Help with Enterolab Results Interpretation

[Gabes-Apg]

Thanks Tex
that was also in my head when I went to reply but forgot to include it into the post

dealing with a few flooding issues here at home!

[Sonia]

Thanks, Gabes and Texas. Gabes I hope you are safe in the flooding you are dealing with.

My GI is moving away, but I'm kind of glad about that because my GP is prescribing my budesinide now and I really trust her. She says it is really up to me at this point whether to start weaning off; most of the danger with pregnancy would have been in the first trimester. If I did wean, I would do the 9-6-9 mg pattern and go back to 9 of any symptoms return.

I definitely don't have constipation--long ropey stools that are generally soft--and I'm also really enjoying not feeling awful right now. So I am inclined to stay on the budesinide at least until I'm at 20 weeks. I am concerned about osteoporosis long term and I'd also like to know how well the diet is working for sure without masking symptoms, but my immediate needs for a little peace in body and mind are more immediate.

Is there any pattern to when folks start feeling constipated on budesinide or is it very individual?

Thanks so much,
Sonia

[tex]

Sonja,

It sounds as though you're doing well. The onset of constipation symptoms with the use of budesonide varies by the individual, but a good rule of thumb to follow is to reduce the budesonide dose at the first signs of constipation.

Tex

[Sonia]

Hi Friends,

I've been on the 9-6-9 budesinide pattern for about 2.5 weeks and it seems to be going well. How do I know when to go down to 6mg daily? My GP seems open to following my lead.

Thanks!
Sonia

[tex]

Hello Sonia,

If your stool appears to be back to normal, and it is been consistent for about a week or so, it should be safe to reduce the dose to 6 mg daily.

Tex

[Sonia]

Hi Tex,
Ok sounds good, thank you! Do I follow the same pattern moving to a 6-3? I thought I might try to aim for a 3mg maintenance dose for the rest of my pregnancy and then reassess after my child is born and I'm out of the most intense postpartum period.
Sonia

[tex]

I would listen to my body, and make dose reductions that I was comfortable with.

Tex

[Sonia]

Hello friends,

Some updates on the past few weeks...

I'm now 26 weeks pregnant and the baby is, as far as we can tell, healthy and kicking up a storm.

After about a month on the 9-6-9 budesinide schedule, I've reduced my dose to 6mg daily for about the past week. Results are mixed--no watery stools and I've even had a couple days with no stools (very unusual), but stools seem to be getting looser. So, do I stick with the 6mg dose a little longer and make sure I'm extra careful with diet? Or go back up to 9-6-9? I may have been eating contaminated oats (oats are ok for me according to Enterolab) thanks to a report I received from Gluten Free watchdog, and I confess to cheating with a raw apple (it is fall, and it was so good.) If the oats were contaminated, then that really stinks because it can take so long for gluten to get out of my system.

I feel that things are going well overall as I'm only pooping once per day and no D. No "squidgy belly" as I used to describe the gurgly sensation in my gut after meals.

My feelings about this diet waiver--I know it is helping and usually I'm ok with it, but I so miss cooking creatively, and if I chop another sweet potato I might lose it!!

Thanks as always,
Sonia

[Gabes-Apg]

so glad to hear that things are going well -

re the limited diet - in time acceptance will come. Small sacrifice for a health pregnancy / minimal inflammation

[tex]

Sonia,

Here are my thoughts on oats: I can't say that you are definitely sensitive to oats, but I can tell you that most of us, virtually all of us, are sensitive to the avenin in oats. It's a weaker allergen, so it often takes longer to build up a sensitivity to oats, but once a sensitivity threshold is reached, the reaction is very similar to the reaction against gluten. Here's a link to a study of avenin sensitivity in pediatric celiac cases:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12889560/

When I did an oat challenge, over 10 years ago, it took me about six weeks to begin to react to certified gluten-free oats, but I was eating it every third day. Once I began to react, I reacted within about three hours of eating it, and after I stopped eating it, it took about another six weeks before I got it out of my system, and the diarrhea stopped.

Tex

[Sonia]

Ok, guess I'll cut out the oats and see if that helps. If not, I may go back up to the 9-6-9 dose at least until after the baby is born. I've read elsewhere on this site that many women experience remission during oregnancy but that has not been my experience.
Thanks, Tex and Gabes:)
Sonia

[Sonia]

Hi again,
The gestational diabetes test requires that I drink a ton of sugar in the form of dextrose. Corn was high reactivity for me, but I understand that it is the protein that causes a reaction,not the sugar. So should this be a problem? The other option is to do a week of finger pricks 4x per day, which isn't ideal but after ivf I can do anything.
Thanks,
Sonia

PS feeling better since giving up oats. Kind of frustrating since oats was apparently one of my few non-reactive foods, but I'm glad to be back on track

[Gabes-Apg]

Sonia

oats maybe a safe option for you - sadly the issue may well be the way foods are processed packaged.

not sure if you read the article in the recent MC foundation newsletter. Gluten free products in the USA can have 20 parts per million of gluten and still be classed as gluten free. Manufacturers can make 'gluten free' products in a factory where they are making products that contain gluten.
that small amount may be causing the issue for you.

The other sad part of bulk manufacturing is that the quality of the crops in current day food chain is not the same as what it was 20 years ago or 40 years ago. the aim of manufacturers is to make product as cheap as possible, not make a quality product.
the short cuts taken in the production process means that product are

post pregnancy it might be worth sourcing organic traditionally process oat product from reliable organic producer and see what happens.

[Sonia]

Hi friends,

Update and and a question--36 weeks pregnant and down to a 3-6-6-3-6-6 pattern with the budesinide taper. Past couple days I've had watery stools.in the morning--no diet changes other than some cough medicine which i took out if desperation (I have had a terrible virus for about 10 days--notcovid or flu but feels like it). Could robitussin be the culprit?
Sonia

[tex]

The virus is the most likely culprit.

Tex