arthritis

I'm also on the younger side..31, started getting sick at 14, wasn't diagnosed till 17. I've had joint pain steadily for years now. It can range from feeling like I need to crack/pop my knee, fingers, wrist, etc...to cramping. I've never been diagnosed with arthritis but if you read up on it, it's not uncommon with Crohn's patients. I've had these pains for over a decade. What sucks is usually for inflammation the recommend advil type meds and as a Crohn's patient you want to avoid those as they can reak havoc upon the tummy. If the pain is bad, you may want to consider asking your doctor about the medication Remicade. This medication is used for both Crohns and arthritis, and could help with the pain. Personally mine is more of an aggravation and annoyance then a deal breaker. I can usually pop my joint to relieve the pain, and move on. I know I wasn't a ton of help...but just wanted to let you know, no you are not alone, and yes lots of us get the same pains! Another fun perk of Crohn's...

Joint pain affects about 20% of people with IBD. And I think pain in the extremities is typical for the kind of enteritis arthritis that these people get (I'm one of them). For many years, pain in my hands was my primary complaint.

I went to see a rheumatologist who did a whole lot of testing to eliminate all the possible causes of my joint pain. He also was the one who pushed my GI to help resolve the issue by treating my Crohn's more aggressively. In the end, I modified my meds so now I take sulfazine, which is an old arthritis medication that has been found to help IBD patients a lot with joint pain. I take this in addition to the mesalamine. My joints no longer bother me!

It's important if you are taking remicade to talk to your GI about this kind of pain. It seems like some people here who use biologics get joint pain from the remi.