Post by **Artluver22** » Sun Oct 13, 2013 6:29 pm

"So the important question is, "Do you actually have mast cell issues, or are you avoiding high-histamine foods as a precaution to maximize your chances of achieving remission, just in case you might be sensitive"? (from Tex)

That's your question, Tex, but I don't know how to put it in the proper form when you are answering someone's question. As far as the mast cell issue, a couple of months ago my nose started running when I would eat something. I never used to have that problem. But... I had noticed on occasion, when I would have D, my nose would also run. So... given those two things, plus a UTI that has been going on for 6 weeks and I haven't had one in many years, I was thinking (after reading about it in this group) that I may possibly have mast cell problems. I have been on Allegra for a few days and I am not sure if it's working. My nose is still running when eating just turkey breast. I was on Claritin and that didn't work. Today is the second day of trying out my new lifestyle adhering to the results of the EnteroLab tests, and so far so good!

So many of my constant food sensitivity troubles have been only in the last few months... well, maybe since May when I had my colonoscopy and found out I had MC. Things have just gotten progressively worse. I had always had issues with D on occasion, but nothing like this. I used to be able to take pills that had soy, could eat very minimal amounts of dairy, could eat many of the things that I am now testing very high in. I could eat products that had egg in them. What gives with this disease? I don't understand why things have gotten so bad. Is it a cumulative thing? I feel like my body is a perfect storm of intestinal sentitivities: gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, histamines, UTIs, SIBO, MC, beef, and on and on. And I am wondering if I just decide to bite the bullet and have the flu shot, and if I do have a reaction this year, what kind of reaction would I have? Would it be intestinal, a runny nose, anaphylactic shock? Should I have it at the hospital, just in case? (just joking)

Thanks Tex for always responding... and with such pearls of wisdom!
Diane

Post by **tex** » Sun Oct 13, 2013 7:45 pm

Diane,

To quote something in a post, you can copy and paste the text into your posting window, highlight it (by dragging the cursor across it as you hold down the left mouse button), and then click on the "Quote" button above the posting window. The system will automatically add the necessary code to the highlighted text so that it will show up as a quote after you submit the post.

If eating causes your nose to run, that's pretty strong evidence of a mast cell (histamine) reaction. Many members here minimize that problem by avoiding refrigerated food. Histamines develop rapidly in refrigerated food, especially fish and poultry. Instead of refrigerating it, they keep it frozen until they are ready to cook it. They defrost it in the microwave (to minimize the time for histamine development), and after they cook it, they freeze whatever they don't immediately eat, in serving-size portions. Then they can take one out of the freezer, thaw it and heat it in the microwave, and have a quick, safe, meal.

According to Dr. Fine's research, when the genes that predispose to MC are triggered, the genes that predispose to gluten sensitivity are also triggered in most cases. Apparently, for many of us, genes that predispose to other food sensitivities are also triggered at the same time.

The reaction risk I was referring to is the risk of an anaphylactic reaction. For some people, the vaccine can trigger a cytokine storm that can become life-threatening in a matter of a few minutes. We have several members who have experienced it, but they have major mast cell issues, which puts them in a higher-risk category than you. For example, in the first post at the first link below, Mary Beth describes her ordeal after receiving a flu shot, and in several of her posts in the thread at the second link, she describes her continuing problems that followed that initial reaction. Also please note that in her second post in the thread at the second link, she describes some of the warning signs that might have tipped her off that something was brewing within her immune system, if she had known what they meant at the time.

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9964

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12814

Of course, before the flu shot, her issues weren't all that bad. The vaccine really got things going with her immune system.

I apologize, because this might just be scaring you unnecessarily. We have no way of predicting the future, but it usually pays to err on the side of caution. It's impossible to predict whether or not you might experience such a reaction to a flu shot on any given occasion, but if you do choose to get the shot, yes, by all means, do stick around the hospital for 20 or 30 minutes afterward, to make sure that an anaphylactic reaction does not develop. If nothing shows up by then, you should be OK. But do this each time that you receive a flu shot in the future, just to be on the safe side.

Tex