A-Z of Corticosteroid Withdrawal: Lymph

L is for Lymph

Before I stopped using the steroid creams, I didn't really know much about lymph or the lymphatic system.

The truth is, that lymph is pretty amazing stuff. You could even call it the "stuff of life".

Lymph is a fluid that circulates around the body. You have twice as much lymph as blood. The lymph bathes all of the body cells and removes the waste matter, such as bacteria. If the lymph stopped moving, we would die within hours.

The problem is that the lymphatic system does not have a pump like the heart to keep it moving round the body. The movement of lymph is powered by our breathing and our movement.

This can cause a problem when it comes to steroid withdrawal.

For our bodies to heal well, we ideally need the lymph to be moving around the body. Unfortunately, once the first symptoms of steroid rebound hit, we feel fatigued and listless and the first reaction of the body is to rest as much as possible. Any notion of exercise seems alien, as we have neither the motivation or energy to move around too much. Another issue is that exercise causes us to sweat, and when your skin is already hot and burning, sweat is the last thing you need!

Many going through steroid withdrawal have seen the importance of keeping the lymphatic system moving, even when we feel awful. After all, sitting on the settee all day and not moving will just cause the lymph to slow down and eventually lead to us feeling even worse. Therefore, during steroid withdrawal it is important to try and fit some sort of gentle exercise into the daily routine to stimulate lymph flow. Some have found that it helps to buy a small rebounder trampoline, as it has been well documented that this type of equipment can help the lymph flow better around the body. Even a gentle walk up and down stairs or around the block will help to get the lymph flowing and get the body healing.

A common symptom of steroid withdrawal is swollen lymph nodes, with many people experiencing this symptom. I am quite lucky, as I have not personally experienced this myself.

Here are a few comments from the members of the itsan forum about lymph:

"I also have swollen lymph nodes in the groin area which have slowly gotten bigger over the past few months. I am meeting with a surgeon this Wednesday for a possible biopsy; blood tests did not show any abnormalities but my primary physician still wants to look at nodes under a microscope."


" I've had swollen lymph nodes too.  Mine never went down, and
it's been over a year.  I have them under the armpit, both sides of my
groin, a small one on my neck and a small one on my upper arm.  Dr.
Rapaport checked me out and said they weren't anything to be concerned
about because this is to be expected with so many open sores and minor
infections.  He didn't think antibiotics were necessary, and that the
nodes were fairly small.  (They're about the size of the tip of
finger.)  If yours are really big, it could be good to get them
checked out, but as you can see, a lot of us get them. "


"I'm pretty sure the lymph nodes are swollen because the body is fighting to restore health and balance."


"It's common to have swollen lymph nodes as there's lots of inflammation and congestion to fight.  It's amazing how even after so long the body will sort it all out."


Swollen lymph nodes are a very common symptom of TSW and a sign that the body is healing. We can be sure that during steroid withdrawal, the body knows how best to heal itself and we should let our bodies do their job. As I have mentioned, gentle exercise, or use of a rebounder trampoline can help the lymphatic system even more and put us on the road to recovery from the steroid-induced nightmare.