Enterolab Results and Questions

[WWWB]

Hello fellow MC'ers.
Below are my test results. I am pretty upset about eggs, soy and casein (if it means cheese), not to mention everything else. But I am thankful nothing is in the 3+ category. And, of course, I am confused.

I have been on an elimination diet for 3 weeks with no issues at all. However, I have been taking Budesonide every other day. So here are my questions.
1. I have eaten ground turkey and rice for 2 weeks with no problems. Does that mean I am in the clear with those or is there no reaction because of the budesonide?
2. Should I assume turkey is in the same category as chicken in terms of sensitivity?
3. I have had 4 eggs over the last 2 weeks as well as plain corn chips. It says I am sensitive to them but I experienced no reaction at all. What does that mean?
4. It shows a sensitivity to casein. Does this mean cheese? (I think I know the answer but am so freaked out about what I think this means that I have to ask.)
5. If I were to go into remission and were retested, say next year, would my results reflect less sensitivity or remain the same?
6. I got an email from Enterolabs offering to do the malabsorption stool test for $89. I assume, based on others’ questions on this forum, that I should go forward with that?

Trying-Not-To-Lose-It-Weezie

Comprehensive Gluten/Antigenic Food Sensitivity Stool Panel[/b]

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA 48 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-casein (cow’s milk) IgA 25 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA 29 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-soy IgA 43 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 32 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

While all of the foods tested can be immune-stimulating, the hierarchy of reactions detected were as follows:
Food to which there was no significant immunological reactivity: None
Food to which there was some immunological reactivity (1+): Rice, White Potato
Food to which there was moderate immunological reactivity (2+): Oat, Corn, Tuna, Beef, Chicken, Pork, Walnut, Cashew, Almond
Food to which there was significant and/or the most immunological reactivity (3+) None

Within each class of foods to which you displayed multiple reactions, the hierarchy of those reactions detected were as follows:

Grains:
Grain toward which you displayed the most immunologic reactivity: Oat
Grain toward which you displayed intermediate immunologic reactivity: Corn
Grain toward which you displayed the least immunologic reactivity: Rice

Meats:
Meat toward which you displayed the most immunologic reactivity: Tuna
Meat toward which you were next most immunologically reactive: Beef
Meat toward which you displayed intermediate immunologic reactivity: Chicken
Meat toward which you displayed the least immunologic reactivity: Pork

Nuts:
Nut toward which you displayed the most immunologic reactivity: Walnut
Nut toward which you displayed intermediate immunologic reactivity: Cashew
Nut toward which you displayed the least immunologic reactivity: Almond

Nightshades:
You displayed immunologic reactivity to white potato, the member of the nightshade family usually consumed most often and in greatest quantities. While this does not necessarily mean you would react to all other nightshade foods (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant), it is possible. In the realm of elimination diets for immunologic disorders, nightshades are usually eliminated as the entire food class (i.e., all four previously mentioned foods in this class). This is especially important to the clinical setting of arthritis.

[Gabes-Apg]

hopefully we can remove the confusion for you.....

some answers to your questions

1. I have eaten ground turkey and rice for 2 weeks with no problems. Does that mean I am in the clear with those or is there no reaction because of the budesonide?

Rice is your least reactive grain and Turkey is different to chicken. if you were having a mild reaction to turkey then yes the budesonide may be masking it.

2. Should I assume turkey is in the same category as chicken in terms of sensitivity?

no

3. I have had 4 eggs over the last 2 weeks as well as plain corn chips. It says I am sensitive to them but I experienced no reaction at all. What does that mean?

the test result to chicken eggs was lower compared to Gluten and Soy. 4 eggs is a small amount. You may have started to notice issues if you had 2-3 eggs a day.
and as we mentioned above the budesonide may be masking a more intense reaction.

4. It shows a sensitivity to casein. Does this mean cheese? (I think I know the answer but am so freaked out about what I think this means that I have to ask.)

yes, it does...
why are you freaked out about giving up cheese?

