Help with Enterolab Results Interpretation

[Sonia]

Ok, got it. I know I had read that elsewhere on this site but had forgotten--I am so grateful for all this research!

Was just pursuing the site and came across a post stating that folks intolerant of almonds could still have almond milk...is this up to date info? I've been ordering walnut milk online. With rice and dairy all out for me I would love a more readily available option! Apparently I'm ok woth soy, but I haven't tried soymilk/soy products yet since I'm definitely still in healing mode.

Happy Spring,
Sonia

[tex]

This sort of information isn't chiseled in stone, because there are probably exceptions among us, but in general, yes, most of us who show antibody reactions to almonds, can use almond milk without any problems, as long as it doesn't contain any ingredient other than almonds that might cause us to react. For some, the gums that are added to the nut milks to thicken them, and keep everything in suspension, might cause problems due to the fact that most gums are derived from legumes, but since you don't show a reaction to soy, anyway, gums shouldn't be a problem for you. So yes, almond milk should be a safe item for you, although there are never any guarantees, regarding food safety for MC patients.

Tex

[Sonia]

Ok, interesting. I assumed I had the almond sensitivity because I regularly drank almond milk. Any idea why almonds would be a culprit but not the milk? I may try it in a few weeks, after my bulk order of walnut milk runs out!
Gratefully,
Sonia

[tex]

Nope, no idea why.

Tex

[Sonia]

Just touching base with an update--down to alternating 6 mg and 3mg budesinide. Stool consistency varies greatly and I haven't identified any trigger for that as my diet is pretty much the same every day, but not dealing with urgency or multiple bowel movements per day. I ate some delicious wild boar bacon tonight, and checked too late to realize this is a no-no!! Hopefully it won't cause a reaction as I had a 1+ for pork...

I've been on the budesinide about a year and a half and my GI wants me to come off completely in the next month or so. Their next suggestion is entyvio, which my insurance won't cover, or another oral medication used for IBS. I'm hopeful I won't need to try either of those and that this diet will prove effective.

Fingers crossed that the boar sits ok with me! (If I were to cheat intentionally, I would have chosen ice cream!!)
Sonia

[tex]

With any luck at all, it shouldn't cause any serious problems.

Thanks for the update.

Tex

[Sonia]

Hi friends,
Looking back on these posts is so helpful to see progress! I'm down to 3mg budesinide every other day. Stools just 1-2 in the morning/very loose but not watery so this is tolerable and hopefully a sign that full remission is possible.

Side note that I did have one week of vacation where ALL symptoms disappeared. So maybe I'm a wee bit more stressed (2 kids, full time job, some s*** going on, and not the MC kind...)

I'm now about 18 months into this diet, so healing sure takes awhile.

Enjoying moose burgers and turkey nuggets breaded in quinoa flour in occasion:)

Sonia

[tex]

Thanks for the update. Yes, stress is one of the big triggers for MC. For most of us, intense stress can cause a complete relapse.

Tex

[Sonia]

Perusing the site and seeing that there are folks who do a low dose maintenance dose of budesinide. I seem to be ok woth 3mg every other day but not able to go lower. I'm guessing this is due to stress--I do a lot of self care, but a full time job/two kids after years of infertility/difficult financial and marriage situations...well, I can only control so much. My GI wants me off the steroid but I think I will try GP and see if she would keep prescribing it to me.
Sonia

[tex]

Sonia,

Hopefully, your GP should be willing to do that. If not, it's time to either change gastroenterologists, or order the budesonide from an overseas pharmacy, (without a prescription). If your GP wants to see a reference, here's a link to a medical reference that justifies the safety and efficacy of long-term use of budesonide:

https://gut.bmj.com/content/65/1/47

Tex

[Sonia]

Thanks for this resource. My GP is fine with continuing the budesinide at a low dose. Also, I've tried 6 capsules of psyllium per day in the past week, and haven't needed budesinide at all, so this is encouraging--stools have been soft but holding together. Years ago I remember trying both Metamucil and acacia fiber with no change in symptoms. Folks here seem to think psyllium is good for controlling symptoms when there isn't significant inflammation or a flare, correct? I can't imagine the psyllium would have helped that much before the diet when I was having 10-20 stools all day and night. I'm feeling like remission is on the horizon.
Sonia

[tex]

That's encouraging news about the symptoms. And you're correct about the fiber. When our intestines are inflamed, fiber just adds to the irritation. But after we reach remission, our ability to tolerate fiber gradually returns.

Tex

[Sonia]

Aaagh! So I'm in the middle of what I guess is a flare--taling immodium to help control symptoms. Nothing in my diet has changed, although I have gotten lax with things like lemon juice, green herbs, and mustard to add flavor to food. I will try to be super strict this week, but aside from that--this could be stress related??? It is such a puzzle and I'm tired of asking myself, what did I eat????

[tex]

When our stress level is up, it doesn't take much to make us react. If the stress is fairly bad, it can cause us to react no matter how careful we are with our diet. And the problem with MC, is that once we start to react, the stress caused by the reaction adds to our existing stress, and makes stopping the reaction a lot harder. That said, mustard, or similar seasonings, can cause problems for many of us.

Tex

[Sonia]

I have had trouble logging on recently but I'm back after a hiatus. Some big updates: working with a functional medicine doctor, I learned that I had an h. Pylori infection. I treated this with some hard-core antibiotics, and my 15 years of WD went away. Not kidding. It has felt like a miracle. I was able to reintroduce foods I hadn't had in 2 years with no issues whatsoever.

Bad news is that the infection keeps recurring/isn't eradicated fully with the medication, and after starting the 3rd round of antibiotics I started having some other side effects that forced me to stop them. I'm now taking an herbal/supplemental approach, which is both expensive and slow (the WD is back). My family is asymptomatic but also all h.p. positive, and so the plan is for all of us to be treated concurrently in the coming weeks.

So, in some ways I feel back to square one, but I have never had such a direct relationship between a treatment and my symptoms (excepting budesinide, which was great but as we know isn't ideal for longterm). It is a relief to know what is causing the problem, and not to always be questioning every bite I out into my mouth. To anyone who might be interested, I learned of the h.p. infection from a PCR stool test, which is more accurate than the antibody tests typically done at my hospital.

Wishing healing for all,
Sonia