Lipomatosis Since Going Gluten-free

[ericjourney]

Greetings all--

I was diagnosed with celiac and started gluten-free diet about three years ago. Since then I have started developing lipomas, which are fatty deposits under the skin, like tumors. Mine are small, generally about 1 cm, with the largest being 2cm. They are sensitive if I apply direct pressure, but otherwise aren't troublesome. What worries me is that something in my body has changed to start creating these. I never had any during the first 25 years of my life when I was eating gluten, now I find a new one every few weeks, forearm, upper arm, torso, legs, buttocks, abdomen. From my reading I understand that a lipoma isn't extraordinarly rare. But being in a state of constantly developing lipomas (called lipomatosis) concerns me. Does anyone have any ideas on how or why this could be connected to a gluten-free diet?

[Mother of Jibril]

I don't think this is being caused by the gluten-free diet.

My guess is that you have another autoimmune disorder or that some drug is temporarily causing your body to attack itself. During my 20s I developed several dermatofibromas... which are small, benign tumors that look like permanent mosquito bites. It's common to have one on your lower leg, but I have four (only one of them is on my leg). They're not dangerous, but recently I learned that multiple dermatofibromas can be caused by lupus (SLE). Minocycline can induce lupus... I took that in my late teens for acne Lupus also runs in my dad's family and I have the DQ7 gene.

A few months ago I developed a rubbery lump in one of the lymph nodes in my neck. The biopsy came back negative for malignancy (thank God), but the lump is still there... even after a round of broad-spectrum antibiotics. I'll probably end up having surgery to remove it. I'm darned curious to find out what it is!

Anyway... it's tempting to attribute everything to celiac disease... especially when you know that it can affect just about any part of your body. BUT... the best thing is not to assume and to get the lumps checked out. Are you 100% sure they're lipomas?

[ericjourney]

Yep, early on, when I only had a couple, I asked a dermatologist what was going on. He said it was lipoma, that it was common, and not to worry. He said they could be surgically removed for cosmetic reasons, but that it typically wasn't necessary. I insisted that he remove one so that I could be certain I wasn't turning into the elephant man, so he did. A small incision, a squeeze, and out came a small lump of yellow fatty goop.

These lipomas have been generating, on average one every 2-4 weeks, for the last couple of years. I had one round of antibiotics a few months ago for a sinus infection, but apart from that haven't had any drugs in the last 5 years. I'm just not sure what could have triggered this to start. And if it is indeed autoimmune, why did it wait until gluten-free to present?

[RiceGuy]

This is an interesting topic to me. I just Googled these:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Seems that the liver, detoxification, and fat metabolism have been implicated in lipomatosis.

[RiceGuy]

I just found this product, which has many of the things often suggested for lipomas:

Open Original Shared Link

I have no idea if it really works, so always do your own research.

[Nobo]

Greetings all--

I was diagnosed with celiac and started gluten-free diet about three years ago. Since then I have started developing lipomas, which are fatty deposits under the skin, like tumors. Mine are small, generally about 1 cm, with the largest being 2cm. They are sensitive if I apply direct pressure, but otherwise aren't troublesome. What worries me is that something in my body has changed to start creating these. I never had any during the first 25 years of my life when I was eating gluten, now I find a new one every few weeks, forearm, upper arm, torso, legs, buttocks, abdomen. From my reading I understand that a lipoma isn't extraordinarly rare. But being in a state of constantly developing lipomas (called lipomatosis) concerns me. Does anyone have any ideas on how or why this could be connected to a gluten-free diet?

Hello!

I have tens of lipomas now, and come to think of it they started appearing around the time i started eating glutenfree! I have all the same symphtoms as you too! Scary! Please pm me: faenlol@hotmail.com