Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Petichiae

AJoy

By AJoy
in Related Issues & Disorders

Recommended Posts

AJoy Rookie
AJoy
Posted

Hi everyone!

I was diagnosed with celiac disease last October and have been doing pretty well although I have had some issues adhering to a strict gluten-free diet 100% of the time. At the end of April I broke out is a rash of petechiae which went away but has come back about 5-6 times since. It shows up only on my legs and a little on the top of my feet. This last break out which started a few days ago is worse. I have larger/more concentrated areas of spots and more all over my legs than the past few times. I went to the dermatologist today but are waiting on blood work results...

I was just wondering if anyone else with celiac disease has experienced this and if it could be related?

Thanks,

Amanda

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

Hi everyone!

I was diagnosed with celiac disease last October and have been doing pretty well although I have had some issues adhering to a strict gluten-free diet 100% of the time. At the end of April I broke out is a rash of petechiae which went away but has come back about 5-6 times since. It shows up only on my legs and a little on the top of my feet. This last break out which started a few days ago is worse. I have larger/more concentrated areas of spots and more all over my legs than the past few times. I went to the dermatologist today but are waiting on blood work results...

I was just wondering if anyone else with celiac disease has experienced this and if it could be related?

Thanks,

Amanda

It can be related to Celiac but in a round-a-bout way. Petichiae can be a symptom of another autoimmune disease called ITP or Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic

Purpura in medical-ese. What happens is your autoimmune system begins to attack your blood platelets and once the number drops lower, it can cause internal bleeding. Your blood will not clot well and minor bumps can cause large bruises or cuts that will not stop bleeding. This disease is rare but happens with Celiac Disease due to it being another autoimmune condition. It is imperative that you follow the diet very strictly for life because by not doing so, your immune system will not calm down and start to attack other organs or body systems. I have a total of 4 autoimmune diseases because I went so long without a celiac diagnosis. :(

If the dermatologist did blood work to check your platelet count, then that is great but you will need to see a hematologist if the count is low. Here are a few facts about ITP so you won't walk away freaked out or anything....it is a very treatable condition. My co-worker has it and I have watched him go through treatment for the past year and a half and they have stabilized him for the moment. Treatment is not horrible like cancer and involves infusions of antibodies or other medicines. There were no side effects from his treatments and the number of treatments depends on how well you do. In extreme cases they may remove the spleen but that is not a given. My co-worker refused to have the surgery and ended up doing well on meds they are giving him. Doctors like to do surgery because it's easy and they make money from it but you have to look into whether or not it really is necessary.

There is acute ITP or chronic ITP. It can come on quickly and be serious and require immediate intervention or be chronic with low, but not dangerously low, platelet counts. Some people require treatment and others just need to have blood levels monitored for awhile. You may not have ITP at all but your condition is quite common to ITP and a warning sign that something is amiss. Whatever your blood work shows, remember that ITP is treatable. A bit of a pain in the ass but highly treatable.

My co-worker is doing just fine and lives a normal life.

I hope this helps and I haven't scared the hell out of you but I felt the need to be truthful about your symptoms. Please let us know how it works out for you but in the meantime, relax. See what your blood work shows. I understand your worry because when I was diagnosed with Celiac, my blood protein levels were high (later found out this is common with autoimmune diseases)but the docs had to go and check for blood cancer as that can be a cause of elevated protein levels. It wasn't cancer but I was worried for a few weeks! :ph34r: ITP is not cancer, either.

AJoy Rookie
AJoy
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for the information and advice. My platelet count is apparently fine which is really weird but I tested positive for ANA...I have to go see a rheumatologist in two weeks to figure out what's going on and if they are related...Thanks again!

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

Thank you for the information and advice. My platelet count is apparently fine which is really weird but I tested positive for ANA...I have to go see a rheumatologist in two weeks to figure out what's going on and if they are related...Thanks again!

Well, that's good news! One less thing to worry about. The elevated ANA is not a big deal. Mine was and is elevated and has been coming down slowly the longer I am gluten free. It just is a marker for general inflammation in the body and can be elevated due to any one of the autoimmune diseases out there.

Celiac alone can elevate it.

