Thanks Cara! I'll have to take a few days to read through the links on your responses. Quick question though... what are the genes I carry? I don't know how to read that from the results from Enterolab - are they DQ3 & DQ1? What is tha Allele 1 0301 an Allele 2 0602??


Here's a quick back story, that I probably should have included. (I'll prepare you know, it's not that quick.)

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2002 and have been trying, unsuccessfully to get pregnant since then. Because of the PCOS (or so I thought), I've had a really hard time losing weight. I tried Weight Watchers, Quick Weight Loss, the extreme HMR Program and even a 2-month boot camp monitored by a nutritionist where I gained 20 pounds. I would always do well on the program for the first few weeks, but by the 4-5 week, my body would be screaming at me!! I was very tired on these programs, my body didn't seem right, and I was still getting headaches. But I thought it was me giving up. The only program I felt good on was the Marilu Henner Total Heath Makeover program - I know, she's an actress. She condones a No dairy, no sugar, no alcohol, no sugar and no red meat (and no processed food) lifestyle.

To this day my husband still comments about that experiment 7 years ago... that I looked my best: I had life in my eyes again, I had lots of energy, and my face cleared up. Not realizing why her program made me feel so much better, when life got in the way I didn't stick with it.

Anyway, as the years went by I had suspicions that I had a dairy allergy - I started thinking back and realized that as a child, I was always sicker than my brother. I was the child who came down with ear infections, colds, stomach bugs, and strep throat. Things started getting a little worse for me health wise when I was around 17. I started getting sinus infections and bronchitis about 2-3 times a year, then came the viral infections, and even H1N1 this past year. I suffered 7 broken bones since then (all fluke incidents, but none than less, I wondered if they would have happened to anyone else - and to note I never had a broken bone until I was 17).

My menstrual cycle was never regular... Once or twice a year I'd have to take progesterone to get my cycle to start because it would go longer than 3 months without one. (Again, I attributed soley to the PCOS) And I also suffered from this "knife stabbing" pain in my left side (about 1/4 up from the hip area). My quack doctor ordered a sonogram to check my ovary (nothing then), and ordered a flax-sig (useless procedure) and then declared... "huh. I don't know what it is, it's one of those pains you'll just have to live with". And I did - I was 17 and didn't know what else to do. NOTE: Whenever I cut out dairy (which means I was also cutting out most gluten products because they almost always go hand in hand with ingredients) I would start my cycle within 2 weeks - EVERY time.

Anyway, that all brings me back to about 2 years ago. I got a mild sunburn on my face (and I mean mild), but this time it caused a reaction I have never had in my life! Along my scalp line I developed what my dermatologist diagnosed as psoriasis (no history) - it was very scabby, itchy, red, and oozy. And it spread to the area around my eyes, and mouth.

That caused me to start researching more of a WHY reason to my health issue and not a what medication can I take to help with my symptoms approach. During this time, I also started to notice that I felt like I was getting a sinus infection after eating a cheeseburger, that I felt extremely tired after eating while my friends would have a burst of energy, that my nose would itch after eating, and that I was experiencing some big ADD and brain fog moments every day - getting worse.

During my research I stumbled on the fact that an OB/GYN (can't remember her name right now) tested all of her PCOS patients for gluten sensitivity and that 80% tested positive. That was a HUGE number for me. So I brought my evidence to my fertility doctor, my OB/GYN, and my PCP, and they all agreed.

Unfortunately, none of them had the resources, or the knowledge for me to be tested (except the blood test for celiac and the allergy prick test, which I didd). So reading The Gluten Connection, and finding a nutritionist, I discovered Enterolab and had myself tested. You saw the results. I never thought I had Celiac, but I knew something else was going on. And the results confirmed more than I thought - including not only the casein, but the gluten and surprise, the soy!

But 18 months later, I am finally starting to get back on a GF/CF/SF program. I have been able to stay on a strict program for about 30 days when "life" would happen and I would go off... of course when I would, I started experiencing stabbing knife pains in my stomach, really bad headaches, mood swings and would get very very tired - all within 30 minutes of the offending meal. But a GI doctor called me "delusional" (yes, that was his word) about a year ago, so I am only now believing in my results again.

And just want to know more... The GI doctor was my mothers GI doctor and neither she nor my father think I have problems. But oddly enough, I carry 2 genes, passed down from each of them, and my Mom has a whole list of autoimmune issues for herself (epilepsy, brain tumors, had ulcerative colitis / proctitis, gets sick easily, and breast cancer) - and there are more in the family (dairy allergies, autism, another family member with brain issues, Crohns on both sides, cancer rampant, etc).

Sorry... that's my long story (not very quick). So, I was trying to figure out what my results meant, what genes I carried so I could better understand and link my symptoms. I am back on my program - 7 days clean and I'm doing research again. Knowing the more I know about this, the better my doctors can help me, and the better informed I'll be about what is happening when I ingest this stuff.

Thanks again... I'll read through those links.