IBS and Celiac (skin breakout?)

[NoGlutensToday]

I was diagnosed with celiac, and after shifting to a gluten free diet discovered I had IBS. This has, as you can imagine, cut down on my already limited dietary options. Oh well, I'm coping!

I stay away from foods that I don't make myself, but every so often try something packaged that has the gluten-free certification on it.

Recently I tried Que Pasa tortilla chips. They're certified gluten-free. I was craving the flavors, and got ranch -- which has onion and garlic powder, which is not good for IBS!

When I tried this I didn't experience any IBS symptoms. (I suppose my stomach healing could reduce this.) I ended up eating a few bags of these tortilla chips over the course of a week or ten days. Around this time I broke out on my face. I tried to figure out why, and came up with a few ideas. 1) I could have eaten too much of this product. Despite it being certified gluten-free, having too many portions could have brought the levels up so that there was enough gluten to trigger a reaction. (I get DH when I have been glutened.) 2) Perhaps all this junk food just made me break out, normal acne-wise. (I'm a 40ish male and don't normally have acne, but perhaps a lot of packaged food in that short time, when I'm not used to it, could have triggered that.) 3) Maybe there's something related to IBS that I am unaware of that causes breakouts?

I'm not sure if any of these 3 explain what happened, but I would like to know more. If it is just a matter of eating smaller portions (or, not eating 3 bags of tortillas in 10 days!) I would love to be able to eat these every so often. But until I get a better idea of what happened I'm going to stick to my whole foods, because I don't want to break out again.

I'd appreciate any insight here. Thanks -- this is a great community!

[trents]

How much was in each bag? Were these snack size bags or like, family size?

[NoGlutensToday]

14 hours ago, trents said:

How much was in each bag? Were these snack size bags or like, family size?

Each bag was 156 grams. It was a little excessive, but their Sweet & Spicy Ranch tortillas were the tastiest thing I've eaten in years!

[trents]

Are you certain your skin breakout is DH? Could it be an allergic reaction caused by some other ingredient besides gluten?

[cyclinglady]

Ah, the garlic and onions would cause my face (and my daughter’s) face to itch and then tiny pustules will erupt, along with visual skin inflammation.  Not to mention GI issues.  We both have Rosacea.  I have ocular too, so my eyes can be affected.  Rosacea is linked to autoimmune (have Hashimoto’s).    My face (and my kid’s) is so clear based on avoiding personal food triggers.  And yes, gluten is another contributor.  It all has do do with hypersensitivity and the immune system.  
 

We can eat only plain chips.  We use FODY salsa made in Canada.  They have good pasta sauce too.  We have it shipped.   While we do not have a FODMAP issue, we do have that darn garlic and onion intolerance.  Go figure!  

[NoGlutensToday]

35 minutes ago, trents said:

Are you certain your skin breakout is DH? Could it be an allergic reaction caused by some other ingredient besides gluten?

I do have DH, but in this case I don't think it was DH. When I break out with DH it tends to be around my temples, and the bumps are larger and more painful. These bumps were unpleasant, but smaller and mostly around my forehead. They also didn't leave that telltale purple mark after they went away.

I do have allergies and am due for an updated test -- I've been putting it off due to corona. Would something like this show up in a general test, or would I have to get a specialized test?

[trents]

IMO, and many physicians would concur, allergy testing is too often not very helpful. I have had them done, both epidermal and serum testing, and they don't agree well with one another and they don't agree well with what I experience in real life. You can have the same serum samples sent to different testing labs and you will get significantly different results. There are just too many variables involved in allergy testing that cannot be very well controlled. I encourage you to so some research on what I am saying.

Allergy testing can generally uses a set panel of common allergenic substances found in food and in the environment and the specific substances employed may vary from place to place and region to region, depending on what is common in the geographic environment. You may have to pay extra to get tested for specific substances.

[NoGlutensToday]

37 minutes ago, cyclinglady said:

Ah, the garlic and onions would cause my face (and my daughter’s) face to itch and then tiny pustules will erupt, along with visual skin inflammation.  Not to mention GI issues.  We both have Rosacea.  I have ocular too, so my eyes can be affected.  Rosacea is linked to autoimmune (have Hashimoto’s).    My face (and my kid’s) is so clear based on avoiding personal food triggers.  And yes, gluten is another contributor.  It all has do do with hypersensitivity and the immune system.  
 

