RF of 450, but can current condition be cause?

[WK1010]

Hello I was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis and some inflammation in my stomach (was never told the name, possibly gastritis, eosinophilic gastroenteritis??). I treated with glucocorticoids and ppis for 6 months. This was 3 years ago. I called doctor who diagnosed me, but he won't call back, I got to the receptionist and she left a message. Can these conditions be responsible for the elevated RF? Does anyone know??? I have symptoms of fatigue, gas/bloating, brain fog, feeling very slow and sluggish, I cannot do hands-on things fast enough because my brain is just slow and sluggish. I had a colonoscopy with biopsy and all was normal including biopsy. Any advice? So far my plan is to call and ask to speak to another GI doctor and speak with him instead.

[Hidden]

Hi WK1010 - It sounds to me like your gut may be out of control. Yes, if your doc is not calling back, please do get to another doc right away. At the very least you are in need of additional or different medication. If you look at WebMD, you will find eosinophilic gastroenteritis: webmd.com/digestive-disorde... and you can tell there is not much information about it.

Another thing I wanted to mention is that you might need some probiotic support, which you can get by a really high count probiotic (mine is in the 400 billion range.. it is called Bravo yogurt (GC-MaF) and I drink it every day. It helps a lot. Also, you can culture some foods, like your own sauerkraut or curried cauliflower (see cultures for health if you need advice - they are pretty good) and maybe culture your own kombucha. All of those things go to support your gut micro biome. Best of luck in getting some answers and let us know how you do?

[WK1010 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your answer. I was just at the doctor's today and he is confident that rheumatic diseases are eliminated. He thinks it's related to food also and told me to be strict in eliminating all milk and all wheat from my diet. No traces allowed. He told me to try this for two months, but said other immune diseases could be possible. I've been looking into probiotics and I agree I should take some. Yogurt sounds like a good idea too. I also took a blood test to (again) check for allergies to any foods (as my symptoms are very likely food-related.)

[Hidden in reply to WK1010]

That's excellent - No to rheumatic diseases is a huge plus. Wheat and dairy are two the most allergenic foods around for many people. I can't do much wheat or gluten (sensitive to both), but dairy is no problem. You would have trouble though doing yogurt without dairy unless you do soy or coconut yogurt. They would probably be good. Good luck and let us know how you are doing as you take stuff out of your diet, and have a great weekend!

[WK1010]

The dairy and wheat diet has not been helpful. This is not the cause. I retook the blood tests while on this diet and RF is still 450. Strangely enough the IgM has INCREASED while on this diet from 2.8 to 3.1. I retook these tests with another doctor. He gave me a call and said although RF is the only value of the general markers for connective-tissue diseases that was normal, it was really high and that despite the other markers for connective-tissue diseases being normal he thinks that given my symptoms we are dealing with a connective tissue disease. He consulted a biochemist about this I believe and they agreed on this. He referred me to a rheumatologist to do more specific tests, with a note that I need an assessment quickly (so maybe I'll get the appointment sooner). Which now again makes rheumatic diseases a possiblity and I was right to question the other doctor's opinion on this. Although his opinion seemed reasonable and right at the time...there is no source on the internet that I can see which mentions food as a cause of high RF and plus the diet failed to produce results.