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blackbird Joined: 17 Dec 2008 Posts: 16 Location: UK	Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:37 pm    Post subject: Hello again! Confused. Well, I thought I'd probably said goodbye to this very friendly forum. I've had no feedback from the gastroscopy, but my next gastro appointment has just come through the post - in June. So I guess by that they didn't find any CD. So I thought I was back to square one, wondering what all these different problems were caused by. But at least I knew - Ididn't have Cd and I didn't have DH. Today I went back to the dermatologist who had diagnosed eczema (she said stress-related), and had given me a course of steroids. The rash is not completely cured, but I can cope with it now. Then, as I was about to go she suggested I went gluten-free for 3 weeks, and she would see me again in a month. I wasn't prepared for this - she had been quite definite last time that my rash had nothing to do with DH. Not sure how i feel - reading the posts on this forum has made me realise how complicated life is for CD sufferers - and as it's a lifelong problem there's no end in sight. I've decided to start the diet this Sunday, when my son returns home (easier to do on my own). Am curious to know whether there will be an improvement. I'm totally open-minded about it - I really don't know whether this is my problem or not. Will report back - andmay need some help with the diet inbetween times! So hello again!
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rpf1007 Joined: 13 Feb 2008 Posts: 959 Location: Toronto, Canada	Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 11:58 pm    Post subject: Hi Blackbird- Since your Derm seems to have a slight change of heart- can you get him/her to do a biopsy before you go gluten free? To have to do a gluten challenge later might be tough. _________________ Rachel
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blackbird Joined: 17 Dec 2008 Posts: 16 Location: UK	Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 6:13 am    Post subject: It's all a bit confusing. I was practically out of the door when she suggested the GF diet - and I've no idea why. I won't see her again now for a month. She did say something about sending me for a 'patch test' whatever that is, if the rash comes back. From what I've read on this forum it seems like you feel an improvement quite quickly after starting GF diet, so I'm going to rely on that. If the diarrhoea/indigestion/itching starts to improve during the 3 weeks then I will continue with the diet. If there's no improvement I'll accept that the problems are something else. I think she hadn't done the DH biopsy because she was satisfied the problem was eczema. As I said, I'm just confused!
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rpf1007 Joined: 13 Feb 2008 Posts: 959 Location: Toronto, Canada	Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 6:58 am    Post subject: hmmm. strange is she was satisfied it wasn't DH and then suggested the diet. If you do want/need a definitive diagnosis- you may want to call back and push to get the biopsy. I only suggest it because I know that after I was GF for a few weeks- there is no way I would be able to do a gluten challenge for an official diagnosis. If you think that improvement on a GF diet is enough for you than that's ok. You could always explain that if it does improve on the diet- you wouldn't want to go back on gluten to get a definitive diagnosis and see what she says. Good luck. _________________ Rachel
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luvscowznh Joined: 23 Dec 2004 Posts: 483 Location: Groton, MA	Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:42 am    Post subject: blackbird wrote: It's all a bit confusing. I was practically out of the door when she suggested the GF diet - and I've no idea why. I won't see her again now for a month. She did say something about sending me for a 'patch test' whatever that is, if the rash comes back. From what I've read on this forum it seems like you feel an improvement quite quickly after starting GF diet, so I'm going to rely on that. If the diarrhoea/indigestion/itching starts to improve during the 3 weeks then I will continue with the diet. If there's no improvement I'll accept that the problems are something else. I think she hadn't done the DH biopsy because she was satisfied the problem was eczema. As I said, I'm just confused! Hi, Blackbird! I had DH, but removed the accidental gluten from my diet before the DH biopsy, so it came back negative. You may want to call the derm back to have the test before going GF or you may get a false negative. Also - you may NOT feel better immediately. It depends on how much damage has been done already. And every person is different. Some start to feel better after only a week or so - others it can take months. If you're not feeling better immediately, don't get discouraged. Stick with it and you will start to feel better. Good luck!! --Manda _________________
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rpf1007 Joined: 13 Feb 2008 Posts: 959 Location: Toronto, Canada	Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:38 am    Post subject: luvscowznh wrote: Also - you may NOT feel better immediately. It depends on how much damage has been done already. And every person is different. Some start to feel better after only a week or so - others it can take months. If you're not feeling better immediately, don't get discouraged. Stick with it and you will start to feel better. --Manda Very good point. It can take a very long time for things to get better. For me all my GI problems went away really fast- but the DH took months. My skin is also far more sensitive than my GI tract now so tiny amounts make me break out. Plus, Iodine can aggrevate things- like in normal table salt, shellfish- so think about that as well. _________________ Rachel
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