Good luck at the doctors and I hope you find the answers you are looking for!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,921
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Rusty49
    Newest Member
    Rusty49
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • cristiana
      Newly diagnosed mam to coeliac 11 year old

      By cristiana · Posted

      Hi @Dizzyma I note what @trents has commented about you possibly posting from the UK.  Just to let you know that am a coeliac based in the UK, so if that is the case, do let me know if can help you with any questions on the NHS provision for coeliacs.    If you are indeed based in the UK, and coeliac disease is confirmed, I would thoroughly recommend you join Coeliac UK, as they provide a printed food and drink guide and also a phone app which you can take shopping with you so you can find out if a product is gluten free or not. But one thing I would like to say to you, no matter where you live, is you mention that your daughter is anxious.  I was always a bit of a nervous, anxious child but before my diagnosis in mid-life my anxiety levels were through the roof.   My anxiety got steadily better when I followed the gluten-free diet and vitamin and mineral deficiencies were addressed.  Anxiety is very common at diagnosis, you may well find that her anxiety will improve once your daughter follows a strict gluten-free diet. Cristiana 
    • trents
      Newly diagnosed mam to coeliac 11 year old

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the celic.com community @Dizzyma! I'm assuming you are in the U.K. since you speak of your daughter's celiac disease blood tests as "her bloods".  Has her physician officially diagnosed her has having celiac disease on the results of her blood tests alone? Normally, if the ttg-iga blood test results are positive, a follow-up endoscopy with biopsy of the small bowel lining to check for damage would be ordered to confirm the results of "the bloods". However if the ttg-iga test score is 10x normal or greater, some physicians, particularly in the U.K., will dispense with the endoscopy/biopsy. If there is to be an endoscopy/biopsy, your daughter should not yet begin the gluten free diet as doing so would allow healing of the small bowel lining to commence which may result in a biopsy finding having results that conflict with the blood work. Do you know if an endoscopy/biopsy is planned? Celiac disease can have onset at any stage of life, from infancy to old age. It has a genetic base but the genes remain dormant until and unless triggered by some stress event. The stress event can be many things but it is often a viral infection. About 40% of the general population have the genetic potential to develop celiac disease but only about 1% actually develop celiac disease. So, for most, the genes remain dormant.  Celiac disease is by nature an autoimmune disorder. That is to say, gluten ingestion triggers an immune response that causes the body to attack its own tissues. In this case, the attack happens in he lining of the small bowel, at least classically, though we now know there are other body systems that can sometimes be affected. So, for a person with celiac disease, when they ingest gluten, the body sends attacking cells to battle the gluten which causes inflammation as the gluten is being absorbed into the cells that make up the lining of the small bowel. This causes damage to the cells and over time, wears them down. This lining is composed of billions of tiny finger-like projections and which creates a tremendous surface area for absorbing nutrients from the food we eat. This area of the intestinal track is where all of our nutrition is absorbed. As these finger-like projections get worn down by the constant inflammation from continued gluten consumption before diagnosis (or after diagnosis in the case of those who are noncompliant) the efficiency of nutrient absorption from what we eat can be drastically reduced. This is why iron deficiency anemia and other nutrient deficiency related medical problems are so common in the celiac population. So, to answer your question about the wisdom of allowing your daughter to consume gluten on a limited basis to retain some tolerance to it, that would not be a sound approach because it would prevent healing of the lining of her small bowel. It would keep the fires of inflammation smoldering. The only wise course is strict adherence to a gluten free diet, once all tests to confirm celiac disease are complete.
    • Dizzyma
      Newly diagnosed mam to coeliac 11 year old

      By Dizzyma · Posted

      Hi all, I have so many questions and feel like google is giving me very different information. Hoping I may get some more definite answers here. ok, my daughter has been diagnosed as a coeliac as her bloods show anti TTG antibodies are over 128. We have started her  on a full gluten free diet. my concerns are that she wasn’t actually physically sick on her regular diet, she had tummy issues and skin sores. My fear is that she will build up a complete intolerance to gluten and become physically sick if she has gluten. Is there anything to be said for keeping a small bit of gluten in the diet to stop her from developing a total intolerance?  also, she would be an anxious type of person, is it possible that stress is the reason she has become coeliac? I read that diagnosis later in childhood could be following a sickness or stress. How can she have been fine for the first 10 years and then become coeliac? sorry, I’m just very confused and really want to do right by her. I know a coeliac and she has a terrible time after she gets gluttened so just want to make sure going down a total gluten free road is the right choice. thank you for any help or advise xx 
    • xxnonamexx
      Fermented foods, Kefir, Kombucha?

      By xxnonamexx · Posted

      very interesting thanks for the info  
    • Florence Lillian
      gluten free cookie recipes

      By Florence Lillian · Posted

      More cookie recipes ...thanks so much for the heads-up Scott.  One can never have too many.  Cheers, Florence.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.