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Skin biopsy for DH

Gael

By Gael
in Dermatitis Herpetiformis

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Gael Apprentice
Gael
Posted

Hi all,

i saw a dermatologist today because I have had an itchy rash all over my body for a few months. I went off gluten 11 days ago to see if it would help reduce itching. Long story short in the past 10 days I am still itchy with new rashes breaking out since going gluten-free. The derm took a skin biopsy today to check for DH, but my question is “how long does gluten stay in the body after stopping?”. I am worried that because I am off gluten for over a week now that I will get a false negative. The dermatologist was pretty dismissive. He does not think this DH despite me explaining that basically everyone in my family as celiacs disease. He said he could still do a biopsy and would let me know if anything comes up. For now he’s just prescribed more steroid cream. I can’t do a endoscopy right now because I am 4-6 weeks pregnant. Itchiness predates pregnancy. Any insight about how long gluten sticks around in the body would be great! Thank you!

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Gael Apprentice
Gael
Posted
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Anybody out there know how long gluten stays in the body after you stop eating it?

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

I've not seen any studies done on that question, but do know from years of reading posts here that it varies greatly from person to person, and those with DH seem to have the longest recovery times, even from very tiny amounts of gluten. For those with gastro symptoms recovery seems to take days. For those with neurological or DH symptoms it can take weeks. Whether or not gluten is still actually in the body at that point is doubtful to me, but it has triggered an immune reaction that can continue for quite a while in some people.

Gael Apprentice
Gael
Posted
  • Author
On 11/23/2021 at 4:56 PM, Scott Adams said:

I've not seen any studies done on that question, but do know from years of reading posts here that it varies greatly from person to person, and those with DH seem to have the longest recovery times, even from very tiny amounts of gluten. For those with gastro symptoms recovery seems to take days. For those with neurological or DH symptoms it can take weeks. Whether or not gluten is still actually in the body at that point is doubtful to me, but it has triggered an immune reaction that can continue for quite a while in some people.

Thanks for your response! Basically, the dermatologist told me if there were still lesions, he could perform the DH biopsy. I just wanted to see if anyone had heard anything to the contrary if one had stopped gluten before the skin biopsy! Thanks again for your reply

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