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well,

i saw the derm today.  she graciously saw me in a day's notice even though it
usually takes months to see her.  she took one look at it, and said it was
definitely DH.  She did biopsy a lesion and some skin nearby.  I mentioned
that I had been advised about taking a biopsy above the hip at the waistline,
and she stated that that would only be true for fluoroscopic testing which is
different that a biopsy for diagnostic purposes.  Until she gets the biopsy
back (although she said her first guess was DH, her second guess was DH and
her third guess was DH) she did not want to start me on Dapsone.  She gave me
a topical steroid, and rx for allegra to help with the general itchiness.
She said that her information told her that it did not necessarily mean (or
exclude) that I may have ingested gluten, but that DH was 'programmed' to
erupt genetically.  She said that that was why it was possible for DH
suffered to adhere to strict gf diets and still have outbreaks.  She also
stated that some people tend to 'outgrow' the tendencies to have DH
eruptions, but that the only way to tell if that happened is to d/c Dapsone.
She said that those who are not ready to go off of the meds will have an
immediate outbreak.  She had 2 of her newer associates come to look at the
rash so that they could see a real live DH.  I'm supposed to be in contact
with her at the end of next week to find out what the biopsy showed.  It may
not be the first out break I've had, now that I know that it can look so much
like hives.