question about enterolab vs MRT testing

Feel free to discuss any topic of general interest, so long as nothing you post here is likely to be interpreted as insulting, and/or inflammatory, nor clearly designed to provoke any individual or group. Please be considerate of others feelings, and they will be considerate of yours.

Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh

Post Reply
quesada
Adélie Penguin
Adélie Penguin
Posts: 61
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:17 pm

question about enterolab vs MRT testing

Post by quesada »

Are enterolab results "permanent"? And MRT tests things you can exclude and then slowly include at some point down the road? Or are reds something you will probably never be able to eat again. I am confused.....
Thanks and sorry for all the questions.
Lisa
User avatar
tex
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 35071
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 9:00 am
Location: Central Texas

Post by tex »

Lisa wrote:Are enterolab results "permanent"?
Usually, but that's not necessarily chiseled in stone, because that can be changed if genes are altered, (either directly or by epigenetics). Also, a couple of the proteins that sometimes show positive results, do not always show long-lasting effects. The reason for this is unknown, but it could be due to the effects of cellular mimicry. At any rate, most members here who have tested positive to yeast, have found that after they are in remission, they are able to ignore that test result. Also, some, (but not all), members who have tested positive to egg albumen, have found that after they are in remission, they can tolerate eggs in baked goods, and a few have even been able to tolerate them in general. In some cases, members have found that duck eggs, for example can be tolerated when chicken eggs cannot, and "homegrown", or "farmer's market", eggs work for some of us, whereas commercial eggs will not. Most other positive results on an Enterolab test, however, tend to be permanent, with no exceptions, other than the possibility of genetic changes, as mentioned above.

Someone who is more experienced with the MRT will need to address your question about those results. I'm not satisfied that I know enough about it to answer your question.

Tex
:cowboy:

It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
User avatar
sarkin
Rockhopper Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin
Posts: 2313
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:44 pm
Location: Brooklyn, NY

Post by sarkin »

Lisa,

Though the 'reds' on MRT clearly need to be approached with caution, I remember reading a report of at least one person being able to re-introduce a highly reactive food... maybe more than one person. (I hope you hear from them, as I am just an MRT wannabe.)

It's both frustrating and hopeful that these results may not be chiseled in stone (I'm sticking with 'hopeful').

--S
quesada
Adélie Penguin
Adélie Penguin
Posts: 61
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:17 pm

Post by quesada »

Thanks!
User avatar
Lesley
King Penguin
King Penguin
Posts: 2920
Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:13 pm
Contact:

Post by Lesley »

I just reread this, Tex, and find it very discouraging because I am sensitive to so much! The thought that meat and potatoes will be all I can eat for the rest of my life......
User avatar
mbeezie
Rockhopper Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin
Posts: 1500
Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 3:14 am
Location: Texas

Post by mbeezie »

As for MRT and adding food back, you won't know until you try. If you do MRT and get symptoms under control, after about 6-8 months (or longer) you can begin to test reactive foods. In some cases reactive foods can be tolerated in small quantities. But some people will be reactive for life. There's no simple answer.

From what I have been able to assess is that the success of MRT often depends on one's ability to stick with the restrictive diet. Polly is the MRT poster child - she got tremendous results because she followed it to the letter. People's progress with MRT tends to fall apart when they start to add back foods too quickly or too frequently.

Mary Beth
"If you believe it will work out, you'll see opportunities. If you believe it won't you will see obstacles." - Dr. Wayne Dyer
User avatar
Zizzle
King Penguin
King Penguin
Posts: 3492
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 9:47 am

Post by Zizzle »

I was planning to get MRT testing this month, but my new doc ordered celiac cross-reactivity food testing instead from Cyrex labs. I may eventually do MRT, but both he and my prior nutritionist are not 100% sold on it. My nutritionist has celiac and multiple sensitivities, and she found the MRT to be less than accurate and not all that helpful (for her). Maybe next year...
User avatar
tex
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 35071
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 9:00 am
Location: Central Texas

Post by tex »

That's a blood test for both IgG and IgA combined, for:

Cow’s Milk
Alpha-Casein & Beta-Casein
Casomorphin
Milk Butyrophilin
American Cheese
Chocolate (Milk)
Sorghum
Millet
Spelt
Amaranth
Quinoa
Yeast
Sesame
Hemp
Rye
Barley
Polish Wheat
Buckwheat
Tapioca
Oats
Coffee
Corn
Rice
Potato

IgG + IgA combined, is what the classic celiac antigliadin tests check for, so based on that, I would guess that this test will work weakly for fully-developed celiacs, and not at all for most people with MC, (but not fully-developed celiac disease).

Also, that panel does not include the tests for wheat/gluten, (Array 3). Why is your doctor not including that as well? Is he afraid that the results will come back negative, and make all the other results appear questionable?

Haven't you already tested negative to the classic celiac antigliadin IgG + IgA antibody test?

Doctors love blood tests, because they're so easy and "clean", but they have very poor sensitivity for detecting antibodies to digestive system food-sensitivities.

Tex
:cowboy:

It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
User avatar
Zizzle
King Penguin
King Penguin
Posts: 3492
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 9:47 am

Post by Zizzle »

Well my new doc is 100% sure I have celiac disease, despite negative blood results. He apologized for the actions of my previous docstos. :smile: He said my immediate improvement after gluten withdrawl, my immediate and severe symptoms upon gluten rechallenge and my other autoimmune issues are enough to make the determination. He believes gluten intolerance (and celiac) is a spectrum disease, and I'm somewhere on the more developed side of the spectrum. He is also convinced I have mast cell issues (based on my reactions to sweat and exercise, dermographia and skin rashes), so maybe that would suggest I might get positive IgG results? I dunno. I hope it's not a waste of time because it was expensive!!
User avatar
tex
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 35071
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 9:00 am
Location: Central Texas

Post by tex »

Wow! I had forgotten that you had told us that about your doc. You're in good hands, surely. He sounds like a doctor willing to think for himself, and that's a pretty rare commodity in the field of gastroenterology these days. :thumbsup: If only he realized that blood tests are vastly inferior to stool tests, for detecting food-sensitivities, he would be practically perfect. :wink:

Maybe we'll learn something from the test - I don't recall anyone else using that lab, but maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention.

Tex
:cowboy:

It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Post Reply

Return to “Main Message Board”