Another MRT question

[Sheila]

It has been 2+ weeks since I stopped budesinide and I had a bout of D this a.m. Had stomach discomfort and pain, gas, urgency and D. Deja vu, all over again. Took an immodium and hoped for the best as I left the house.
My MRT result shows catfish to be very red. I don't think I've ever eaten catfish so I assume this sensitivity to be accurate. I have eaten many other kinds of fish; snapper, grouper, dolphin, etc with no ill effects. My step-son gave me some freshly caught mackerel filets which I had for dinner last night. I have never eaten mackerel and the rest of the meal consisted of food I have been eating successfully during the past few years. I put some parmesan cheese on the risotto that I ate and whey is red for me. Since I had not been bothered by parmesan previously, I thought it was safe. Now that I have stopped the budesinide, I've lost whatever protection it afforded to my indescrections with parmesan.
My question regards the possible relationship between catfish and mackerel. Is it possible to be sensitive to a fish that may be related to a fish that is very red on the MRT? I don't know if other kinds of fish will cause a reaction now that I'm off budesinide. I plan on eliminating parmesan for the time being just to be safe and have started my food diary again.
I very definitely felt better while I was taking budesinide and I know I needed to stop taking it.

Thanks for any and all input.

Sheila W

[Kari]

Hi Sheila,

3 years after I did my MRT test I took it for a second time (last November) to see what, if anything, had changed. Imagine my surprise when nearly all of my "safe" food in my very limited diet had turned red and high yellow . I had not been able to do much of a rotation since I had limited my diet to low green items in an effort to heal. That sure backfired :(.

Anyhow, I wanted to let you know that Salmon was red on my first test, but low green on my second one, so depending on how long ago you took the test, your sensitivities most likely have changed. All of that to say that if you were reactive to dairy on your Enterolab test, I would suspect that parmesan is the most likely culprit.

Hope you get back to "normal" quickly.

Love,
Kari

[Gabes-Apg]

Sheila
i have not done MRT so can not comment in that area

albeit, any new ingredient is very likely to cause a mild reaction (like when you give babies an ingredient for the first time)

maybe the mackerel (new ingredient) with the parmesan (slight reaction) is what caused the reaction.

I always recommend having only a small amount (ie egg cup size) serving of any new ingredient.
and to try it a couple of times over 3 - 4 days.

hope you recover quickly.
take care

[Gabes-Apg]

A PS....
Have you had any issues with histamines to date?
If spring is arriving, the change of season may have made you a bit more reactive.

[wmonique2]

Sheila,

I hope you find your solution quickly but my MRT said that I am reactive to sole but no other fish. Since I never eat sole it is not an issue.

Considering what my MRT results were 3 weeks ago, I am inclined to believe none of it. Unfortunately. My results were the same as Kari's. My safe foods were all yellow and nothing matched Enterolab. So much about accuracy.

But one has to remember that MRT's results are "of this moment" only. At this point in time only and not a future predictor of what you can or cannot eat.

Maybe you should just go back to budesonide and quit torturing yourself and most importantly, start feeling better until you can sort it all out.

Regards,

Monique

[Polly]

Hi Sheila,

Apparently there can be cross-reactivity within food groups (for example, many have trouble with more than one nightshade), but catfish and mackerel are in different fish families. My bet would be the parmesan. Keeping fingers crossed for you.

Love,

Polly

[Sheila]

Thanks, Kari. I've always wondered why so many of the yellows were foods that I consumed the most. The reds that I ate frequently were whey, cocoa, carrot and amaranth (in my bread). I don't think I'll take the test again just yet but will experiment by adding one yellow food at a time to my diet. I really miss chicken and will try to add that first. I never stopped eating chocolate but substituted a dairy free, soy free, GF chip that I put in chocolate chip cookies. I eat two cookies (sometimes three) a day and don't have a problem yet. Fingers crossed.

Last night I had the mackerel filets again. I made zucchini pancakes, (cooked in coconut oil) left off the parmesan and seasoned with salt, pepper, oregano, a tiny bit of butter and coconut aminos. So far this morning, no problems. Parmesan has been a staple in my diet and I'll miss it. Risotto won't be the same or as good but that is life with MC. Polly, I think you are right, it was the parmesan that caused the D. I will check to see what other fish, if any, are in the same family as catfish. Crab is red for me but I don't seem to have a problem with other shellfish. Fingers crossed there as well.

Gabes, I'm not sure about the histamine issue. I take a Zyrtec every night at bedtime hoping it will help. I've been reading about FODMAPs as well and if I eliminate foods from high histamine, FODMAP, gluten, soy, dairy, egg, high fiber etc, I will be gnawing on nothing but bones for the rest of my life. It is astounding to me that most of the food that I love is forbidden on at least one of those programs and food I hate and will not eat is okay.

Monique, I understand your frustration. The MRT and enterolab tests are different and I understand (sort of) why gluten is okay on MRT, off the charts on Enterolab and I have celiac disease. Tex gave an excellent explanation of the different tests in his book and here as well. I have been on budesinide for over 2 years and that is too long to be on a steroid. At my age, osteoporosis is a reality of life and steroids are bad for bones as well as other organs. If budesinide had no side effects, I would take it gladly.

Thanks everyone for your input. Goodbye parmesan.


Sheila W

[Leah]

Well, it looks like the parm is the problem. :( This happened to me when I was weaning off the Budesonide with peanut butter. I was happily eating it on rice cakes all through the first 6 months… and healing. BUT when I was off of Entocort and had a spoonful of it…. bam, reaction. I tried it again and it happened again. The drug was obviously masking that reaction. I still mourn the loss of peanut butter and although I can eat almond butter, I don't very often because I just don't like it very much.

Leah