Luke's Enterolab Results--help!

[Luvs to Scrap]

Luke has been gluten-free since last June from a blood test. After doing more blood work in Aug and then the pediatrician wanting us to but Luke back on a regular diet for 6 months to see how sick he got and then do the scope we decided to save up for Enterolab. We just got his results back last night and I think I know what they mean but I want to make sure.

Fecal Antigliadin IgA 20 units

Fecal Antitissue Transglutaminase IgA 11 units

Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score <300

Fecal anti-casein (cow's milk) IgA antibody 31 units

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 1 0301

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allel 2 06xx

Serologic equivalent HLA-DQ 3-1 (subtype 7,6)

Fecal anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA antibody 7 units

Fecal Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae (dietary yeast) IgA 10 units

Fecal Anti-Soy IgA 28 units

normal range for all units is supposed to be <10

The gluten results don't surprise me--just confirm what we have been doing and since he doesn't have malabsorption issues maybe being on a gluten-free diet helped that. I had sort of figured out the soy while we were waiting for the results. Casein is what is freaking me out. Also, does that also mean we need to avoid yeast? To me the results mean he is intollerant to gluten, casein, soy and maybe yeast. And at some point I need to be tested to since I contributed on of is DQB1 genes. My bloodwork this summer turned up normal. My DH has been on the gluten-free diet since Oct 2005. His grandma has celiac and DH was the first one we did the bloodwork on.

I am on the Enterolab site ordering the same tests for Kirsten, my DD, who had elevated levels when we did bloodwork but they were still in the normal range. Gut feeling is that she will have similar labs results as Luke. She will be 2 on Jan 31st so hoping we can get results with her this young.

Ok, I thought gluten-free was a big challenge but I have been figuring that out. Soy is hidden in everything but I discovered as I started looking this month. We will have to eliminate his gluten-free animal cookies, pretzels, and some other commercial stuff but I haven't been using it when I bake. My big hurdle is casesin. Luke has been off milk but I have still been using cheese, half and half and buttermilk for cooking. Now I will need to find substiutes. He loves cheese and the gluten-free pizza I have been making and mac and cheese. The casein intollerance makes me feel like our life is ending! Help!

DH wants to know if casein and soy intollerances are lifelong like gluten or just for awhile. I told him I thought lifelong--am I right? Hopefully not!

Anyway, thanks in advance for your help and prayers! Kendra

[Nancym]

When I gave up dairy I found it was just easier to try to give up all the "old" foods and not try to substitute for them. It just means finding new favorite foods that don't involve cheese, milk, etc. That was easier to do than live with the disappointment of new foods not tasting as well with weird substitutions. I think it was also easier in some regards because I wasn't constantly reminding myself of what I was missing.

So for me, SE Asian cooking was a great fit (Thai, Vietnamese). They don't use much wheat or dairy. I realize that might be harder to do with kids. But you could go through the family meals and try to figure out which ones don't use any of the forbidden ingredients and then slowly increase your collection of gluten-free/CF recipes. There are a lot of kids eating gluten-free/CF so I bet you'll find tons of recipes online.

[Luvs to Scrap]

When I gave up dairy I found it was just easier to try to give up all the "old" foods and not try to substitute for them. It just means finding new favorite foods that don't involve cheese, milk, etc. That was easier to do than live with the disappointment of new foods not tasting as well with weird substitutions. I think it was also easier in some regards because I wasn't constantly reminding myself of what I was missing.

So for me, SE Asian cooking was a great fit (Thai, Vietnamese). They don't use much wheat or dairy. I realize that might be harder to do with kids. But you could go through the family meals and try to figure out which ones don't use any of the forbidden ingredients and then slowly increase your collection of gluten-free/CF recipes. There are a lot of kids eating gluten-free/CF so I bet you'll find tons of recipes online.

Thanks for your encouragement, Nancy. DH said that we do eat some stuff already that will work so I asked him to mention them as he thinks of them so I won't feel so overwhelmed and can make a list of ok things I already know how to make.

Kendra