Karen P

Yes, I had this rash checked out once a very long time ago.  I was in my early 20's and walked out of his office humiliated beyond belief.  He told me and tested me for the STD Herpes.  I was so horrified.  I spent 2 weeks sobbing and too humiliated to even go out before the result came back as negative.  I've never had it checked since.  My rash is faithfully on my hind end and presents as more like a welt.  Earlier this year when I was staying with my aunt for a couple of days, I came in contact with rye bread crumbs.  My aunt eats 99% gluten free.  The only time she doesn't is when she has a craving for a toasted BLT.  I had been out when she made this sandwich so when I got home, I cleaned up the kitchen for her not realizing what I was cleaning.  By the afternoon, I was supporting a welt.  Because the rash is always on my butt, I was never able to get a good look so I had my aunt check it out.  Her description was that it looked like multiple small, slightly infected bee stings all in one welt.  Before I had her check out my butt (gotta love an aunt that's willing to check out your posterior without leaving you embarrassed), I asked her if she had cooked anything with gluten.  She then told me about the sandwich she had made and forgotten to tell me about before I cleaned the kitchen.

Im not sure if I've used spray starch in the room and never even thought to check if it contains anything gluten. I'm normally so diligent in everything I buy and yet this product is something I've used for years and years and never once thought about what it's made of.  Silly me.

I've learned a valuable lesson.....never again will gluten enter my home.  I have a very small place with a small kitchen.  If my daughter and the kidlets come back, they're going to have to come during the summer so the can eat their Miniwheats and bagels on the patio facing the lake.  That shouldn't be too much of a hardship, right?

 As for my desk, I'll certainly look into a glass top. That would be perfect. Can failry porous wood be cleaned though? I found bit of bagels and their snacks all over the desk including in the drawersand I've already washed some of the bagels and cream cheese off of the drawers. That's what I've been able to see. I wonder if it's what I'm not able to see that's making me sick.. Or am I being paranoid?

My tip for stopping the horrible itch of DH. I often scratch with a cool cloth just enough to make the skin a bit "open"and then apply rubbing alcohol to the area. Yes it burns a bit but it immediately and almost always relieves the itching. It also seems to dry the rash up. This sounds extreme but I swear by it. Have a good night everyone!

I would like to take a minute to thank everyone for their support, encouragement and suggestions.  It's so nice being able to share my experiences with people who know exactly how horrible Celiac disease can make you feel.  Also, a very special THANK YOU to BARTFULL.  You got me started, showed me how to use the site and gave me some awesome helpful hints.  Talking to all of you helped me to feel so less alone and that was the biggest gift of all.

I think my daughter has Celiac disease as well but she refuses to get tested.  It's good to know Celiacs and non can live together in harmony.  I'm still looking for any helpful hints regarding cleaning my computer desk and sewing table, all made primarily of wood.  I'll try anything.  One idea I had was to use hot soap and water mixed with vinegar, scrub, scrub, scrub, rinse well and then maybe put a coat of.....something on it to seal.  Does anyone have any thoughts on this idea? 

Good morning Msmarginalized. First of all, thank you so much for the hugs.  My attempt at cleaning this room a couple of days ago has yielded nothing but a rash and tummy troubles. I'm afraid if I go visit them, I'd have even less control over the gluten issue plus it's a 10 hour drive and my hip replacement has decided to crap out yet again so I'm waiting around for more surgery. It's funny you should mention your husband kissing you after his 2 sandwich lunch.  I have recently had a man come into my life and like your husband, he has forgotten himself and kissed me.  His diet has not changed since we met. How do you managemeals and such at home if your husband eats normal and you're forced to eat gluten-free?

Yes, it's me one more time tonight..  I'm sure by now everyone is getting tired of reading my posts but I think I've had an epiphany with the help of a friend. Her and I were chatting and I told her the rest of my house while work intensive, was easy to de-gluten so why am I having such issues with this one room.  What's different about it?  It's the furniture!  There's a computer desk and a sewing table my father built and the only thing I have from when he passed.  It means a lot to me.  It also happens to be made of wood that's extremely rough in places and porous.  I would bet anything this is the source of my problem.  I'd love to know what others think, if I'm grasping at straws, whatever and if anyone had any ideas on how to fix this potential problem.

I was stunned my daughter brought all of this gluten to my house.  She's never done it before and is usually very supportive but this last visit in March....it's like she was a completely different person.  There was only one room in my house that ended up safe for me and that was my own bedroom.  By the time she left here with her kids and hubby in tow, I was so godawful sick that I had to leave my home and go stay at my aunts house who chose to be 99% gluten free.  When I finally felt somewhat well enough to return to my house, I walked in and got a shot of reality.  Now I had to de-gluten my home.  It was one of the lowest points in my life in a very long time.  My daughter had left earlier than planned because, and these are her words "we may as well go home being as you're sick".  She pulled out of the driveway and I haven't heard from her since.  She made me sick!!!!  Yes, I'm still a bit bitter about this.  If I could've sent her packing when she first showed up, I would've but she lives 10 hours away so that really wasn't an option.  Anyways, I managed to get my house cleaned up with the exception of the room they stayed in.  Last night I remembered Meghann gave her girls these pita chips or crackers.....something along the line of and sent them to bed (they all slept in one room) unsupervised.  These kids know no boundaries and had no qualms about checking everything out.  They all ate breakfast in this room.  After each meal or snack, Meghann used baby wipes for everyone's hands.  I don't think baby wipes get hands clean enough, do they?  Anyways, months later and I'm still reacting to this room despite multiple cleanings.  I don't know what else to do.  I will try anything (short of a torch) to get this room useable.  This is my happy room and with winter coming on and no dog to love up anymore, I desperately need this space. 

