Hello. First I want to say that I don't have an offical diagnosis of celiac. I went gluten free before I knew about celiac in an effort to help my terrible fatigue problem. I read that gluten intolerance could be a cause of fatigue so I decided to give the diet a try. I am happy to say it has worked wonders not only with the fatigue but has also lifted the cloud I have been living under and resolved GI issues I always though were "normal".


My mystery rash story:

About a week after giving birth to my daughers I developed a terrible itchy rash on my thighs. It lasted for a very long time and I figured it was from the trama caused by the complicated delivery of my twins. The bumps were small and the skin would get pink and scaly the itching was unbearable. The same rash would move from my thighs to my elbows, backs of knees and across my hips. No OTC creams helped the itch and it would eventully go away on it's own. This same rash kept popping up in the same places for the next 8 years. It stopped right after I had gallbladder surgery (4 years ago) and has not been back since.

I did lots of internet searching trying to figure out what kind of rash it was and what was casuing it but never did find an answer. None of the photos looked the same as mine. I suppose I should have gone to a Dr. but not having insurance you tend to go only in life and death situations

Ok, now for my DH question. Can it go away on it's own while still eating a gluten filled diet?

(I have no idea if I had Dh or just some other kind of very annoying rash. )

Hi ButterCup

Welcome to the family, I don't know about other people, I am not "officailly" diagnosed with Celiacs either but I will get the same kind of rash on my wrists, it will get very itchy and anti itch creams don't help. I will get this rash this last time I got it I looked at it very closely, it too was pink, then blister which itched even more until the popped then where is blister were the skin got very scaly and chapped, I did go to the Dermatolgist and of course she did not see "text book blisters" to her did not look like a duck so there for was not a duck. the unfortunate think about this my rash it only appears once or twice a year stays for maybe a month and goes away. Before did not know what triggered it but this time I just happened to eat Vann waffles that were not gluten-free and so then I got the rash I was careful. so I it differant for everybody.

donna

Just hoping this will help you out. My rash first appeared about 10 years ago, in the last trimester of my pregnancy. It was terrible. So very itchy I would wake up at night. It was on my thighs and across my belly. I went to a dermatologist and he told me it was PUPP- a pregnancy rash and it would disappear shortly after her birth. Several months and it finally disappeared, but just off and on I would have the bumps appear on my hands and would joke with my husband "look I am pregnant- I have the pregnancy rash." It did not break out terribley and did not cause much itching. Just kind of put up with it breaking out off and on. Then about 4 years ago, I tried the South Beach Diet where you take all wheat and flour and carbs out of your diet for two to three weeks and then slowly bring the healthy carbs back into your diet. It recommened Wheat bread and wheat pasta. And the rash began and so did the spending of so much money I don't want to think about it. The itching was so horrible I couldn 't stand it, and sleep was pretty close to impossible. Many dr. appts, many over the counter and prescription creams and antibiotics. No help. Like you, it would come and go. Have it for a few months and it would clear up and then would slowly begin to break out again, and then it seemed to spread and be worse than before. After about 4 years of this, my GI issues began and slowly but surely a diagnosis. Still, two biopsies- one skin and one endoscope biopsies were negative. Luckly my dermatologist was determined it was class book case of dermatis herpetaformis. She didn't give up and I had a second endoscope done with a differend dr and hospital that specializes in Celiac disease. With him I had a positive diagnosis. It was about 4 years of the rash off and on and terrible terrible itching and then when they popped, they would break open. Mine did not look like online pictures either, but I have responded very well with a three month gluten-free diet and 50 mg of dapsone. I wish everyone luck and a quicker diagnosid than I had.

Quick response...I have to run...I had this rash 2 years ago for about 6 months when my first child was an infant. It just went away on its own. It came back when I was 2 months postpartum with my second child. That is when we figured out that it is DH. Actually, I had a skin biopsy confirm it 2 years ago but for som crazy reason my dermatologist didn't tell me the diagnosis. She told me that it was an autoimmune response and there was nothing she could do. That dermatologist was an idiot! I have been gluten free for almost 3 weeks and I am beginning to see an improvement.

Good Luck

One more thing:
If you think it may be DH you should get celiac testing (If you had the rash you could simply get a skin biopsy)..people with DH have celiac and if you have had the rash and are still eating gluten you MAY be damaging your intestine and have no symptoms.

DH can be spurred not only by gluten, but by stress. The rash flared up when I had surgery, pneumonia, broke up w/ a boyfriend, and got a new job (all on separate occassions of course ). The rash is untreatable w/ traditional methods. However, when I became gluten-free, it totally went away. It will flare up every once in a great while.

Prior to my diagnosis, there was one time I did notice an improvement.....the doctor's apparently thought I was an nervous, stressed-out wreck (obviously from gluten) so they put me on tranquilizers. Which caused me to not only relax, but they killed my appetite, thus, the rash got better. I brought the dietary aspect up to my doctor and they simply attributed the clear up from reduced stress. Ya, right....

If you happen to get a biopsy, please be aware that the doc should take a sample of skin surrounding the lesion. The center and/or extracted fluid will not give a definitive answer. Not sure of the clinical reason for that....I received that info at a Celiac function in LA.