5. If I were to go into remission and were retested, say next year, would my results reflect less sensitivity or remain the same?

not necessarily, every one is different. And keep in mind that inflammation and triggers is not just about foods, it is also environmental type triggers, pollen, pollution, chemicals, biotoxins, parasites, bacteria etc etc etc... these external triggers can make food reactions worse. there is also stress and lifestyle management. we have people that have had a colonscopy showing that their MC is in remission, and a stressful event causing either/or emotional/mental/physical stresses can cause major flare and relapse.

6. I got an email from Enterolabs offering to do the malabsorption stool test for $89. I assume, based on others’ questions on this forum, that I should go forward with that?

I have not done this testing so can not comment - hopefully the others will chime in.

hope this helps...

[WWWB]

Thank you so much for your response Gabes. I am freaking out about cheese because I absolutely love it! I also appreciate your reminder about other triggers. This is particularly helpful because I have had a stressful year but there is most definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. So perhaps reduced stress will help play a role in my remission.
Love your new photo!
Weezie

[tex]

Weezie,

I agree With Gabes' responses, but to I'll add my 2 cents worth to either further clarify or further confuse the issue.

1. I have eaten ground turkey and rice for 2 weeks with no problems. Does that mean I am in the clear with those or is there no reaction because of the budesonide?

If you want to eat grain, rice (white rice, not brown rice) is your best choice.

2. Should I assume turkey is in the same category as chicken in terms of sensitivity?

In addition to what Gabes said, I would point out that to date, no one here has reported reacting to turkey. On the other hand, more than a few have reported sensitivity to chicken.

3. I have had 4 eggs over the last 2 weeks as well as plain corn chips. It says I am sensitive to them but I experienced no reaction at all. What does that mean?

You said that you had no reaction to the eggs or corn chips. But how could you tell? Were you in remission? Unless we are in remission there's no reliable way to discern individual food reactions, because our reactions will be dominated by the main reaction (which is typically dominated by gluten). Until your gluten antibody level declines some more and your intestines do some healing, you may not be able to detect individual food sensitivities reliably. You'll see what I mean when you get to that point. It took me roughly 6 months on a GF diet before I could tell when I was reacting to any particular food. Before that I seemed to react to anything and everything at random. I seemed to react to everything except gluten, and gluten was the main problem. And yes, as Gabes said, budesonide can definitely mask those reactions.

4. It shows a sensitivity to casein. Does this mean cheese? (I think I know the answer but am so freaked out about what I think this means that I have to ask.)

The vast majority of us are sensitive to casein, which means that we have to avoid all dairy products.

5. If I were to go into remission and were retested, say next year, would my results reflect less sensitivity or remain the same?

As long as your diet is clean, the respective antibody levels for the foods to which you showed a reaction should slowly decline over time. There are exceptions in some cases, but typically the levels will decline after those foods are excluded from your diet. It can take years for gluten (anti-gliadin) antibodies to return to a normal level however, because anti-gliadin antibodies have a very long half-life (120 days).

6. I got an email from Enterolabs offering to do the malabsorption stool test for $89. I assume, based on others’ questions on this forum, that I should go forward with that?

That's a good price if you are interested in knowing whether you have significant small intestinal damage that needs to heal, but most of us have some degree of small intestinal damage because almost all of us have nutrient malabsorption problems. That test isn't essential though, because your small intestine will heal as you recover in response to the diet changes. On the other hand, if you have been following a restricted diet for a year or 2 with no noticeable progress, knowing that test result might be helpful.

Tex

[WWWB]

What is the difference between white rice and brown rice?

Based on what you have said I will probably pass on the additional testing.

Thanks for your response Tex.

Weezie

[tex]

Most of the fiber in brown rice is in the hull. White rice is brown rice with the hull removed.

