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This is a summary of the responses I received for the below question.  Lots
of good information from many sources which I Thank.
I have been diagnosed with Celiac Sprue and DH.  How long after one goes on
a Gluten free diet do the symptoms of DH stop.  My symptoms are inching sore
and minor loose stool.

With a strict gluten-free diet the loose stools stop within about a week.
It takes longer for the itch of DH to subside.  (I don't have DH, I have
just read that it takes a while for the skin eruptions to heal and
disappear.)

This varies tremendously depending on the person. Mine stopped immediately
but then I was taking just 25 mg of dapsone every third day or so. Not
much. It's much more normal for it to take weeks or even months. Some
people continue taking or start taking dapsone for a while.

Are you aware that you probably also need to avoid iodine, which can set
off DH attacks? Iodine does NOT have gluten, but something about it can
cause DH flareups. Main things to avoid are seafood and iodized salt (use
kosher), which is also in some processed foods. This is only for a few
months or so, Most people can return to iodine after they have GF for a
while.

when my DH was diagnosed I was put on a course of Dapsone, which is a drug
developed to treat Leprocy.  It works but brilliantly.  If you decide to
take this drug email me again.  In the meantime treat the spots and itches
with Diprolene
ointment.
Good luck

I too have DH and CD. I took about 6 months for my DH to clear. I know most
people have different experiences though.


I have DH (third year after diagnosed), and my reading at the
medical webs and also the university dermatologist I went to say that DH
lasts on average 6 months up to 2 years.   I guess it takes a while for the
antibodies to leave the skin.  Mine took a year and a half to fully go
away--nothing since.  Good luck!!  ---  Ron in upstate NY

My itching stopped on the third day of a gluten free diet.  I had had dh for
over 30 years before diagnosis.  It took several months for the rash to
totally clear up but the itching was the worst part.  Be very careful about
licking
envelopes.  Took me awhile to figure that one out.

I have been wondering the same thing.  I have both and have been gluten
free for about 1 year.  i still have out breaks and continue to take
dapsone.  I have been able to decrease my dosage but still need the
medicine to keep it under control.  When I decrase my dosage i have an
outbreak.  So please summarize or forward me the responses you get.

Recovery times vary greatly from person to person. For me it was
many months until I felt really back to what I remember as 'normal'. I
don't have DH. If you need extra help to get the itching under control,
I read that the drug Dapsone is used for a while. The loose stool should
clear up as long as you are 100% gluten free. Keep your meals simple,
small and frequent and drink lots of water. A daily gf multi-vitamin
supplement is a good idea.

It can take a long time for the symptoms of DH to subside completely.  I was
told to expect it to take two years, even on Dapsone.  Dapsone gave me
immediate relief from the itching (within two days), but the blisters stayed
and recurred for more than two years.  I think as long as I was on Dapsone I
was ingesting gluten without knowing it and perhaps lengthening the duration
of symptoms while controlling them and making them milder and milder.  I was
on Dapsone for two years.  For several months after I stopped taking Dapsone
I continued to have a few mild outbreaks, but a stricter gluten free diet
alleviated that.  I have been off Dapsone for three years and have no DH
symptoms.

 The length of time that it takes to clear DH on m GF diet can very
quite m bit depending on your age and length of time that you have had
CD.  An earlier rule was 3 months to 3 years, but I am now in my 8th year
and still get outbreaks and take sulfasalazine, 1000 units a day. The
preferred medication is Dapsone, which works quite well but should be
monitored in case your system does not tolerate it. These medications only
effect the symptoms, not the disease. Diet is the only treatment. It has
been stated in a medical book that if you are over 50, Dapsone should not
be used,  and there are other medications that are available.

After about 8 weeks of strict diet I was off meds & not itching.

My DH took about 3 1/2 months to go away, but I was also taking Dapsone.

unfortunately, maybe 2-4 months before all symptoms disappear. I have DH and
it is impossible to avoid all gluten - I always have a DH spot somewhere due
to something I've eaten, but it is sooooo much better than when I was
diagnosed and had them all down both arms, shins, shoulders, etc. Has your
Dr. prescribed Dapsone? it is good for the itching, but not to be used for a
long time, say more than 6 mo. is bad for the liver.

Art

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