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Rhuematory Arthritis Question

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Rheumatoid Arthritis
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Posted 10/29/2005 1:39 AM (GMT 0)
Hello,

I have Crohn's Disease, but for some unexplained reason my joints, hips especially, hurt pretty bad.  Since I have an auto immune disease, am I succeptable to other auto immune diseases?  Could I have reumatory arthritis?  Does it sound weird to have arthritis in the hips worse than other joints?  Does arthritis show up in an x-ray?  Sorry for so many questions; I just don't know where to start.  Thank you.

Posted 10/29/2005 3:41 PM (GMT 0)
I believe the answers to your questions are: Yes, Yes, No and Yes. 

Seriously, though, I'm sorry to hear about the Chron's. It seems that once you are immuo compromised, the sky's the limit to what could happen.  sad   It is possible that you may or have developed arthritis. However, it could be your body is just responding or reacting to something else. How long have they been hurting? You are so young to have your hips be hurting - but it is not unheard of.

X-rays show any deterioation in the joints caused by arthritis. Various forms of arthritis cause different types of deteriation. There is also blood work that can be done to check your body for certain signs of arthritis, but it doesn't always come up with positive results even though you have the disease.  Take a look at a post a few days old called, "do you know what these blood tests will show..." and Erin has written a response that discusses the tests they do and what they are looking for.

What are you taking for the chrons? Have you been referred to a rhuematologist yet? I suggest if not, call your doctor with your joint complaints and ask to be referred.

Good luck.

Posted 10/29/2005 6:52 PM (GMT 0)
I've been having hip pain for over a year, but it's gotten much worse throughout the past three months. I've talked to my gastrointerologis about it, but it's not really his field. I haven't seen another doctor for it yet. For my Crohn's I'm taking pentasa, pregnasone, 6mp, and occasionally vicodine.

Thank you for your reply. I guess now I have to request a blood test and xray.
Posted 10/31/2005 5:31 AM (GMT 0)
Junoesque Hi,

I to have crohns and I also have Ra,OA,Sojerns diseas so to answer your question it quit possible that may have developed another auto disease.CaMoma was right you can develope arthritis and get a negative result but still have arthritis.I have OA in my left hip and also in my left knee.Infact I have no cartalige in my left knee so it's bone rubing against bone but I want do surgery right now to tell you the truth I don't think I have the streanth to deal with surgery.Oh just incase your GI has not told you that alot of us that have crohns suffer with joint pain.
Posted 11/3/2005 1:20 AM (GMT 0)
I have o a also didn't show up on blood work my knee is bone to bone and iam 49 want to wait for knee replacement cause of my age DEB
Posted 11/6/2005 6:39 PM (GMT 0)
My family dr told me I have crohn's related arthritis.  We've tried celebrex, bextra, and now I'm on darvocet for it.  Prednisone really helps when I take that for a flare, or ibuprofen which he doesn't want me to take.  I haven't seen a rheumatologist at this point but I wouldn't be surprised if that's coming.  What I've been able to read about the crohn's related arthritis sounds like they don't think it's doing damage to the joints, so I hope that is truly what I'm dealing with.  I can take pain if I have to.  I just don't need any more body parts deteriorating.  Then I think of Mela and wonder if I'm just in denial...I don't really want to find out if it is more serious.  I know that's a dangerous attitude but I've had a rough year and can't take any more right now.  I don't have swelling or redness, just pain.  That gives me hope that it's not RA.  Then again, my cd symptoms weren't typical either.  With my back, I worry about AS.  I only had hip pain when I was coming off of prednisone and I had been trying to exercise.  After stopping the exercise and getting off the pred, it eventually got better.

Posted 11/7/2005 10:28 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Lynne.  I'm sorry you're dealing with sore hips.  I have the same problem.  I was diagnosed with RA a couple of years ago, but it seems that I may have pending cd instead.  Crohn's arthritis, according to my rheumatologist, normally does hit the hips, lower back, shoulders, and sometimes the neck as well.  I cannot take any NSAIDS either because of possible cd (plus they just wreak havoc on your system, IBD or not).  I've currently started sulfasalazine and I'm waiting for it to kick in.  If I were you, I would go to a rheumatologist for the arthritis symptoms.  They are specialized in that, even IBD related arthritis.

Elcamino

Posted 11/16/2005 3:45 AM (GMT 0)
I have Crohn's, Arthritis, and Fibro. My advice is to echo the others' suggestions: you need to see an Rheumatologist in my opinion. My hips are my worst pain right now. I've read that IBD related arthritis comes with the IBD flares. If your CD is okay, then it's possible that you have another type of athritis besides enteropathic arthritis. The best thing is to get a good rheumatologist's opinion. I hope you find relief soon.

