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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staff
Common signs and symptoms
Gastrointestinal signs and symptoms are common to Whipple's disease and may include:
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal cramping and pain, which tends to worsen after meals in some cases
- Weight loss, associated with the malabsorption of nutrients
Other frequent signs and symptoms associated with Whipple's disease include:
- Inflamed joints, particularly your ankles, knees and wrists
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Anemia
Less common signs and symptoms
In some cases, signs and symptoms of Whipple's disease may include:
- Low-grade fever
- Cough
- Enlarged lymph nodes
- Skin darkening (hyperpigmentation) in areas exposed to the sun and in scars
- Discomfort while breathing, due to inflammation of the membranes lining your lungs (pleurisy)
- Heart murmurs
- Enlarged spleen
Neurological signs and symptoms may include:
- Difficulty walking
- Visual impairment, including lack of control of eye movements
- Seizures
- Confusion
- Memory loss
Symptoms tend to develop slowly over a period of many years in most people with this disease.
When to see a doctor
Whipple's disease is potentially life-threatening, yet treatable. Contact your doctor if you experience unusual signs or symptoms, such as unexplained weight loss or joint pain. Your doctor can perform tests to determine the cause of your symptoms.
Even after the infection is diagnosed and you're receiving treatment, let your doctor know if your symptoms don't improve. Sometimes antibiotic therapy isn't effective because the bacteria are resistant to the particular drug you're taking. The disease can recur, so it's important to watch for the re-emergence of symptoms.
- Whipple's disease. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/whipple/. Accessed April 20, 2010.
- Schneider T, et al. Whipple's disease: New aspects of pathogenesis and treatment. The Lancet. 2008;8:179.
- Infectious enterocolitis. In: Kumar V, et al. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/198838576-5/991412257/2060/201.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4377-0792-2..50022-5--cesec139_1852. Accessed April 20, 2010.
- Apstein M, et al. Whipple's disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 20, 2010.
- Marth T, et al. Whipple's disease. In: Mandell GL, et al. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 76th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier: 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00101-6--s0025&uniq=198838576&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&sid=991410994#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00101-6--s0030%3Bfrom%3Dtoc%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-0-443-06839-3. Accessed April 30, 2010.
- Steckelberg JM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 30, 2010.
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