We can eat only plain chips.  We use FODY salsa made in Canada.  They have good pasta sauce too.  We have it shipped.   While we do not have a FODMAP issue, we do have that darn garlic and onion intolerance.  Go figure!  

Hmm. Your first line sounds like what I experience. I've never been diagnosed with (or shown the standard signs of) rosacea, but my father began to display this in his 60s and ultimately had some other autoimmune issue that became evident in his late 70s that we only learned about shortly before he passed away.

Getting my DH/celiac and IBS under control has been a long road. Given the immediate family's experience with other autoimmune issues, and what you've said, makes me realize I should be more proactive about sorting this out. Do you have any advice on this? Are there tests, or telltale signs, that I should focus on?

[cyclinglady]

Research is your best defense.  Trents is correct is allergy testing is “iffy” and I am not making it up.  Read the Allergist Association websites.   It can help aid in identifying triggers, but often not.  That is what my allergist tells me.  IgG testing is the worst.   IgG is a memory immunoglobulin.  It remembers you had the chickenpox and remembers you eat a lot of the same food too.  Eat a lot of rice and that might show up on testing.  And what will you do with that information?  Give up a bunch of foods?  That can lead to malnutrition.  Okay, I am allergic to cats and horses (IgE).   My reactions are sneezing, runny nose, and hives, but pretty mild and not anaphylactic.  I still ride horses and pet cats.  I just take an antihistamine.  Now my allergy tests did reveal these two animal allergies, but I have known this since I was a kid.  Pretty obvious.  Touch a plant, get a rash.  Pollen counts high, I am miserable.  

The only scary allergic reactions are usually due to insect bites and medications.  But, if I can keep my immune system calm (aka keeping my autoimmune in check and in my case, avoiding gluten), my allergies or reactions are not severe or I can avoid them by not taking medications).  What am I going to do?  Live in a bubble?  
 

So, IgG testing is not accurate.  What to do?  I started a food and symptom journal.  I found that onion and garlic causes my Rosacea to flare.  Lactose does not cause my face to flare, but it will cause GI upset when my celiac disease is active.  Your rash might be anything but celiacs or anyone with autoimmune can have more than one rash type.  
 

Learn about hypersensitivity.  Read this link.  You have have more than one type of  hypersensitivity.  Knowing what you have can make it easier to manage or treat.  This Amboss website has a very good description of it. A bit technical.  Wikipedia has a definition that might be easier to understand.  

https://www.amboss.com/us/knowledge/Hypersensitivity_reactions

The bottom line for me is to avoid gluten which triggers my celiac disease which in turn can set off my other autoimmune issues.  Avoiding other known triggers can also help with illnesses that are not celiac disease.  Start that food journal.  

 

[NoGlutensToday]

57 minutes ago, cyclinglady said:

Research is your best defense.  Trents is correct is allergy testing is “iffy” and I am not making it up.  Read the Allergist Association websites.   It can help aid in identifying triggers, but often not.  That is what my allergist tells me.  IgG testing is the worst.   IgG is a memory immunoglobulin.  It remembers you had the chickenpox and remembers you eat a lot of the same food too.  Eat a lot of rice and that might show up on testing.  And what will you do with that information?  Give up a bunch of foods?  That can lead to malnutrition.  Okay, I am allergic to cats and horses (IgE).   My reactions are sneezing, runny nose, and hives, but pretty mild and not anaphylactic.  I still ride horses and pet cats.  I just take an antihistamine.  Now my allergy tests did reveal these two animal allergies, but I have known this since I was a kid.  Pretty obvious.  Touch a plant, get a rash.  Pollen counts high, I am miserable.  

The only scary allergic reactions are usually due to insect bites and medications.  But, if I can keep my immune system calm (aka keeping my autoimmune in check and in my case, avoiding gluten), my allergies or reactions are not severe or I can avoid them by not taking medications).  What am I going to do?  Live in a bubble?  
 

So, IgG testing is not accurate.  What to do?  I started a food and symptom journal.  I found that onion and garlic causes my Rosacea to flare.  Lactose does not cause my face to flare, but it will cause GI upset when my celiac disease is active.  Your rash might be anything but celiacs or anyone with autoimmune can have more than one rash type.  
 

