gluten-free or entocort?

[butterfly]

Hi,

I had been on entocort for about 3 weeks with not much results when I decided to try the gluten-free diet, which was about 4 days ago. This is weird, but the day I went GF, my D began to improve. I don't know if it was that the entocort had finally begun to kick in, or that I am gluten sensitive, and removing it from my diet had immediate results. I am thinking it could be a combination of both. Because I am doing so much better, I do not want to go back to eating gluten right away, assuming that it was the entocort that is now helping me. The D had been going on for 3 months, with a 6 pound weight loss, and I think that if being gluten-free (even if I'm not sensitive) will help my gut heal, I can handle it for a while. But, if I'm not gluten sensitive, I would rather not have to continue on a GF diet ad infinitum, and be able to go back to eating regular food. How long does it normally take for D to improve once you go gluten-free? Could it have been the entocort, and could it have been just coincidental that I went gluten-free at the same time? Any thoughts?

[Joefnh]

Butterfly the answer is yes to both. First the Entocort seems like it takes 2 - 3 weeks to see the full effect. Some see improvement earlier. Second Butterfly you really need both the Entocort AND the GF diet. While several members here are able to manage the MC with diet alone, others add to the diet the use of Entocort to assist in the healing process.

Look at it this way. The gluten irritates our systems and as part of our bodies reaction to the gluten, and due to this reaction damage occurs to the tissue wall structure of the bowels. The Entocort allows for a reduction in the inflammation and reduces the bodies local reaction to the irritated area allowing for healing to occur.

Thanks for posting this question, it is an excellent one

--Joe

[tex]

How long does it normally take for D to improve once you go gluten-free? Could it have been the entocort, and could it have been just coincidental that I went gluten-free at the same time? Any thoughts?

It normally takes at least several weeks for the diet to bring any significant improvement, but times vary wildly, and a few people can see improvement within a day or so, while others may take 6 months or more. Since you were already taking Entocort for several weeks before starting the diet, then there is no way that you can draw any logical conclusions from what happened, because the improvement could have been a coincidence, (IOW, due to the Entocort alone), or it could have been that you were getting near to remission, and the effect of the diet was enough to tip the balance.

The mere fact that you have a diagnosis of MC, means that the odds are 2 to 1 that you are gluten sensitive. There are two ways to verify whether or not you are gluten-sensitive.

1. Order a test kit from Enterolab, and send them a stool sample for analysis.

2. Resume eating gluten, and see if your symptoms become worse. If you are not sensitive to gluten, then eating it should have absolutely no effect on your potential for healing. IOW, if you are not sensitive to gluten, then avoiding it will not help you to heal faster.

Please keep us updated on your progress, because there are so few of us who are not gluten-sensitive, that we need all the data we can get from those who are fortunate enough to not be gluten-sensitive.

Tex