Stinky wrote:My doc says my Collagenous Colitis is not a gluten sensitive colitis - is that a standard line?
The classic blood tests for celiac disease will not detect the type of gluten sensitivity that we have, even though most of us are just as sensitive to gluten as the average celiac. It can only be reliably determined by a stool test, and there is only one lab in the U. S. currently doing those tests, and that lab is Enterolab, in Dallas, TX. Therefore, unless he sent one of your stool samples to that lab, for testing, he is just making an unsubstantiated claim. He is going by an incorrect assumption that was made many years ago, namely, that if a patient does not have celiac disease, then that patient cannot be gluten sensitive. That assumption is totally incorrect, however.
Like Lyn, I never could associate gluten with the timing of my reactions, either, and I kept a food and reaction diary for almost two years. After I cut all gluten out of my diet, though, after roughly a year, I began to see some improvement, and after I also cut out dairy and several other foods, I was able to achieve remission.
Are you experiencing diarrhea? If so, then it's virtually impossible to tell what you are reacting to, at any given time, because some/most reactions are delayed, and the timing is not easy to predict, because we are all different. Just because you have an episode of diarrhea, doesn't necessarily mean that it was due to your last meal. If you are having normal BMs, then it's relatively easy to tell what you react to.
We have quite a few members who are vegetarians, or vegans. As I mentioned, about half of us are intolerant of soya, the protein in soy beans. If you are one of the unlucky ones who happen to be intolerant of soy, then it can become virtually impossible to get enough protein, on a vegan diet. Also, fiber tends to irritate our gut, until it is able to heal, and too much fiber can prolong the healing process. Hopefully, you won't turn out to be intolerant of soy. While we're healing, many of us are able to tolerate nut butters better than the nuts themselves.
In general, the immune system can only focus on one food intolerance at a time, so you probably won't even be able to tell whether or not you are soy intolerant, until you have eliminated all traces of gluten and dairy from your diet, (I realize that you may already be avoiding diary), and your gut has had a chance to do some healing, then, it may detect soy,
if you happen to be intolerant of it.
Tex
Stinky (I hesitate to use that name!!),