Learn about hypersensitivity.  Read this link.  You have have more than one type of  hypersensitivity.  Knowing what you have can make it easier to manage or treat.  This Amboss website has a very good description of it. A bit technical.  Wikipedia has a definition that might be easier to understand.  

https://www.amboss.com/us/knowledge/Hypersensitivity_reactions

The bottom line for me is to avoid gluten which triggers my celiac disease which in turn can set off my other autoimmune issues.  Avoiding other known triggers can also help with illnesses that are not celiac disease.  Start that food journal.  

 

Thank you. Your insight on this board has helped me in my recovery over the past couple years, and I appreciate it. I'm going to read this document over carefully.

Something I noticed in the past year was that I would occasionally get some red bumps on my face. Not sure exactly how to classify them, but they weren't DH. Didn't ever know why they'd show up. Anyhow, I realized that they got under control if I'd pop an antihistamine (diphenhydramine hydrochloride). That led me to believe that they were part of some sort of allergic reaction. (I've tested positive in the past for dust, cigarette smoke, cats, and grass allergies. Strong scents such as perfume or will also cause a reaction.) I haven't had this issue in a while -- it might have toned down because this was before my gut truly healed from all the celiac damage -- but it has been in the back of my mind.

 

 

[cyclinglady]

Under one of the types of hypersensitivity, is mast cell issues.  Research Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.  It can be life-threatening or mild.  It is relatively new, so many doctors are not aware of it.   My allergist suspects I have MCAS, but since it is mild, we decided not to pursue a formal diagnosis (just like my GI and PCP know I probably have a 4th AI brewing).  I like to avoid medications (because they trigger MCAS symptoms like hives, passing out, swelling, vomiting, runny nose) and instead work on prevention.  It is why I am a very cautious celiac.  

[Kate333]

Hi NGT...I share your symptoms and experience (celiac disease + IBS symptoms).  I was dx with "possible" celiac disease (blood test elevated but biopsy normal) last year.  Doc recommended I try gluten-free diet.  I did.  Despite the gluten-free diet my gut--esp. BMs--has been on a wild, IBS-like roller coaster ride (alternate D, C, with cramps, gas--apologies for TMI details here). 

Your skin issues could be linked to celiac disease, IBS, newly-developed food allergies (as others note here), and/or just plain old intensified life stress (due to celiac disease/IBS and adjustment to life in the Brave New Age of Covid).  All those issues are bound to toss a monkey wrench into anyone's immune system.  I've never experienced DH but do have a history of other infrequent skin eruption issues (cold sores, scalp atopic dermatitis).  I've noticed bad stress, poor sleep/diet seems to be triggers for me. 

My best advice is to eat basic, fresh foods with ZERO additives and avoid ALL processed, packaged foods (even those labeled gluten-free...IMO they are expensive garbage), dairy, and assess how you feel after a month.  That will also allow you to begin to heal with minimum worry about possible "hidden" G cross-contamination.  IMO:  1)  it's too hard to read (and trust) all these labels, unregulated marketing claims (FDA and food companies are NOT even required to inspect them to be certain), thus how can you really be sure?  2)  be alert for the possibility of CC even among otherwise "naturally healthy foods" ...Or, as my gastro doc explained, even rice, beans, nuts could have been harvested, processed, packaged in farms/processing plants that ALSO regularly harvest, process, package food full of gluten (e.g., wheat, barley, rye)...so CC risk would be very high.  If so, you are STILL be exposed to G. 

Ranch Que Pasa tortilla chips?  Out of curiosity, I researched the complete ingredients: corn, sunflower and/or safflower oil, sweet and spicy ranch seasoning, sugar, sea salt, green bell pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, buttermilk flavor, yeast extract, chipotle pepper powder, spices, citric acid, jalapeno pepper powder), calcium hydroxide (hydrated lime).   Wow!! Like the a circus "fire-eater," it looks like you perhaps inadvertently put a lighted torch inside your body??😉...BTW, onions, garlic, sugar, salt, peppers are all known triggers for IBS.  

I hope this helps and I wish you the best on your healing journey.  You aren't alone.