Dapsone & Infertility? Newbie Questions

[Skeet]

My DH (dear husband) has DH. He's 40; I'm 30.

My husband takes 100mg Dapsone daily since being diagnosed with DH 5 years ago. He has not followed a gluten-free diet.

We've been trying to conceive for a little over a year. We've both been through (multiple) tests and they are coming up with nothing to explain. The only thing we've been able to narrow it down to (by ourselves) is possibly the Dapsone. It does list infertility as one of the possible side effects.

My hubby has been going gluten-free for the last 3 weeks or so. He's being pretty strict about it, which I admire! I don't think I could do it!

So my questions are

1) anyone else battle infertility with DH/Dapsone?

2) any thing you'd suggest to a wife of a DH sufferer in ways to help/things I wouldn't think of?

3) how long on the diet before he can start weining himself off the medicine?

4) after years on a gluten-free diet and off the medicine, what will happen if he "accidentally" gets glutened? Will it take months to get it out of his system again?

Hope someone can help!

[elonwy]

I've never used Dapsone, my DH went away with the gluten free diet.

Be as supportive as possible, and don't ever encourage him to cheat. There are alot of really scary side effects and risks of illnesses like several forms of cancer, that go along with gluten intolerance is you don't follow the diet.

There is a big link between gluten intolerance and fertility issues when not following the diet. Most of these studies are with women, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it occurs in men as well.

If you get an accidental glutening, it will take a few days to a couple weeks to get out of your system, this is dependent on the person, I also find that it depends on how much gluten I get. A little only takes a day or two, a lot takes about a week, week and a half for me.

Be careful when kissing him. If you've eaten or drunk anything with gluten, brushing your teeth before kissing is a good idea. Also be careful of your lipstick. Alot of lipstick has gluten in it, and if you kiss him alot with that lipstick, he'll be getting trace amounts which will prevent him from healing. There are makeup threads on here that list safe brands.

The thing with the gluten free diet, is you have to be absolutly strict. I'm not sure what you mean by "pretty strict", but ingesting gluten once a month keeps you from healing, and his DH probably won't go away.

Be careful with cross contamination in your kitchen. He needs seperate pans and a seperate toaster and all that stuff, including anything plastic or wood. All of your non-stick items, wood spoons and plastic cutting boards are sources of contamination, even when washed.

Good luck, I hope he gets better.

Elonwy

[Ursa Major]

I have read that yes, untreated celiac disease (and anybody who has DH has celiac disease) can result in infertility in both women and men. If the dapsone also has infertility listed as a possible side effect, then the gluten and the Dapsone combined is a double whammy!

Meaning, once he is completely off both, you have a chance of being able to 'make' that baby you want.

So, to give it a chance, your husband has to be absolutely diligent in avoiding gluten, and you have to make very sure you don't cause cross contamination. The best way to do that would be for you to join him in being gluten-free, at least in the house. If gluten containing food isn't allowed in the house, then you have eliminated possible glutening by cross contamination, and help your husband to heal.

It can take one to two years for the deposits under the skin that cause DH to be gone, meaning, he can still have outbreaks for a while, even when gluten-free. But I bet he'll feel so much better in ways he would never have guessed. Plus, usually, the DH will get a lot better pretty fast, just not perfect for a while.

[Skeet]

I read on here that Arm & Hammer detergent has gluten in it. And we read his shampoo bottle this morning and it had 'wheat protein' listed right on there.

What other hidden sources should we be on the hunt for? If he's following a gluten-free diet, and I still wash our sheets in the A&H will he break out?

_________________________________________________________________________________

When I say being pretty strict about it I mean we're reading labels, researching online, etc. He's not intentially putting anything in his mouth with known (to us) sources of gluten. Right now, he's still on the dapsone, so it's hard to tell if he's been accidentally glutened or not.

I do like the idea of me going gluten free too. The only problem is it is SO expensive! We've found some great substitutes at our health food store. (BioNatura I think is the pasta brand) But it costs like 5-10X as much as the normal store brands. With no kids, we can afford it, but I must admit I'm a tightwad.

I do have a stand mixer, and would like to try making stuff from scratch, but both of us also work 40 hours a week. I'm not June Cleaver.

I did figure when I become a SAHM then I could do more "from scratch" cooking, but right now, it's difficult to justify the time when we're both hungry when we get home from work.

Any suggestions in those 2 regards?

[Michi8]

I did figure when I become a SAHM then I could do more "from scratch" cooking, but right now, it's difficult to justify the time when we're both hungry when we get home from work.

Any suggestions in those 2 regards?

Don't expect to suddenly become "June Cleaver" when you're a SAHM. The last thing you'll want to do for quite a while after a baby joins your family is cook from scratch. It's much better to get into the habit of cooking now. Try doing batch cooking on the weekends and freezing. That way you can have a easy, healthy meal at the end of a long day...it will be helpful now, and when you're parents.

[penguin]

Right now, don't worry about finding substitutes, because a lot of them are both nasty and expensive. I use Tinkyada pasta, which runs me about $3 a bag, which isn't bad. I don't bother with gluten-free bread, I use mission corn tortillas instead.

I would suggest sticking to whole, naturally gluten-free foods for a while, and then figure out what to replace after you've grown accustomed to the gluten-free diet. Not to mention most of the substitutes are unhealthy, since gluten-free foods need more fat and stuff to hold it together, and the nutritional value is nil. I hope going gluten-free solves your fertility problems!!!

[Skeet]

We agree! Most are nasty!

This is the brand my husband has said tastes most like regular pasta:

Open Original Shared Link

[Ursa Major]

You definitely ought to start using a different detergent. Many people think that gluten touching the skin won't have an effect, but I beg to differ. When I was using shampoo with wheat germ oil in it, my head used to be covered in rashes, and the itching would drive me out of my mind. Now my head rarely gets that insane itch. I use Dove shampoo and conditioner, and Ivory soap (I would like to go for natural, but those nice natural shampoos and soaps are high in salicylates).

Plus, if your clothes have gluten in them, you're bound to get some into your mouth, anyway. Because you can't stop yourself from touching your own clothes all day! Nobody can remember to wash their hands every time after they've for instance put their hands into their pockets.

I used to be so itchy all over for years that it was torture. When I switched my brand of laundry detergent, I noticed an enormous difference immediately (that was four years ago), and so did my kids. I refuse to go back to those powdered, smelly detergents. Also, most powdered detergents have tiny glass particles in them, which stay on the clothes! The light reflecting off the clothes makes them look cleaner and brighter. Of course, if you have glass in your clothes, they get worn out by putting them into the dryer much faster, as it will grind on your clothes.