Diagnosed As Ibs But Think It Is Something More..

[Guest pear_fairy]

First off let me apologize if any of you read all boards here as posted also on the DH one here.

I have only been diagnosed as IBS so far and that was by a regular doc. Recently been seeing more and more of my symptoms taking after Crohn's or Celiac. I have gotten rashes all my life that docs always dismissed as contact dermatitis an allergic reaction etc.. The most common rashes I get are on hands and look like a bunch of clear tiny bubbles mostly on index finger but have gotten over complete palms before. Swolling and itching occurs! Most recently though I have gotten some on my forearms. They started out looking like just a couple bug bites then got white heads on them. They itch on and off. I am slowly getting several more. The only pics i have found of DH online looked quite extreme. So was wondering if anyone gets this and it varies on itching and or appearance?

I have other symptoms (no periods unless on the pill, stomach issues of course, been vomiting on and off for last couple of months this month has been three days already though and not in a row, prickling sensations in skin on legs on occasion, was having some anxiety and depression a few months back,loud tummy especially at night,mucusy bm's etc...).

For those of you who had vomiting before being diagnosed did it come on suddenly or slowly? I ask because i threw up once in July out of nowhere then also have had at least one day a month since then where I just have to get sick sometimes several times in one day. But then I feel fine. Well now this week I threw up several times on Wednesday was decent on Thursday then threw up once on Friday and once Saturday.

Also if you lost weight is this why because of the getting sick or did you feel fine and just dropped pounds becasue of no absorbing of the calories?

Thanks for any input. I have pics of my rash also if anyone wants to see.

~Steph

[SadiesMomma]

Hi Steph-

My name is Heather.... I as well was previously diagnosed with IBS but I knew it was more once I became pregnant with my daughter. I got all the rest of the symptoms then when I was pregnant but I thought it was the pregnancy... It wasnt. After having my daughter I became very ill and everything was making me sick. Finally i went to a dietition and she spoke with me about Celiac Disease. I immediately began a gluten-free diet and it helped right away although it took a long timw to get to where I am now, which isnt perfect but is a lot better than I was, thats for sure. Anyway... I also have the skin conditions you mention... I get rashes that itch and burn when i get into water. I get little blisters on my hands but they feel like theyre under the skin coming up. im not sure that it is. They feel sore almost like a blood blister. I have been looking around about it and also say HD pics that looked horrible... Maybe we have it... I dont know.. i just wanted to let you know that youre not the only one!

[gf4life]

I have always had sensitive skin and get rashes very easily. I have gotten blisters on my scalp for years and once I knew about celiac disease I wondered if they were DH. I never had any blisters on my body until after I went gluten-free for a while and then had to go back on gluten for the biopsy. Before going gluten-free my diet was normally pretty low on gluten, but when I was gluten-free the blisters on my head went a way. When I was back on gluten, (I ate alot, everyday) I was eating more gluten in a day than I normally would in a week. I started to get this horribly itchy blistery rash all over my palms and fingers. It progressively got worse over the two months on gluten(spreading to my forearms and a few on my back and legs) and only lessened for a few days when we were on vacation by the beach. I think the salt water helped to dry them a bit, but they were still itchy. Once I was back on the gluten-free diet the blisters went away completely on my hands and body, except my scalp. I always know when I have gotten gluten because my scalp breaks out and if it was a lot of gluten my fingers get blisters. I am pretty sure this is DH. I did find one picture of DH on the hand and it did look similar to mine, but they mostly show the bad cases of DH online. I'll look around and see if I can find it again and post a link here.

God bless,

Mariann

[Guest pear_fairy]

Thanks Mariann and Heather,

i do live in a very salty air region also! (Okinawa Japan) which I know they have said the salt air and coral dust in the air here can cause lots of people to get excema over here (my husband developed it) but these are definitly not that as I have had patches of excema too. So maybe the salt has kept the others (DH?)in check! Never thought of that. I know the times i got it on my hands it was horrible in highschool I could not even drive my hands were so swollen and itchy! Wish I had pictures of those to compare to the ones online. Mine looks similar to the ones i did find online but hard to tell for sure since mine is not as severe and all rashes start looking similar after awhile ha ha. Just looked at my pics I took and they are rather blurry so going to try and get clearer ones. My scalp has been itchy lately too and I know I used to get scabs in it occasionally but thought it was build up but now hmmm maybe it was related also. Heather I also used to get the ithces that were worse in water (especially down front of lower legs)but I figured it was just because i had scratched myself like crazy in the sleep so my skin was raw.

Thanks again you two!

[gf4life]

Another thing about my hand rash, is that it was extremely painful on the palms. Almost like the nerves were being poked with needles. And anytime I get surprised or something bothers me a lot, I get that same prickly feeling in my hands. I think it is still effecting the nerves (I've only been gluten-free for going on 8 weeks), and I am hoping it will go away. The ocean air might be keeping your rash down to a minimum. It will be interesting to see what they say when you get to England.

Here is that link I said I'd post. Now her thumb looks the worst, but if you look at the section of palm that is showing you can see more small pin prick like blisters and red marks. That is what my entire palm would look like and I would only have about 2 or 3 bad ones like she has on her thumb. I still have scars from the bad ones...

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/im...llsize/2674.webp

Mariann

[Guest pear_fairy]

Yup Mariann that is the photo I had seen and looked the closest to what I got especially that one blister on her thumb closest to the hand that is by itself. That is what all mine pretty much look like. So weird. I find that the aveeno oatmeal lotion works good and of course cold water if they start itching. Thanks for posting

[Guest aramgard]

When I was 15, I broke out in a terrible itchy, weepy rash all over my legs, ankles and face, then finally my arms. The allergist's and dermatologist used me as a guinea pig for several years and when they could not help told my mom to take my to a psychologist, because it was anxiety that was causing the problem. Then our holistic doctor suggested my parents take me to the ocean for several weeks and get me in to the salt water every day. Believe my, every morning when I woke up my bed looked like it was full of corn flakes as it healed. The ocean water and salt water seems to be what really helped. Of course, 50 years later it was discovered I had Celiac disease and now my rashes are dwindling and I can control them with a 1% OTC hydrocortizone ointment. My only salvation was that during college, the rash got really bad again so my folks brought me back to San Diego for the ocean water and I met my husband, married him six months later and have lived near the ocean since. Believe me, the ocean has kept me sane, many times from the itching. Shirley