Enterolab test results

nancyl · Post by **nancyl** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 12:23 pm

Well, I received my test results today and here goes:

A) Gluten/Antigenic Food Sensitivity Stool Panel Limited
Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA 40 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-casein (cow’s milk) IgA 14 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA 21 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-soy IgA 33 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Tell me what you think of the cow's milk? Is 14 that high? I have been staying away from all dairy and have been feeling better. I have not gone GF yet, but obviously will have to now. I was surprised at the eggs, I do eat a lot of them quite often. And, a reminder that I started Entocort two weeks ago. It took effect immediately except for the cooked apples I ate one day.

Nancy

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 12:33 pm

Nancy,

I believe that it's possible your casein results went down since you stopped eating dairy. IOW, perhaps staying away from dairy could have reduced your number. So I would take it as positive for reacting to dairy for two reasons - first, you felt better when you removed dairy from the diet, and that's probably the most important. And also, though lower than your other results, it's still positive. I do believe others on this list who've tested in that numerical range have confirmed that those numbers do indicate that it's a food to avoid.

Perhaps if you continued to avoid all these triggers (and any others you may discover), you might be able to add things back in (Mary Beth recently mentioned being able to tolerate things in small quantities.) But it seems that "gluten is forever" - and dairy is "almost forever" (the hardest one to re-add, once you're reacting).

Sorry about the eggs ;) I eat them frequently, too. I'm glad to hear the Entocort is helping, and you're tolerating it well.

Love,
Sara

irisheyes13 · Post by **irisheyes13** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 1:52 pm

Nancy,

I'm glad you finally got your results back but sorry to see all the positives.

It's tough to get that kind of news but the positive side of it is you now have some answers which gives you some guidance in further elimination of food sources which could be causing you problems.

Sara is probably correct regarding the dairy and the fact that you had eliminated dairy prior to getting tested. I don't believe it takes long for antibodies to begin to clear your system with regard to elimination of casein/dairy. For gluten it takes much longer. I believe Dr. Fine states on his website that the higher the number doesn't necessarily correlate to a higher degree of intolerance. If it is above 10 then it should be avoided for life, especially in the case of gluten and dairy and possibly soy as well.

I know the news of eggs is a bummer and I feel your pain:( I would have never guessed I would test positive either and I relied on them pretty regularly. I've gotten used to not eating them and have started to use egg replacer in my baking and for the most part have had success with it.

We're all here for you. Keep us posted on your progress.
:bigbighug:

Kelly

Post by **tex** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 5:23 pm

Nancy,

I agree with Sara and Kelly. Statistically, a test result slightly over 10, (such as 11 or 12), could possibly be a false positive, because the breakpoints for test results such as these are determined by statistical analysis methods, which automatically implies a certain low percentage of errors. However, at a test result level of 14, the odds of a false positive result are relatively low. IOW, a false positive result at that level is not impossible, but highly unlikely.

Would you mind if I add your results to our database at the link below?

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10089

Tex

nancyl · Post by **nancyl** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 5:58 pm

Tex,
By all means do add my results.

Sara and Kelly,
I just wanted to add that I had cut back on milk before sending in samples for my test, but was still eating yogurt, butter, and cooking or baking with regular milk or buttermilk until about 3 weeks ago. But, seeing dairy was causing the most problems I don't have any intentions on going back on it for a long while, if ever.

Right now this is a bit overwhelming to me as I'm sure it is for everyone else who eliminates all these foods from their diets. I have been checking websites and Dee's Kitchen on this site for ways to cook and recipes. If I could eat salads, fruits, and veggies it would be a little easier. Although I now eat veggies if they are well cooked. I will probably be bugging you all with food questions and cooking help.

Nancy

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 8:56 pm

Hi Nancy,

Nancy wrote:Right now this is a bit overwhelming to me as I'm sure it is for everyone else who eliminates all these foods from their diets.

I remember being stunned when I tested postive on all the Enterolab tests. I thought for sure that I wouldn't test positive to more than one, if any. Making the dietary changes will take time, but eventually, it becomes part of your routine. When I was eating a bigger variety of foods, I found it challenging (in a positive way) to figure out how to make the diet work.

Dee's kitchen will help a lot. I've searched vegan recipes to learn how to make baked items without eggs, and have posted several recipes there. I think it's easier to adapt a recipe to be GF than it is to adapt it to be EF, so I find a vegan recipe and adapt it to be gluten-free.

Milk is one of the easiest to substitute by using any of the several dairy-free varieties available.

Finding soy-free, egg-free mayonnaise is pretty difficult. I finally made my own. The recipe is in Dee's kitchen.

