Rash & Bumps on Fingers?

[BME21]

Hi Everyone! 

I am in the process of being diagnosed right now. Last year from about July on I started losing weight (I've lost about 6 pounds), had diarrhea, fatigue, felt very weak, really bad headaches, starting getting joint aches & muscles aches, my scalp got really dry & flaky & red, I also started to notice this rash on my stomach (only came about 6 times last year), and these weird bumps that came for about 2 weeks on my finger. 

I ended up cutting out gluten & dairy & have started to feel better, but because I don't know if it's celiac I will still have a few things that contain gluten. 

About 2 weeks ago I had a blood test to see if I had celiac & it came back negative. I had gone gluten free for about 3 weeks before that - with an occasional gluten item in my diet every so often.

I can not gain weight no matter what I do or eat! I have increased my calories & still no luck. I am feeling better though. Do these look like gluten symptoms?

I am supposed to have an endoscopy done next week..

[trents]

Three week on gluten before the blood test may not be enough. The recommendation is eating the equivalent of 1-2 slices of wheat bread daily for 6-8 weeks before the blood test and at least 2 weeks before the endoscopy/biopsy.

Your symptoms certainly fit with celiac disease but could also be due to other medical problems. Also, there are gluten-related disorders other than celiac disease. These other gluten-related disorders may give many of the same symptoms as celiac disease but do not damage the lining of the small bowel.

Concerning your rash, you should look up dermatitis herpetiformis, a skin condition considered to be a reliable indicator of celiac disease, though many or most people with celiac disease do not get this particular expression of the disease.

[Scott Adams]

Quote

 I had a blood test to see if I had celiac & it came back negative. I had gone gluten free for about 3 weeks before that 

If you went 3 weeks gluten-free before your blood test it would likely cause the results to be false negative. Be sure to read this article and you may want to reschedule and possibly re-take tests accordingly:

 

[BME21]

2 minutes ago, Scott Adams said:

If you went 3 weeks gluten-free before your blood test it would likely cause the results to be false negative. Be sure to read this article and you may want to reschedule and possibly re-take tests accordingly:

 

Hey Thank you! Most people are telling me that eating a tortilla or piece of bread for 2 weeks before the test isn't enough.. Is that the case? I am wondering why my doctor didn't have me go for longer? I have an endoscopy scheduled next week, could me not eating enough gluten right now cause any biopsy to be false negative? (Should I reschedule this) Thanks! 

[BME21]

38 minutes ago, trents said:

Three week on gluten before the blood test may not be enough. The recommendation is eating the equivalent of 1-2 slices of wheat bread daily for 6-8 weeks before the blood test and at least 2 weeks before the endoscopy/biopsy.

Your symptoms certainly fit with celiac disease but could also be due to other medical problems. Also, there are gluten-related disorders other than celiac disease. These other gluten-related disorders may give many of the same symptoms as celiac disease but do not damage the lining of the small bowel.

Concerning your rash, you should look up dermatitis herpetiformis, a skin condition considered to be a reliable indicator of celiac disease, though many or most people with celiac disease do not get this particular expression of the disease.

Thank you! That is helpful.. so if I have a scope scheduled next week & I haven't been eating gluten every day, is that going to be a problem?

[trents]

37 minutes ago, BME21 said:

Thank you! That is helpful.. so if I have a scope scheduled next week & I haven't been eating gluten every day, is that going to be a problem?

Not eating gluten everyday before the scope may compromise the results but not necessarily totally invalidate them. It's hard to say. It may result in a marginal diagnosis that leaves the physician undecided.

I should also say that celiacs with dermatitis herpetiformis do no necessarily have damaged small bowel villi, at least not in the beginning. I'm not saying your rash is DH but if it is, you may or may not have villi damage yet.

You also have the option, regardless of test results, of choosing to eat gluten-free and to see if your symptoms improve. Having said that, many people seem to need the test confirmation in order to retain their resolve to eat gluten-free.

[GFinDC]

If it is DH (dermatitis herpetiformis) causing the rash, then a trip to a dermatologist is the way to go.  They typically diagnose DH by taking a small skin sample from next to a blister/lesion.  The same rules apply though, eating at least some gluten every day before the test.  The celiac tests all depend on detecting antibodies from the auto-immune response.  The immune response depends on eating gluten.

Your endoscopy should be done after 2 weeks eating gluten.  If you haven't been eating gluten the endoscopy could be a waste of time/money.

[Scott Adams]

From the article:

Quote

According to the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, a gluten challenge should be done as follows:

Prior to celiac disease blood tests: 1/2 slice of wheat bread or 1 wheat cracker should be eaten each day for at least 12 weeks;

Prior to endoscopic biopsy procedure: 1/2 slice of wheat bread or 1 wheat cracker should be eaten each day for at least 2 weeks;

 

[BME21]

16 hours ago, Scott Adams said:

From the article:

 

Thank you! I appreciate your help & response.

21 hours ago, GFinDC said:

If it is DH (dermatitis herpetiformis) causing the rash, then a trip to a dermatologist is the way to go.  They typically diagnose DH by taking a small skin sample from next to a blister/lesion.  The same rules apply though, eating at least some gluten every day before the test.  The celiac tests all depend on detecting antibodies from the auto-immune response.  The immune response depends on eating gluten.

Your endoscopy should be done after 2 weeks eating gluten.  If you haven't been eating gluten the endoscopy could be a waste of time/money.

Hey, thank you! 

21 hours ago, trents said:

Not eating gluten everyday before the scope may compromise the results but not necessarily totally invalidate them. It's hard to say. It may result in a marginal diagnosis that leaves the physician undecided.

I should also say that celiacs with dermatitis herpetiformis do no necessarily have damaged small bowel villi, at least not in the beginning. I'm not saying your rash is DH but if it is, you may or may not have villi damage yet.

You also have the option, regardless of test results, of choosing to eat gluten-free and to see if your symptoms improve. Having said that, many people seem to need the test confirmation in order to retain their resolve to eat gluten-free.

Hey thanks! That is super helpful.