My Itchy Sking

[gulfcoastnana]

This has become quiet a journey for me.. here are few pics of my itchy skin still having to work with dr's for a DX sorry if the size is big..

[gulfcoastnana]

this is both of my sides.... again still learning how to post the pics

[squirmingitch]

Okay, that looks like what I have now --- after going gluten-free for some time. I still get the little water blisters sometimes which eventually turn into stuff like your photos. I went back & checked your posts so I could better understand your history rather than ask you to explain all over again but it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to do so anyway so other people will be able to read it all here in this thread & better be able to help you.

You've been gluten-free for a month. So testing is going to require you to go back on gluten. That applies either way --- blood tests & endoscopy or biopsy of dh. Do you want to do that? Your dh is likely to come back with a vengeance. 2 to 3 months of gluten for the tests.

You mentioned having been on steroids before & when you went off the rash came back like rip. That happens with dh & steroids. That's sort of the reaction you can expect from going back on gluten.

Question is --- how badly do you want/need a dx?

Are you in or very near a major city where you would have access to lots of derms &/or GI's to chose from?

[gulfcoastnana]

for a little back ground info...this itchy skin started in full force Jan / Feb

by mid Feb I headed to the dr as it was not going away.. since we live out in the country and go hiking I thought well its something i got into...by the time i went to the dr i was in tears it hurt/burned This is the 1st misdiagnoses... treated with a steriod shot and then a pack for a week... oh what joy no rash no itching... i was in heaven... fast forward to my 2 week follow up... went in again in tears its was back and was worse.... the good dr said you have a food allergy... we need to find a allergist for you... ok .... in the mean time here is another steriod pack rx.. and a strong anti histimne Rx... filled only one and it was not the steriod pack....

here is where i started my research... with a simple google... of what food cause rashes...

so i dropped out peanuts no change, then i found a picture of a wheat rash.... oh this looks like my back, stomach, butt, so gluten free i started got an appt with the allergist( should have called a skin dr) oh well we all learn.. any ways he looked at it ... and i told him i had started a gluten free diet and was seeing improvement...

put me on allerga and zyrtec combo... helped calm the skin down... did a food diary, added peanuts ,,, then the last day of the diary i added gluten foods....NEVER AGAIN WILL I DO THAT WILLINGLY..........

so now im just waiting for the itchy skin to clear up which it is slowly the photos above are about 75%better than were i started from i have been gluten free since mid march

[squirmingitch]

Oh I'm so, so sorry. I know just how you feel. Lots of us do. Been there, done that. Quite a number of us have been put on super duper steroids combined with super duper antihistamines. Those steroids had me bouncing off the walls & flying around the room 24/7 --- no sleepy for me!

Well, you can forego the dx like I did b/c there is no way on God's green earth was going back on gluten the day I discovered dh & went gluten-free! I wasn't going to wait one more day to get started.

OR you can pursue getting a derm to biopsy but the chances of a positive biopsy are slim.

OR you can try to get a doc --- you don't have to have a GI doc to order the celiac panel for you & hope you get some results from that but celiacs with dh tend to test neg. more often.

Read this & maybe your doc can figure out where & how to order this test for you in the rest of the celiac panel:

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/92915-celiac-disease-associated-autoantibodies-in-dh-published-412/

The rest of the celiac panel is here. Scroll down & see Lisa's post for the tests.

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/92470-help-me-with-these-tesultsplease/page__pid__792784#entry792784

Read a lot on this forum. You will find much useful info. You may need to go low iodine for a while. You may need to go low salicylate for a while.

Ask any questions at any time. And welcome to the board!