I get Remicade infusions which still aren't helping. For pain, I have used Lortab and am currently trying methadone. We'll see. It seems to all be trial and error until you find the right combination.
Posted 12/4/2005 1:51 AM (GMT 0)
hi i also have cd and i have horrible pain in joints and back and foot are the worst.i am also curoius how do they diagnose arthritis?and what can be done?is cd arthritis different than regular?i have had problems with my back for years now i thought i had injured it in a accdent but for the last 4-6 months my foot has been in alot of pain aswell to the point i cant walk on it without a high amoount of pain, this leads me to believe it is possibly cd arthritis along with my x-ray of my back and foot come up clean and seeing people on this site with the same problem conecting it to chrons. i would have felt better finding a broken bone on xray so atleast i knew what the problem was. as for now my doc says my x ray is clean and i should be fine in awhile i probaly jus hurt it.its been years now with the problem getting worse and seems like its spreading or mabye i jus have several different problems.the sad thing in it all is a handfull of pain meds makes it all go away but its like pulling teeth trying to get anything long term due to a giant problem here in ontario with abuse of these drugs,it has become near impossible to get anything although methadone anyone can get,and its 10 times as hard of a drug as say oxycodone

Posted 12/7/2005 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
Samuel, welcome to HW. You have a lot a great questions. I will try to answer some and hope that the others will come along and add their expertise to the answers as well. I'll take them in order. First, the Dx. There are many ways to Dx arthritis. The Dr's can use x-rays, blood work, ultrasounds, mri's and just plain sight. They look at a number of different factors to come up with the dx. It is diffferent for every form of arthritis which is why the "generalized" answer. I have psoriatic arthritis (arthritis related to psoriasis) so when my joints started swelling and getting painful, they ordered x-rays and when that didn't show any breaks the dx was pretty easy. It is different if you are starting from the swelling without any prior incident. Second, What can be done? That is a very indepth answer that you can probably get just by reading all the different posts on the site. Basically, it is up to your Dr and you to decide what is done. You can look at physio, NSAIDS, DMARDS (disease modifying drugs) and biologics. You can take the holistic route and look into accupuncture, massage therapy, herbal meds, etc. There are more treatment options then there are different types of arthritis and each type of arthritis is treated slightly differently. As you have CD, the Dr's will take that into effect when trying to find a regime that works for you. Third, is CD arthritis different then regular arthritis? There is no such thing as regular arthritis. Most of us have different forms brought on by different diseases. Mine is related to psoriasis, there are others here who developed arthritis after battling crohn's for years, others yet who got it after having lyme's disease. The only thing that most of us have in common is that we have an auto-immune disease that is wrecking havoc in our systems. Often if you have one auto-immune disease your chances of developing another auto-immune disease is much higher.
My suggestion to you is to see your primary care Dr. and get a referral to a rhuematologist. Take some tests and find out if you are indeed suffering from arthritis on top of the CD. Only then, will you be able to choose what you want to do to help the pain and inflammation.
I'll keep you in my prayers. Hope this info helped.

Oreo
Posted 12/7/2005 4:17 PM (GMT 0)
Great summary, Oreo!

Welcome Samuel. I'm sorry to hear you are in so much pain. I have psoriatic arthritis as well and have been dealing with extreme foot problems for about 10 years. It's terrible. Definitely take Oreos advice and get to a Rhuematologist and get treatment started.

Your comment about it spreading or getting worse - yeah, arthritis can affect numerous joints. However, if you are having foot and back pain, be aware that you may be adjusting your posture to help alleviate your pain and thusly causing problems in other areas of your joints. I grew up with arthritis in my knees and unkowingly compensated for the pain so much that I messed up my feet mechanically - the problem is, I didn't know it until the psoriatic arthritis attacked them and then I was laid up for years trying to get them back on track with orthotics, physical therapy, and arthritis meds. The compensating also affected my shoulder, luckily not as seriously.

Good luck.

**

Posted 12/7/2005 4:25 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for adding Camama. I agree with you, the compensations that we naturally do to pain can really wreck havoc on our bodies. In fact the compensations often make more problems. I remember when my feet started swelling, the compensations caused my knees to swell which lead to back problems. Took a long time to heal from that. So I can empathize with what you went through.
How are you feeling today? I am feeling really achy. I want to blame it on the Dr appt yesterday but can't. Having a pap should not cause discomfort in the hips but hey, who knows. Must be the tension from yesterday finally coming out. I will give it a few days and see what happens.

Oreo
Posted 12/8/2005 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
Hope you are feeling better Oreo.... I am achy today too, I think it's the weather though... Hey CaMama! How you been? Samuel, CaMama and Oreo have steered you in the right direction, let us know what your rheumy says... Good luck to you - Duck
Posted 12/8/2005 5:19 AM (GMT 0)

Thanks - other than a headache right now, I'm doing better than I was over the weekend. It's probably a sugar headache anyway - the kids and I were baking cookies today to pass out to her class for her birthday tomorrow. While I finished the cookies, the kids frosted christams cookies we baked over the weekend....needless to say - a lot of finger licking and cookie tasting happened and the 3 of us over did it.  sad   Like I need more calories on this extra 80 I'm lugging around!

