Pityriasis Lichenoides Chronica and Celiacs?

BassistKara · Joined: 02 Oct 2007 Posts: 37

Hey everyone, first of all sorry if this is in the wrong area, i just thought itd be better suited here due to it being a skin disorder question!

Well, first of all ive had a rare skin disorder/disease called Pityriasis Lichenoides Chronica(http://www.dermnetnz.org/scaly/pityriasis-lichenoides.html theres some info their if you have no idea what it is!) for my whole life(im 19 now), its only recently come back in full force, after not really being a problem since i was about 12.
Recently i have been told i may have Celiacs or Non Celiac Gluten sensitivity, and are seeing a gastroenterologist for the first time on Nov 8th after having bowel/stomach problems all my life, which every doctor just put down to IBS and saying there is nothing they can do.
For the past year and a half i have been very very unwell with the bowel/stomach problems getting unbareable(sometimes even going to emergency about it, and them just sending me home coz their isnt anything they can do apparently!) and so has the PLC...
Just wondering if anyone knows whether these 2 could be related in anyway? I have tried searching the net for info...but their is barely any useful info on PLC anyways due it being a rare condition, let alone anything about PLC and celiacs!
Thanks for reading, sorry this post was fairly long!

aklap · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 7796 Location: WI, USA

Hi Kara,

Welcome to the board! I don't know much about PLC, but I've been looking at it. I have to wonder if maybe your PLC is maybe not dermatitis herpetiformis? Did a dermatologist diagnose your PLC? Many times DH is often diagnosed as eczema.

The other interesting information here is that your issues seemed to die down for a while and now are coming back. CD will "go into remission" during the puberty years then make an appearance again in young adulthood...all due to hormones. When hormones are high, you body will do "strange things" Wink

. When the hormones settle back down, it's business as usual.

It will be interesting to see what the Gastro has to say about this [please keep us updated]. Do you know if your gastro is familiar with CD [does he/she have many CD patients?]. Certainly your stomach issues are consistent with CD.

I'll keep looking for more info, but I haven't found a great deal yet.

Here's some PLC info:

http://www.emedicine.com/DERM/topic334.htm
http://dermatology.cdlib.org/103/NYU/case_presentations/111803n3.html

http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40024587/ - I found this interesting...kinda makes you wonder...

BassistKara · Joined: 02 Oct 2007 Posts: 37

Hmm..It very well could be DH, i'll talk to the dermatologist about it...
But a dermatologist did diagnose the PLC, im seeing him again Nov 4th, im pretty sure he did a skin biopsy to confirm it, as all the normal treatments for eczema which the GP's had prescribed didnt do anything, hence why i got referred to the specialist!
I have no idea whether the gastro doc is familiar with CD, i certainly hope so though! I will try and find out though, may be a bit tough though as im seeing one through an outpatients program at a public hospital..
If this is of any relevance, ive also seen a haemotologist, as i had fairly high white cell counts, which led him to believe i may have had cancer(it runs in my family unfortunatly, my nan just got over bowel cancer too).
So i had a bone marrow biopsy and that showed up all clear...All the blood levels are back to "normal" now, except the eosonophils('scuse the mis-spelling of that!)...Although once again they say "there is something wrong, but we dont know what!"
That same haemotologist asked me the first time i saw him if i had celiacs, due to some of the results being consistent with it, but i said no as i just thought i had IBS, So he thought nothing more of it...
Also, i think i read somewhere that PLC is a type of autoimmune problem too, isnt celiacs one too?
Oh yeah, im so lucky im very stubborn in finding out things, im just so sick of everyone telling me they dont know what it is! But im determined to get to the bottom of this!

aklap · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 7796 Location: WI, USA

Yes Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease. It's not an allergy as some will state. All too often CD is mis-diagnosed as IBS - sadly.

Interesting fact about the bowel cancer...might be an important clue. Are there any other family members that have medical issues?

CD is certainly something that needs to be looked into!! You keep on digging - sooner or later - you'll get to the bottom of it Wink

_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

BassistKara · Joined: 02 Oct 2007 Posts: 37

I really hope they're onto something suspecting CD, especially since the genetic testing came back positive( positive for DQ2 or something)!!
No other major medical issues apart from cancer, but me and my 2 brothers all have asthma...Mum has contact dermatitis and is half deaf in one ear, younger brother has eczema and a host of unspecified ear problems. Umm...ingrown toenails that i get from my dads side of the family! Same nan who had bowel cancer, also has diverticulitis, a thyroid problem, pagets disease, hearing problems(now wears hearing aids).