I've been waiting to get into a GI guy for almost 7 months now and still no sign of getting in to see this guy.  Fortunately he's new to me.  The one that diagnosed me was nuts or something.  He didn't give me near enough sedation when he scoped me (top and bottom) and was so very rough.  This new guy is supposed to be up to date on all of the newest issues so here's hoping.  I'm glad to hear other people suffer horrible fatigue which is something I didn't mention before.  I've had family members tell me everything from I'm lazy to I'm exaggerating my symptoms to I'm just being picky, whatever that means.  Yes, a lot of this comes from my mother who doesn't understand a Celiac can't cheat on their diet.  Speaking of diet, I've made life easy for myself.  I eat meat, potatoes (or rice), veggies and pasta using a pasta sauce I make myself.  I play it safe now and only get screwed up when family members come for a visit or I'm forced to visit them.  I hate to say this and I know it comes from a selfish place but it sure would make life a lot easier if other family members had Celiac disease. 

Okay, here goes everyone and most especially to "Bartfull" who's been a huge shoulder for me to cry on.  The tears stem from frustration and being so isolated with whatever has been going on with me.  I was diagnosed with Celiac disease about 6 years ago.  At that time, I was down to 102 pounds when I should be at least 125 and I felt positively horrible.  After the scope, I was sent to a nutritionist who told me to avoid gluten and gave some examples of the food out there.  To say this woman wasn't much help would be an understatement.  The DH (which I think I've confirmed in the past 1/2 hour) and gastrointestinal issues have plagued me since my early 20's.  I've managed to gain most of my weight back but other than that, nothing much else has changed.  If I go a friends house, it seems I come in contact with gluten (no, it's not ingestion) and within hours, the rash comes back followed by the GI symptoms.  I've gotten to the point where I stay by myself for the most part just so I can stay somewhat healthy.  I wash my hands every time there's a chance of touching something and yet, it still happens.  I'm fairly confident my issue is related to the Celiac disease but I don't know anything more than that.  This morning I've been wondering if taking a Benadryl would allow me to at least use my sewing room which I can't seem to "de-gluten" since my daughter came for a visit way back last March!!!  This room used to be my happy room.  It's where I sew and play and listen to tunes.  Every time I go in it and despite religious hand washing, I still end up sick.  I'm angry, I'm frustrated beyond belief and I'm mad as hell at my daughter who knew better than to bring and give multigrain bagels and Miniwheat cereal to her 2 young girls and then allow them to run all over my house with it despite me telling her to leave it at home!  I have other health issues including a hip replacement that keeps breaking; however, this "gluten?" issue is the only thing totally wearing me down.  Any help or helpful hints will be greatly appreciated. 

H'mmm....I clicked on the link you supplied and this is where it took me.  I have a feeling this isn't right.  Can you let me know please?  If it's not, I'll try out the other method you suggested.  During all of this, I've tried to create a profile and the site froze up on me.  lol  Like I said earlier, I'm not exactly computer literate. 

Hi.  I totally know what you're going through.  I've been fighting gluten in my spare/sewing/computer room for 6 months now and I still have a problem despite having cleaned it 5 times.  For the floor, at first I used a steam mop then dish soap in super hot water and believe me when I say I scrubbed.  After this didn't work, I used a combination of bleach and dish soap and almost boiling hot water.  No luck.  Next came the steam mop, dish soap and a higher dose of bleach and then the steam mop again.  It still didn't work!!!  By now, I was in tears.  I was sick of getting glutened and unable to go in this room.  The cause of the issue...my extremely insensitive daughter came for a visit with her family of very young girls and her hubby and they all stayed in this one room.  Meg gave the 2 girls either multigrain bagels or mini-wheat cereal for breakfast and God forbid should they eat this breakfast at the kitchen table.  (Can you tell I'm still angry?)  The girls did what all small children do when they don't know any better and they ran around touching pretty much everything in this room.  Anyways, on the third try I used literally boiling hot water with mostly bleach and a bit of dish soap and a very hard bristle brush.  I scrubbed and bawled the entire floor and after a bit of a break, carried on washing down the furniture as well as my computer and that desk and then my sewing desk.  Believe it or not, I got glutened yet again the next time i went into this room to sew.  It took me a couple of months to try again and by now, I'm stumped.  A couple of days ago, I read an article that stated using alcohol and then vinegar as well as rinse, rinse, rinse and I have high hopes of this working.  I've also come to the conclusion I've missed areas where gluten has come in contact with my stuff but be damned if I can figure out where and/or what this could be.  If this doesn't work, I don't know what to do.  If I could hire somebody to completely de-gluten this room and I could trust it was clean, I'd go that route.  Getting glutened over and over and over this summer has really taken it's toll.  It's rare I feel well enough to do anything other than lay on the couch and watch tv.  That isn't a life!!!  If I do get this room clean, I then get to tackle my bbq which my daughter and her hubby so thoughtfully cooked (messily I might add) chicken and steaks with bbq sauce. 

Thank you for letting me share my frustration.  It used to be i could discuss my health issues with my mother but I've discovered she has no clue what gluten does to a Celiac.  She sincerely believes I can cheat on my gluten-free diet and I'm just being "picky" and exaggerating my symptoms.