You're very welcome,
Tex

[WWWB]

On my Enterolab results potato and white rice are both in the "some immunological reactivity" category. I have had absolutely no reaction to rice in my elimination diet and so I decided to add some Cape Cod potato chips. Ok, I had a lot. Anyway, these are my favorite bad-girl food and I read on the forum that many of us do not react to them. I had a significant reaction the next day, my first reaction to anything in 3 weeks. Could it be the canola oil? I see on the forum some have reactions to canola. I have had corn (moderate reactivity) chips with no reaction and I would assume that would be worse? Or maybe it is just the potato or that particular recipe? This diagnosis really messes with me!
Weezie

[tex]

Hi Weezie,

That's a tough question, because the reaction may have been due to the combination of canola oil and potato chips. IOW if you happen to be slightly sensitive to both, then the combination might present sort of a "double whammy" effect. It's even possible that a combination reaction might be the result of a synergistic effect between two reactive foods. Too much oil can cause D also, especially while our ability to digest and/or absorb fats is compromised.

But remember that with weak allergens (foods with a low reactive rating on EnteroLab test results), quantity counts. IOW, we may be able to tolerate relatively small amounts of foods that are classified as slightly reactive by EnteroLab but larger doses might cause us to react. Larger combinations could also have such an effect. Do you see what I'm sayng?

This may be confusing, but with potent allergens such as gluten, casein, or soy, for most of us only a tiny trace amount may be enough to knock us for a loop for a day or 3, whereas with the weak allergens (such as 1+ foods and possibly 2+ foods in cases where the overall score is relatively low), small amounts may be tolerated, especially if they are not eaten every day. But this also implies that there is probably a practical personal limit somewhere that determines how much of these weak allergens each of us can tolerate within a given time span before we exceed our threshold at which a reaction will be triggered.

This added level of complexity is why dietitians are rarely any help with this disease, even if they happen to understand it. And of course it would be extremely rare to encounter a dietitian who actually understands MC.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

added to the complexity of what Tex is saying about that weak allergens building up to a level etc - external triggers can impact our reactions to food..

a day where you didnt sleep as well, bit of pollen (or other external biotoxin etc), bit of work stress and you might react to weak allergens
on a different day where sleep is good, no histamine influences and minimal stress - there might be no reaction to consuming the same amount of weak allergens

this is why alot of practitioners struggle to understand MC. there are so many variables to the complexity.

On bad days, i can react to a different drinking water supply! pretty much anytime i leave the house, i take my filtered water with me.

[WWWB]

Very interesting Tex and Gabes. This feels like a 3 dimensional game of chess. I didn't really understand the disconnect with our group regarding dieticians before but now I get why you say that. It's just so individual and environmental, more than don't eat this or that. I certainly agree with the external influence as I know stress has played a significant role in this for me. Hyper awareness at all times seems the key!

I will continue to maintain my detailed journal and be aware of what I ingest and try to tease out the environmental aspect.

Again, thanks.

Weezie

[Erica P-G]

I just so happen to be experiencing this conversation....

I was going along great last week, got around too much pollen things in the yard over the weekend and my body has gone down hill ever since. I propped it back up a tiny bit with adding an Allegra 180mg for last few days, but I still can't stop the D completely, so I resort to the tried and true safe foods and get good rest, and try not to save the world

I will be so grateful when I have healed enough that I can have a better understanding of what could potentially set me off. There is no control with MC, I suspect that is what annoys me the most with this syndrome. Once again too many variables and my magic microscope wont tell me a thing either, LOL.

Your Entero numbers look very close to what mine were, all this is very doable it just takes time and patience.
Cheers
Erica

[Gabes-Apg]

The other aspect to this, dont overthink that your poop has to be 'near perfect' every time.

in my time with MC, my poop changes day to day. Ie today, I started with MC mud - then mid afternoon it was normal BM almost slow to pass...
who knows what it will be tomorrow!

this can happen even when I follow my MC plan, ie eat the same things each day, at the same time, sleep ok, no stress.

keeping a food, sleep, activity journal will help you figure out what your enviro triggers are
aside from stress, it could be the air con at work, it can be hormone fluctuations, for some, exercise can cause high histamine reactions,

[Erica P-G]

Just came across this article that really hits many nails on the head about the kind of symptoms we tend to go thru with Histamine and its precursors are a target for this time of year.

http://www.holistichelp.net/blog/the-lo ... histamine/

Happy reading!
Erica

[tex]

Erica,

I agree, that's an excellent article.

Tex