Anyone Have Lymphadenopathy When Diagnosed?

[mbj2217]

I was diagnosed with celiac disease last December. So far my healing process has progressed well. My antibody number had returned to normal and I have gained about 17 lbs, which is hugely important to me as I am 31 yrs old, 6' 4" and was 168 lbs when diagnosed. I was wondering if anyone else (who had a CT scan as part of your diagnosis) had lymphadenopathy (aka messesnteric adenopathy) on their scan. While my healing process has been going great, I tend to be a bit of a hypochondriac and do myself the injustice of focusing on the most gloom and doom scenario, no matter how rare. So needless to say, I did the worst thing possible and began to research (ad nauseum) the fact that lymphadenopathy can be seen in patients with lymphoma. It wasn't until recently though that I was able to find newer research papers that show that lymphadenopathy is probably more common in celiacs than once thought and that it generally regresses with a gluten-free diet. In other words, lymphadenopathy doesn't necessarily mean lymphoma for celiacs. In fact, my GI here in NJ, who is a Celiac specialist and has been around for years, was not worried about my CT scan at all, especially given my age and my response to the diet. Needless to say though, I kept bugging him about it. He has always been great and always takes to talk through his feelings on my case. I guess I just need to stop worrying and focus on the fact that I really am healing and am quite healthy. Anyway, I am curious myself to see how common lymphadenopathy may be for those of you that had a CT scan?

[ravenwoodglass]

Lots and lots of swollen glands here. And for lots of others here. The doctors always attributed it to my skin, I have DH and the sores would often get infected. However the glands were swollen and many remained so for a really long time after I was diagnosed. They did eventually go down and I think they may have something to do with the inflammatory reaction in the bloodstream. The lymph system tries to clear 'bad' stuff out of the body fluids and I am sure they don't like all the antibodies that are running rampant. If your doctor is not concerned you should relax about it if you can. If you do a google search you will find that although this can be a sign of Lymphoma, which is something that we can develop if the celiac remains undiagnosed lymphadenopathy does not always mean that is present. Your doctor would have done blood tests after the CT, or before that would have clearly shown if you needed furthur evalutation for that possibility. Try not to worry.

[mbj2217]

Lots and lots of swollen glands here. And for lots of others here. The doctors always attributed it to my skin, I have DH and the sores would often get infected. However the glands were swollen and many remained so for a really long time after I was diagnosed. They did eventually go down and I think they may have something to do with the inflammatory reaction in the bloodstream. The lymph system tries to clear 'bad' stuff out of the body fluids and I am sure they don't like all the antibodies that are running rampant. If your doctor is not concerned you should relax about it if you can. If you do a google search you will find that although this can be a sign of Lymphoma, which is something that we can develop if the celiac remains undiagnosed lymphadenopathy does not always mean that is present. Your doctor would have done blood tests after the CT, or before that would have clearly shown if you needed furthur evalutation for that possibility. Try not to worry.

That is exactly what I had found in my research too. I gues I just wanted to get some other folks take on the whole lymphadenopathy thing and see how prevalent it is. It seems that it is very prevalent in celiac disease but regresses. I know that it is something that I need to stop worrying about because I have responded to the diet very well and am doing great. I gues I shouldn't invite all of the other stuff into my life by perseverating over it. Thanks so much for your reply!