Itchy rash all over, no blisters, has occurred twice in the past year -- both times within 4 days of eating bread.

Hi all,

Just looking for some insight here as I am beginning to strongly suspect that I have celiac or some kind of gluten intolerance.

About a year ago I decided to cut wheat/bread out of my diet, and to avoid gluten when possible. I felt better overall and noticed that I stopped catching colds every few months. For the first 1-3 months of being mostly gluten-free, I did cheat a few times with no DRAMATIC consequences. In the fifth month, however, I went out to a restaurant and ate a hamburger with bun. The next day I felt extremely depressed, and on the third day I began itching. The itch bloomed into a full-on rash -- red and splotchy, no blisters or welts, mostly on my torso but the itch was everywhere. I went to a doctor who spent about five minutes with me and told me it was fungal, prescribed an antifungal/cortisone cream and some antihistamines and told me not to worry about it. I used the meds and the rash cleared but the itching took several weeks to subside completely. From that point on, I avoided bread altogether but I would still cheat occasionally with some tempura, flour-thickened soups, etc. Nothing major though, and nothing leavened.

Fast forward to thanksgiving, seven months later. I ate stuffing with dinner (about a half serving), 2 bites of bread the following night, and some pie crust the night after that. The next day I felt depressed, and three or four days after that the itching and rash came back.

It does not seem to be dermatitis herpetiformis from what I can tell, but it certainly does SEEM to be related to the ingestion of yeast/bread/and/or large quantities of wheat.

I have also had persistent cystic Acne on my jaw/cheeks which improves somewhat when I avoid wheat and dairy. I have read about people who felt that their Acne was actually a form of DH.

I do have a confirmed hormonal imbalance for which I take natural bioidentical progesterone which has helped me a lot, but I feel like there is something else going on with me -- some kind of gluten or candida issue. I have also had ongoing anxiety and Depression issues. Both have improved as I've gotten my hormone situation under control, but they also seem to flare when I eat wheat.

Can anyone help me here? Does this sound like celiac or just an "intolerance"?

Do you think the rash is from the bread? Anyone have a similar experience?

Just trying to figure out what's going on with me.

Thanks for reading, I do appreciate it!!

-lj

PS -- I also used to frequently get a slightly puffy upper lip which I attributed to water retention prior to giving up wheat. After I gave it up, the puffiness went away. It has returned in the past week, since Thanksgiving.