<<Disclaimer:  Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Lauren Walton wrote:

   I....have not seen much on dermatitis herpetiformis or steatorrhea
   (fatty stool) and would appreciate anyone who has experienced
   these problems to comment on there experiences....  Especially on
   the recovery process; how long does it take to be rid of the signs
   of the itchy outbreaks...

Regarding DH:  The following excerpts come from The Sprue-nik Press,
March 1995, from a summary of a talk by Dr. Murray entitled "Celiac
in the 90s", on pgs. 4-8:

   Dr. Joseph Murray, of the University of Iowa, is a
   gastroenterologist that specializes in treating Celiac disease.
   He gave a talk entitled "Celiacs in the 90s" at a conference
   hosted by the American Celiac Society on June 10-11, 1994.  What
   follows are highlights of Dr.  Murray's talk.
   ....
   Dr. Murray believes that ALL Dermatitis Herpetiformes (DH)
   patients also have Celiac disease, whether they realize it or not.
   This celiac disease is often latent or silent.  Earlier reports of
   patients with DH who did not have enteropathy (small intestinal
   damage) may not have counted milder forms of the celiac disease
   damage.
   ....
   Most DH patients are prescribed Dapsone, which treats the
   symptoms.  In most cases, they are told of the GF diet, but it is
   not stressed and so most DH patients do not follow the diet.  Dr.
   Murray finds this most distressing, because even if these patients
   don't have GI-related symptoms, there is still continual damage
   being done to the small intestine.  Dermatologists, in general,
   don't give enough consideration to a GI problem as the source of
   DH.  This places DH patients at an even greater risk of developing
   lymphoma in the small intestine.
   ....
   DH is caused by reactions to antibody complexes that, for reasons
   not totally clear, become deposited under the skin.  These DH
   breakouts can continue for a long time after a GF diet is adopted,
   because these deposits are not reabsorbed by the body very
   quickly.  In about 70% of the cases, dapsone treatments can be
   discontinued after 18 months-2 years; for the other 30% it takes
   longer.

I believe that an information file on DH will soon be available from
the list.  When this occurs an announcement will be made to the list.

--
-- Jim Lyles
-- [log in to unmask]
-- Holly, Michigan, USA
--