DH w/ Non-Typical Symptoms

[plain_old_donut]

A question for those of you who suffer with DH which is confirmed by diagnosis:
Do your DH symptoms fit the descriptions found on the DH websites, or like the rest of the celiac community, do your symptoms not quite fall in line with the "normal" symptoms.

I ask this because I have a friend who not only has a mysterious rash she has been dealing with for years, but she is also hypothyroid. She looked at the DH information that I sent her, but her symptoms don't seem to match up.

If any of you have "non-typical" symptoms, but you tested positive for DH, I would appreciate if you could post some info and personal experiences here, so I can send her the link and let her read about it.

My problem is that my friends think that I think that everyone has CD. I really don't think that, but when one struggles with anemia, another with a mystery rash, and another with type 2 diabetes, I mention that there could be a correlation and recommend that they get tested if they have insurance. (I don't think I harp on it - but I guess it's possible) It certainly couldn't hurt to find out for sure. (Okay, making a major dietary and lifestyle change does hurt. It could be easier not to know.)

[Celia C]

I believe it's waaay more common than we imagine. Sorry, I'm not 'diagnosed' either, but I looked at all the DH photos online and my body had that exactly -- the not too gross stage version. THAT symptom seems to have gone away completely now -- and I am less than 2 months GF.

I actually started hearing about gluten way earlier than I realized! Back in November one of my hiking buddy friends looked at my bad outbreak of blisters on the hands and said she had those exact blisters, she had to quit gluten, and she was fasting on this lemon juice / cayenne / molasses stuff to cleanse her bowels. As a matter of fact the day of my up-to-my elbows-hives she was there, drinking her funny juice instead of food, and not even trying to convince me that I have what she had, only letting me know that for her it was gluten.

I thought, well, very nice to fast and all, but I've never been allergic to anything in my life and I sure can't be allergic to gluten!

I didn't even realize I was denying the obvious until I remembered and had the chance to ask her about it again now.

There's only so much you can do. It's too "out there" for people to grasp, unless they are really miserable and really tired of being that way, then their minds are opened a little more.

The symptoms can vary so much, too, and a person can have no noticeable symptoms.