I've had colitis for 7 years and thankfully it has been well under control. In March I had a small flare-up and for the first time noticed a little knee pain. That went away when I got the flare under control in April. However in June I went into another flare, minor enough only this time I did get an attack of mild joint pain flitting all over my body. My knee would get sore, then heal, my hands and fingers would get sore for a few days then get better, my shoulder would get sore etc. I even had some toothaches and jaw pain accompanying the flare. My doctor put me on a course of steroids and I’m due in for a scope in a few weeks. However my blood tests also indicated I was positive for Rheumotoid Factor (RF) meaning the joining pain could be Rheumotoid Arthritis (RA).
My doc did say that if you have high RF then 90% chance you have RA. But he’s not sure how this stat holds for a person already suffering from colitis / autoimmune conditions in general. He said he thought colitis and RA were very rare in association (Crohns is more associated with RA). He also noticed that I have no swelling at all, no nodules and very little morning stiffness even when the joints were sore.
So he’s repeating bloods and taking x-rays but has said its possible that even then they won’t know for sure whether its RA or just related to colitis.
I was just wondering whether anyone had been through these symptoms particularly with a high RF blood measure with colitis. Any other thoughts or opinions would be much valued