I emailed the thread 'wary of Dr Fine' Phyliss at Enterolab as she has always been interested in what people have had to say. I thought all those involved in that thread might be interested in her response.

Dear Alana,

Thank you so much for this information. I read it from top to bottom.

Though I would love to provide my own response to many questions on
that
message board, I feel it would be unethical of me to do so (kind of
like
ambulance chasing).

However, if you are supportive of Dr. Fine's research and testing
methods
and would like to direct visitors of that message board to my email
address
with questions, I would be more than happy to answer them. My direct
email
is <enterolab@earthlink.net>. This is the same address that is accessed
from our web site. You may even give out our phone number if you wish,
which is 972-686-6869.

Incidentally, Dr. Fine is extremely spiritual in every aspect of his
life.
He began singing in his synagogue when he was younger, then directed
his
musical talents to uplifting messages of hope and thanks in his two
previous CDs (hence, the Kenny Jude name). More recently, he has
recorded 3
new CDs to help launch a new program called "Get On a Mission of
Nutrition"
aimed at improving nutrition and the overall health in children.
Because of
this and other ventures to further improve society's health, he has not
written for the peer review journals until now. He plans on publishing
EnteroLab's findings early in 2006, which will be a wonderful
accomplishment.

Since I came to the lab full time, after leaving a good position as the
RN
to a certified allergist/immunologist at Baylor, I have increased the
accessibility of the lab to patients and physicians both by phone and
email. Because we are operating under the umbrella of the Intestinal
Health
Institute, a non profit organization for Dr. Fine's research and
education,
we try to keep our operating costs down and do not have a large staff.
We
do work hard, however, to answer all the calls we can and return
messages
as soon as possible. Also, many people do not know that EnteroLab's
proceeds are donated back to the Intestinal Health Institute to help
fund
more research, education, and programs. We are definitely not in it for
the
money!

I'm sorry if this sounds like a lecture, but we are all very proud of
Dr.
Fine's work and the work that EnteroLab does for patients who have been
searching for answers for years only to be ignored by their physicians.
We
pray that more physicians will soon see the value and practicality of
EnteroLab's tests so that more people can be helped earlier in the
manifestation of the disease process.

Thank you, again, for providing me with this information. Please let me
know if I can be of any further assistance to you.

Most sincerely,

Phyllis Zermeno, RN, BSN
Clinical Manager, EnteroLab
http://www.enterolab.com

Thanks for sharing that.

What a great idea to email that thread to her...now I've learned some things about Enterolab and Dr. Fine that I wasnt aware of before. All good stuff.

Can you guys post a link to the thread "Wary of Dr Fine". I am so confused at this point, and was considering doing some of his test.But concerned, since A) my insurance will not cover it and his work is controversial.

I have been gluten-free now going on 6 months. Not officially diagnosed, only had some elevated antigliadin antibodies, but decided to go gluten free since my daughters diagnoses. She is 11 and has been gluten free since July. GI symptoms have improved dramaticaly for her, but she still has sinus and chronic tonsilitis issues. Some of her other symptoms have disappeared (yeah) I am beginning to question if there is another problem (namely dairy).

I am torn between just removing dairy 100 percent and see how she does (makes sense to me), but I had to fight tooth and nail to get her the proper diagnoses regarding gluten, put her through biopsy and all- not because I wanted to but because of an uncooperative ex who would not go along with a trial of gluten free diet unless the doctors said it was necessary. Now same with removing dairy, it will be a challenge to get him to help with that one too!!!

And as far as I go, I got good results intitialy, but at the 6 month mark, I am really struggling. Is it too late to get a diagnoses from Dr. Fine? I refuse to go back on gluten.Will his test help you to pin a problem with Dairy? Casein intolerance? Lactose intolerance? The more I have read up on intolerances, the more confusing it seems, and there seems to be misunderstandings among the doctors themselves. I also thought about York Labs, but from talking to another person from another message board, her advice was no. She had a bad experience and considered them very unproffesional.

Here's the link

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.php?showtopic=10311

If you access the Enterolab website you will see that 6 months gluten-free is definately not too late to test for intolerance. In regards to the controversy of using Enterolab, the post I put on today mentions their position on the previous 'wary' thread.

Personally I think Dr. Fine is a pioneer in gluten intolerance, and as all the medical pioneers before him experienced he is going to encounter resistance to his ideas. I believe he gives accurate results, (I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance before I went through Enterolab and his results certainly gave me a whole lot more info than my regular doctor). Dr. Fines tests also showed that I have a reaction to casein, which in my case turns out to be quite important because I sometimes feel worse after ingesting casein than gluten!

But its a personal choice as to how much testing you need in order to feel okay about not eating gluten anymore. My sister has Crohns (and almost undoubtledly Celiacs), yet she tells her doctors not to test for Celiacs because she just couldn't stand to eat food without gluten. Thats her choice. I choose, or at least I'm trying, to be gluten free and healthy again. So doctor or no doctor I say, do whatever makes you feel better!!

Remember that if you decide to go with Enterolab, you can have some gene testing done and that will give you more clues to your situation. My granddaughter has celiac disease and her dear mother suggested that I get tested. The doctor came up with negatives so I decided to go with Enterolab and they came up with postives for gluten intolerance and I also have the gene. I also tested casein intolerant, however after some time, that went away as it often does when the healing process is complete. I just feel so much better (no tummy pains or diarreah) so I know I am on the right track. This was all found out at the age of 59 so you just never know when it will come about.

Barbara

My two cents - I think Enterolab is great for what they are doing. But I got tested at 5 months and was just under the normal cutoff (9, when 10 is positive). When corresponding with Phyllis and Dr. Fine, they both inferred I was likely over the normal limit before going gluten-free, but who knows? Anyway, it is possible your levels will have gone down by 6 months. Then again I think I read here about someone who tested over a year after gluten-free and was still positive so who knows?

Stephanie