On a better note - I had a follow up ultrasound on my liver today. The doc actually ordered a full upper abdomen check. The technician said my liver looked good! yeah Last Dec. it was measured at 24 mm (??? is that the right unit of measure?) and today she barely could stretch it to 20...meaning it was really only 19 mm and said that is in the upper part of the normal range. She also said my kidneys looked fine (well, at least she mentioned ONE of them looked okay.)  I also had my first mamogram - yikes!  eyes Doc said, '35, immono compromised, and history of benign breast tumors in your family - it's time to start." Oh joy.  I was supposed to get blood work done as well, but the woman was too rough on my ONE vein and after having fasted for 11 hours at that point with only one bottle of water for the ultrasound I said, "forget it, I'll come back another day!"

I hope you too feel better! Keep your fingers crossed for me that I hang in there for a few more days - we're taking my daughter to Sea World tomorrow and I want to be able to walk! Then we're having family over on Saturday for her and I need to clean and prepare! **

Posted 12/9/2005 4:11 AM (GMT 0)
wow alot of questions answered, makes more sense everytime i come here thanks :) the info im gettin is helpin me get more aggersive with my doc im gettin a few more tests done now!first time tests have made me happy
Posted 12/9/2005 4:47 PM (GMT 0)
Good for you Samual!  You keep strong and keep this motivation...it will pay off.  There were soooo many times I was passive and just accepted what docs told me...and look where that got me.  Now I am my own advocate.  It takes guts especially when you don't feel well, to stick up for yourself....but keep it up Samual!  Let us know about your tests ok!

 

Camama, I hope you hang in there.  Mammogram! eyes Ouch!  How was it?  I think I have to grow some if I'm ever to get one. LOL.  I've pretty much the body of a 12 year old boy!  LOL.  Which would be good if I were getting paid millions to walk runways for Calvin Klein...but no. LOL.

 

{{{{{{{{{{{{ HUGS }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

 VIEW IMAGE 

Posted 12/9/2005 5:31 PM (GMT 0)

Ha ha!

I'll have to answer you elsewhere Erin, I don't think Samuel wants to know how it went! :-)

Samuel - keep up the good work, I hope you get the answers and help you need to feel better. We're always here for you.

**

Posted 12/9/2005 11:09 PM (GMT 0)
Erin - Send your pics to Calvin, you may be the NEXT TOP MODEL! :) hee hee hee.. how the girls doing today after the mammogram, Mama?
Posted 12/10/2005 4:12 PM (GMT 0)

Moanin' all,

tongue  HAH!  You guys rock.  You know Duck, that's my guilty pleasure...America's next top model...funny you mention it.  Nah, I'm too short, 5"5....have to be at least 5"7.

The weather is giving  me quite the beating.  Had 10 LidoDerm patches total on my knees yesterday.  Then the darn elbows started.  Aaah. mad Never got the steroid injections....gonna have to this week though.

Just hoping to have a decent night, going to dinner & decorating our little christmas tree tonight.  My honey's got about 13 inches of snow where he is.  Yikes.

So Camama, it's a definite start of Enbrel in January?

Oreo, how are the sinuses?  Did you get lots of snow too?  I know it hit in Canada around near where you are.

Wishing everyone a good day.

                     AND A BIG WELCOME TO ALL NEW MEMBERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Erin

Posted 12/10/2005 9:34 PM (GMT 0)
Moanin'!

You'd be great, we'll get you some heels and you'll make the 5'7" mark! :) We painted our dining room and living room.. we are going to decorate the house tomorrow, after all the paint has had at least a day to set.... We won't get our tree til we get my step-daughter, then we are all gonna go out and pick one and chop it down... but I want the rest of the house decorated at least! Hope all is well! - Duck
Posted 12/11/2005 10:12 AM (GMT 0)

5'5"! What I would GIVE to be that tall! Oy, quit your complainin' tongue   (I'm 4'11, by the way.)

The 'girls' are doing fine...thanks for asking. Guess I'll just answer how it went - they got squished pretty hard during that mamogram, but I survived. After my whiny "OW! That hurts" from the first pictures, the lady was a bit more careful for the rest. A bit, I say.  NOT a comfy procedure, that is for sure and they made that room SOOOOOOOOO cold!

We're gonna probably decorate the house tomorrow as well. Possibly get a tree then as well.

So, I was sleeping tonight...exhausted and went to be later than I should have. Hubby had night off and we watched The Day After Tomorrow. about 1 a.m. I woke up with a stuffy nose and feeling like my throat was coated in yuck. So, here I am...  sad   Well, at least I made it through daugther's birthday w/o BEING sick during it....in all her 6 years, I've been seriously ill for most of her birthdays. I hope that trend is over!

**

Posted 12/11/2005 4:38 PM (GMT 0)
I've had a mammogram before and it wasn't pleasant... You should honestly get something nice after having to go through that... I mean really, they nurse/doctor should have to at least take you out to dinner... buy you a new car... something... I had to have one before on of my "cosmetic" surgeries I've had done... and I wasn't not found of it at all.. Glad you weren't sick for your daughter's birthday! Here's to starting a new trend! :)
Posted 6/2/2007 6:44 AM (GMT 0)
 I have had Crohns desease for over 20 years and I have very bad pain in my hips If I did not have to take oxicotion I would not be able to walk... I hat having to take the pain med since 10 years ago and I wish I would never have started but what other choice do I have...
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