I Glutened Myself On Purpose.

[terr]

Hello to all. I stumbled onto this forum about three months ago when trying to figure out this insanely itchy rash that has lasted the better part of 2 years.. I was told that it was hives and that I should take h1s and h2s (zyrtec, and zantac) together and that it would go away in time. Towards the end of the worst 2 years of my 38 I started having horrific GI symptoms as well and googled the 2 symptoms together. Everything pointed towards gluten intolerance for me. I have lost a grandfather and a great-grandfather (opposite sides of family) to cancer of the esophagus, and lost my maternal grandfather to colon cancer which spread to bone. My sister has Turner's Syndrome which ups my family's chance of being gluten intolerant. We also have eczema, psoriasis, asthma, a laundry list of indoor/ outdoor allergies, and I have at least one relative with diabetes.

I was comfortable with this (self) diagnosis and went off gluten. I have been Gluten-Free for 11 weeks and started seeing massive improvement. No GI symptoms at all. They went away immediately. My rash still came on whenever I would exercise (sweat), after a hot or too warm shower, first thing in the morning, and after any instance of stress, an argument with a friend once gave me a rash, etc.. But, it was more manageable than before when I WAS eating gluten.

I had a slight trace of rash on my neck when I went to Thanksgiving dinner with friends and spent some time with my friend who is a physician's assistant. Let me start by saying that most of my friends give me quite a bit of crap over the fact that I am suddenly Gluten-Free and they scoff at my self-diagnosis. I don't have health insurance (or a steady job). No one wants to hire a leper apparently..

In any case, this friend of mine thinks I have eczema. The rash is in all the usual eczema places, inside elbows, neck, chest and the lower part of my face. It starts out feeling kinda wet- especially the folds in my neck, then a day or so after it starts to dry up and gets really dry. I can moisturize for a half hour before it starts to feel like skin again..

Fast forward to two days ago.. I had a little bit of a sweat-induced rash from riding my bike to a painting gig that I am doing, and I stopped to get some lunch at a middle eastern restaurant that I love. Lots of safe menu items and what do I order? A fracking felafel sandwich! And I did it on purpose. I wanted to see if ingesting gluten now after 11 weeks off would spark symptoms and guess what? I spent the last 2 days in bed. I have slept for 14 hours both today and yesterday. My rash is OUT OF CONTROL, and I think it's now showing up on the backs of my knees!

Does anyone here have a rash like this? It seems to have characteristics of DH, eczema, and urticaria. I scratch it at night until I bleed. It doesn't even wake me up. It comes on when I sweat, in the morning, after sex and showers.. even if I finish in cold water.

Despite this stupid, stupid experiment, I had made some serious progress. I am positive that I have a gluten problem. What I can't quite figure out is the rash. If I stay on this diet forever (I will), will the rash go away? Regardless of what kind of rash it turns out to be? Why do I sleep for so long when it gets bad?

I am going to cut out dairy completely from now on, along with gluten and prepare all my meals myself and see if that helps.. If anyone has had a rash like this, PLEASE share your story. This rash is actually ruining my life.

[pricklypear1971]

Well, I don't know if I've had a rash "like" yours but I have a gluten-sensitive rash that is probably DH.

So, now you are pretty sure the rash responds to gluten...so stay away from gluten.

There are several gluten sensitive rashes - eczema, psoriasis, DH, and some I can't spell yet. Having one or the other (or more than one, ick) is miserable.

If you want to try low-iodone in conjunction with gluten-free, milk free you may see some relief if it's DH. You're more than halfway there, btw, going milk free. Google "thyca" for diet info.

Ice packs help me...as does low-iodone. And I use Vanicream lotion.

I just broke out in my first real rash since low-iodone and I am guessing I'm on the right track because I barely broke out and they are pinprick sized bumps instead of penny-sized. I'm working under the assumption the iga levels are falling and there's just not as much there to react with.

[Di2011]

Terr,

I'm starting to get that skin problems that may be gluten related seem to be the worst kind of issue for TEMPTATION. I have some advice, and I am still head to ankle DH: DONT DO THE TEMPTATION / TEST GLUTEN. You WILL NOT KNOW if gluten is the problem unless you eliminate it from your diet LONG TERM. I have been strictly (((and I mean strictly))) for four months and I am seeing the best results in the past 3-4 weeks.

I was tempted and made mistakes and IT DOESN'T WORK.

If you really want to know if it is the glutens causing your problems then you need to TEST Gluten-free for months.

Be brave.