I'm sorry you had these results, but hopefully they will put you on the path to remission.

Gloria

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:40 pm

Nancy, please don't laugh at me... I am actually worried that my Enterolab results will *not* show many sensitivities. I've cut out so much already, and I'm much better, but not 100%. Your results will require a lot of adjustment to accommodate, but it's good that you have a map now (though the road may still have some rough spots). That, plus the Entocort, will help you move forward with so much more ease and confidence - and success.

I'm going to start adding more of my successful experiments to Dee's Kitchen. I'm not much of a baker, but the chocolate nut milk I improvised today was a hit. I have eaten some wonderful things since I restricted my diet, but I have also had some days that involved a *lot* of very plain eating. I hope you find adapting your kitchen skills and pantry to be more fun than not!

Love,
Sara

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 6:48 am

Hi Nancy,

Glad you received your results, but so sorry about all your sensitivities. Like Sara, by the time I got my results, I had already stopped eating the "offenders", so it was an easier adjustment for me. I was actually "relieved" to get verification of my suspicions.

I can certainly relate to you feeling overwhelmed at this point in time, but as others have already said, it will get easier as you start to adapt and see some results.

I wish you all the best as you move forward with your MC management, and look forward to following your progress through your posts here.

Love,
Kari

Zizzle · Post by **Zizzle** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 9:52 am

Nancy,
Bummer about the eggs!! I scored 13 for milk and I am definitely intolerant. Once I cut it out, trying dairy again, even goat's milk cheese, caused significant, creamy-looking D, sometimes battery acid D. I did continue to use butter for a short while for cooking, but eventually replaced it with coconut oil, ghee (clarified butter), and Earth's Best Soy-free butter alternative (it's delish, a must-have).

nancyl · Post by **nancyl** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 10:03 am

Thank you all so much for your good tips, encouragement, and support. I am going to take it slow. I think yesterday after getting results I was trying to get recipes in order, grocery list made and already planning new meals. I was exhausted and of course had to get up early to watch the "big wedding" this morning. One thing I did eat this morning was Udi's bread and immediatly had some nausea. I think it's the brown rice flour in it. That was the only different thing that I ate. Rice may be a bigger problem then gluten. I never feel nausea when I eat regular bread, but know I have to find something else. I do love a sandwich at lunch time and have to think of something else to eat.

I am going to scope out Dee's kitchen and make a list from there. My daughter has a friend who has a GF website too with lots of recipes.

http://iamglutenfree.blogspot.com/ I looked at the website briefly and looked like she had some good recipes too.

Love to all of my wonderful friends,
Nancy

irisheyes13 · Post by **irisheyes13** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 10:33 am

I think taking it slow is a great idea. Try not to get too overwhelmed. Arming yourself with a few basic staple recipes and ingredients so that you don't feel like you are deprived will help get you through. There is definitely a learning curve to baking gluten free so don't get discouraged if you give it a try and aren't completely successful at first.

I know I may have mentioned Karina/Gluten Free Goddess' blog to you before but every one of her recipes which I have tried have been a success and were very good. She has an entire section of recipes which are vegan (no egg) and she does do quite a bit of baking with other flours which aren't always rice flour. She tends to use sorghum and millet flour more and she has lots of tips on subbing different flours as well. Gloria is a great help with the different flours and starches and how they interact in recipes too. Maybe you can find some sort of bread recipe which is egg free that can help with sandwiches either in Dee's Kitchen or one of the blogs. I have actually gotten used to not eating any breads now since I can't have yeast either. I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't worth trying to eat a sandwich between two pieces of tasteless cardboard.

If you haven't tried the Earth Balance Soy Free margarine, it is really delish.

Here's the link to some vegan gluten free recipes http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/p ... index.html

Love,
Kelly

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 12:03 pm

Nancy,

I've never purchased Udi's bread because it has eggs in it. I suspect you reacted to the eggs, not the rice flour.

I make my own bread because I've been unable to find any mixes or ready-made breads without tapioca, legume flour or eggs. It takes a while, but a loaf usually lasts me a month or more.

Gloria

nancyl · Post by **nancyl** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 3:15 pm

Onward and upward as they say!! You have all given me some great ideas and encouragement.

Thank you
Love
Nancy

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 6:12 am

Nancy I am so glad you were able to take advantage of the enterolab tests and it seems that they are correlating with what you have been suspecting all along. This should certainly help your planning geh path to wellness.

I read your other notes on dr Nagri and am glad he worked so well with you. I am back now trying to adjust to the time again. Whenever you and your husband would like to meet in nashua would be fine, let me know.

Take care

Joe