So at this stage in the LC game I decided to try for the first time some LC tortillas. They were really good too. They actually tasted better than the regular kind. I can't believe the taste. I made some awesome tortillas and tacos. The first brand I tried was LC Choppers. They are awesome. The second one I tried because I've heard so much about them were Mama Lupe's tortillas they were good too, but LC Choppers has them beat in taste, but Mama Lupe's is 1 net carb less and hers are a bit larger than the LC Choppers.

Anyway to get to the point, looks like I'm allergic to wheat gluten. Because after eating the LC tortillas I have broken out in a fierce rash from head to toe and it is not good. I can't believe I finally get to have tacos now I'm probably allergic to them. Man! Tell me it ain't true.

I went to the emergency hospital yesterday and there diagnosis was herpitform dermatitis which is an allergic reaction to wheat gluten caused by *Coeliac Disease. Well, sounds like they hit the nail right on the head to me, but they state they aren't sure that's what it is so now I went to see my dermatologist whom also seems a bit baffled and states that he doesn't think that its from the wheat gluten even though all the symptoms are the same as described when I googled it myself.

So now they have me on steroids and benedryl. Oh boy! I don't like this, but I do like that it's helping with the pain, stinging and burning caused by the rash and on top of that it's making my inflammed knee feel better. So yeah they got me on some Prednisone. My dermatologist says I could be on it long term and I'm a bit afraid of that considering all the side effects including weight gain and all other kinds of terrible stuff.

Well anyway, I go back to see the dermatologist on Thursday to see if there has been any improvement and if they can figure out what the heck is going on with my body.

I hope it's not the wheat gluten, but I guess I'd rather it be that than something more serious.

*Coeliac Disease (CD), also called Gluten Enteropathy, has until recently been known as Gluten Intolerance. CD is a hereditary disorder of the immune system in which eating gluten leads to damage of the mucosa (lining) of the small intestine (small gut). This results in malabsorption of nutrients and vitamins. CD is the result of IgA and IgG antibody responses to gluten. It is important to differentiate between CD, mediated by IgA and IgG antibodies, and wheat allergy, which is mediated by IgE antibodies.


Dive deeply into who you really are, and have the courage to explore your most treasured dreams. Keep yourself connected to those dreams, and they will play out upon the stage of your life. ~ Ralph Marston

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will grant you the desires of you heart ~Psalms 37:4

If it is herpitform dermatitis, then you have Celiac Disease, no question about it. If you purge all gluten from your diet, you will be able to get off of the Prednisone, once the rash clears. Long term steroids do bad things to your body.

LC tortillas are how I found out that I am gluten intolerant, too.

You might want to talk to the folks at glutenfreeforum.com and read up on ingredients to avoid at celiac.com.

Welcome to the Gluten Free Club! I think a lot of us who did Atkins found out about our gluten sensitivity by eating low carb, high gluten products.

BTW: Things you'll want to avoid include beer (except GF beer) and soy sauce (look for Wheat Free Tamari instead).

Nancy LC

Thank you for the welcome to the Gluten Free Club. Although I don't think it's a club I want to be part of, but if it is herpitform dermatitis that I have then looks like I don't have a choice.

I appreciate the links you provided. I got a chance for a quick look at it, but I'll have to wait until I get off work to really absorb all the info.

Fortunately, beer won't be a problem since I rarely drink it anyway.

Man! I can't believe this is happening to me. This sucks!

Dive deeply into who you really are, and have the courage to explore your most treasured dreams. Keep yourself connected to those dreams, and they will play out upon the stage of your life. ~ Ralph Marston

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will grant you the desires of you heart ~Psalms 37:4

You know, you may not realize it now, but it could be a blessing in disguise. It really got me to eating a lot healthier and realizing how connected our bodies and brains are to what we put into it.

I was suffering from terrible brain fog and memory problems, in addition to nasty IBS, that all went away when I stopped eating wheat. The more I read now the more I realize that so many of our health problems are probably due to eating grains, especially wheat.

In my signature is a great resource called "The gluten file" with a lot of cutting edge research about how wheat affects people, both with and without celiac disease.

Many LC tortillas also contain soy, so check your labels.

I consider my sensitivity to wheat & soy to be a blessing in disguise. By avoiding them I have lost 60 lbs & maintained effortlessly and have no asthma symptoms, perpetually stuffed up head, headaches or joint pain anymore. Food sensitivities were also what was causing me to be out-of-control around certain foods (mostly ones I loved or ate every day); being free from compulsive eating after 35 years of thinking I was just a horribly flawed person is the best result; I now realize my whole problem was chemical. I now have new favourite foods and don't miss the old ones any more.

I think it was either Osler or Hopkins who said, "the key to a long healthy life is to get a chronic disease early and learn to take care of it." Gluten sensitivity isn't very flashy in the treatment: Don't eat wheat. (But there was an entire episode on House MD (second season) that centered on it, and the baby died because of it.*)

The more "serious" diseases have more immediate treatments, and more needles and scalpels and more expensive tests, true. Ignore the gluten problem and you'll be there in time. You might get to spend far too much time in the gastro clinics, listening to people talk about intestinal prep protocols, which is sorta idly interesting, but I can think of more fun things to do that I can talk about anywhere, not just in the clinic. (Funny how discussing "intestinal prep protocols" will clean out the room at a cocktail party.)

So, you have a potentially life-threatening condition that is completely controllable by your actions. There's a WHOLE lotta people in that ER who would trade...

Good luck.

*I think it was one of the last 4 of the second year, but it may have been on disk 5, not 6, if you rent them from Netflix.

Oh yeah, Celiac IS serious. Your risk of additional autoimmune diseases is much, much higher. Your risk of colon cancer, lymphoma and probably a few other cancers is also higher. It can cause brain lesions and MS like symptoms, ataxia (difficulty walking), thyroid problems... wow, the list is very, very long.

But it is one where if you catch it early enough you can have very good results.

BTW: Two myths about Celiac that persist (of many), you can pass gluten through breast milk and there are now studies showing that even inhaled gluten can cause problems.