Does Anyone Of This Sound Familiar?

[veryconfused]

Hello,

I've been reading a lot about Celiac's and I've long suffered from symptoms that really sound similar to what I read online. I know it's never good to self diagnose via the internet, but I'm without access to healthcare (no insurance) at the moment.

1) From the age of about 14-15 onward I've suffered from (this sounds gross and it is), painful lesions on my buttocks, sometimes with puss in them. And they NEVER seem to go away. Sometimes they subside for whatever reason, but they have always come back. It's long been a source of shame and embarrassment for me. Even sitting can be difficult. Sometimes the get infected and filled with puss. Like I said, totally gross.

2) Recently (I'm in my late 20's) I've been getting painful sores in my scalp, mostly in the back of my head and sometimes on the back of my neck. These suckers ITCH like crazy and often times become infected. I've got no idea what's causing them, I'm a clean person with SHORT hair. They hurt! I think maybe they are worse when I am stressed out?

3) On my face I've got what I've always have thought was acne. But I'm starting to think it is something else. It's usually around my mouth often times in the corner of my mouth, which is really painful. Recently (this has almost pushed me over the edge) I've developed what can only be described as a painful, red blistering area on the bottom/corner of my lip line/mouth. It makes me so embarrassed to interact with people. Sometimes I will wake up from a nap and have little red sores all around my lip line. Recently I felt inside of my mouth and I have an open sore. I don't remember biting my cheek or anything, I don't know where this has come from.

4) Lactose intolerance or so I think. I've long had what seems like a lactose intolerance. Whats weird is there never seems to be a pattern, sometimes it gives me the runs, other times I have nothing happen at all?

5) Small red marks on my chest and shoulders. These appear randomly. Like I said I'm a clean person, these look like zits that never come to the surface. Last week I had matching red marks underneath both of my armpits. One developed a white head filled with puss.

6) Last week I developed red sores in almost matching locations on my temples. I can't figure out what caused them. I had chicken strips covered in a batter the night before, I read that this can cause them? These are really painful and embarrassing as well. My forehead lately has been perpetually breaking out with little bumps that sometimes resemble zits, other times its just red marks that never go away.

7) In my eyebrows I get painful bumps that go and come as they please. I can't find the pattern.

Sorry for the long and drawn out post but I'm really losing a lot of my life to these ailments. They control me, they keep me from being happy and I'm really tired of it. My wife says its not that noticeable but for me, its very distracting. Does any of this ring a bell to anyone? Randomly I started using Anti Dandruff shampoo, Nazoril I think it is, on my scalp and I tried washing my bottocks with it. It seems to help? very strange.

Anyone out there.. does ANY of this ring a bell to you? Thank you for your time.

[ravenwoodglass]

What you are describing sounds an awful lot like the DH that plagued me from childhood. A derm can biopsy the areas next to the sores to look for the antibodies. Do find one who is familiar with DH as if the biopsies are not done correctly and they are not looking for DH they won't find it.

You should also get a blood screening for celiac although those can come back with a false negative also. After you have finished all the testing you choose to do try the diet, and be sure to eliminate gluten from all topicals also. It can take some time for the sores to heal but heal they will if they are a gluten reaction.

You may want to add a good 'stress' vitamin with high levels of the B vitamins. The sores you are describing in the corners of your mouth could be due to a deficiency in the B vitamins.

[Beccels]

Im not a Dr, but it sounds to me - like your body is trying to get rid of something that it doesn't like. And its coming out through your skin.

Why don't you just try, taking gluten, wheat and dairy out of your diet or just gluten. Its hard, I know - but its not going to have a negative impact on you. If you give it a red hot go for a for 4 or 5 weeks, you might see some results.

But it really is best to try and get to a Dr, obviously.