Gluten/Food Allergies

My last flareup of PRP came like clockwork last September. It seems to be more and more regular as my body's gotten sicker and sicker over time. My periods of 'clearing' used to last longer, but have gradually come less and less, and there hasn't been one full remission in the past 15+ years. This year, however, I received a phone call from my mother while I was at work. She had be diagnosed with Celiac disease by her doctor after having bouts of extreme hypoglycemia and blackouts due to bloodsugar problems. It turns out she was diagnosed as a child, but had though her condition had resolved itself. Apparently not. Seeing as how this condition is often carried through families, I immediately began researching everything I could about Celiac and its symptomatic manifestations (I was downloading information off the computer at work as soon as I got off the phone).
Sure enough, it fit the pieces of the puzzle together:

• indigestion
• periodic diarrhea
• weight loss/malabsorption
• concentration problems/mood problems
• inability to break down certain foods/produce enzymes
• energy problems
• oral sores
• extremely poor memory, short and longterm
• bloating/protruding belly
  

In addition, the progression of these symptoms over time leads to a serious breakdown of the villi in the small intestine, which affects EVERYTHING down the line. The chronic constipation that had plagued me on and off since 1997 (my doctor shrugged it off as 'IBS' without asking me a single question) started to abate immediately after I stopped all gluten intake. Constipation, abdominal swelling, gas, etc have been inextricable with my PRP since I first got it.

All of my digestive problems have lessened or resolved completely since I stopped gluten intake in October of 2005. I expect the healing to take a considerable amount of time as I have been poisoning myself for many years now.

I should state that my doctor says I do not have Celiac disease. He is basing this (purportedly) off of an antibody test I had done. The receptionist said I was "100% OK", which I was quite obviously not. My PRP looked nothing like most pictures I've seen of dermatitis herpetiformis, either. However, a few months on the Celiac diet, my body began doing some odd things, which is normal with healing a long-term skin disease: strange lesions would appear in places I've never had them, some would pop up ugly and angry and then disappear in mere days. Some of those lesions look just like the DH lesions I've seen in pictures online. These are almost all gone now (mid-April, 2006 - 6 months later). This is the first time I have gone into remission in winter - ever. It is my opinion that this is 100% diet-based. I am not suggesting that PRP is caused by gluten, or subsequent foods I have started avoiding (dairy, nightshades), but that it is my body's particular response to a massive allergenic overload. Basically, it's inflammation on a massive scale and the body is trying to get rid of what it can though one of the body's main organs of elimination - the skin. I don't even consider my PRP to be my disease, but just a part of the whole picture.

I could have done further tests, ie, biopsy to check conclusively for a definitive Celiac diagnosis, but frankly, I didn't see the point. The medical establishment has done nothing positive for me regarding my health, and a positive or negative diagnosis meant nothing to me in regards to my body. To stop eating the alleged allergen and observe the reaction was the only test I cared for. The day after I stopped, the open fissures on my hands started to heal. A week later, and my hands had almost stopped peeling. My hands are now softer than they've been since I was a teenager, although my palms still have a reddish hue - albeit a markely less red hue. I am hoping to see that go away. The thick callouses on my feet have been coming off, too, with the help of regular scraping with a foot scraper.

I don't know for sure, but I suspect these food allergens settle continuously throughout the tissue and cells in the body build up until they are at very high levels. At this point, something sends the immune system over the edge - it could be a bacterial/fungal infection, stress, a seasonal change - anything that taxes the body's resources. Then a full-blown PRP outbreak occurs. The body spends lots of energy trying to eliminate all the allergenic garbage it's accumulated over time. What causes a remission if the offending foods are still being consumed? A seasonal change that takes the stress off the body, ie., hot weather promoting sweating, sunlight killing excess bacteria in the skin, helping to eliminate toxins, a lowering of stress and it's detrimental effect on the body, or possibly a huge amount of allergens having been exfoliated through dead skin.
These are all guesses, but this is as close as I can come to an explanation that fits the pieces of my own puzzle. I really don't know what causes other peoples' PRP, but after reading many case studies, I definitely suspect diet holds the key.

Fanciful 'Mission Statement'

Hello! If you've come to this page, it's likely because you have PRP yourself or know someone who does. I've decided to create this blog because I have a good deal of experience treating myself and for years I vowed that if I ever made any headway into a longterm resolution of PRP, that I would make a website and share my findings with anyone else who was interested.

My main goal is to rid myself of the manifestation of PRP for good. I intend to do this without assistance from dermatologists or prescription drugs. My hope is sharing this info is that it may be of benefit to others. No point in all of us reinventing the wheel.

The information provided herein is merely a breakdown of my 15+ years of experience dealing with PRP, with doctors, with medication, with the discomfort, suffering and humiliation, frustration and all the rest.

The professionals tell me there's no cure for PRP.
That may be true, but being a fool, I refuse to accept it.