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Crohn's Disease and Arthritis?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 5/7/2012 10:02 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I'm a 17 year old with Crohn's Disease. Recently I started having an achy, dull pain in my elbow that sometimes spreads to my wrist and also makes my ring and pinky finger hurt. My hands and fingers have also been feeling weaker lately. At first I thought it might have been just me smacking my elbow on something and leaving a bruise, but there is no bruise and this is my 4th day of pain. It's pretty much constant throughout the day.

I was just wondering if any of you have had problems with arthritis, and if the feeling I described is what it feels like. My dad says we'll see where it is after a week and then we'll call my doctor. Thanks!
Posted 5/7/2012 10:46 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I had a lot of problems with my hands, wrists and elbows from my Crohn's. I suggest you call a rheumatologist just to rule out anything else. In the end, my GI prescribed me sulfazine, which is an old arthritis med that works well for people with IBD + joint pain. I no longer have any pain in my arms.
Posted 5/7/2012 11:47 PM (GMT 0)
I'm 15 & my arthritis pains usually start before my flares & then the arthritis stays active for as long as my gut is active with crohn's.

Rhuematologists can't do much fo the pain. You kind of have to live with it until the gut is under control(if the pains you are having are Crohn's athritis.) Like Kazbern said, the best they can do is put you on Sulfazine and some muscle relaxors.
Posted 5/7/2012 11:49 PM (GMT 0)
I wouldn't take muscle relaxers for this, it's not a muscle thing. If anything, I think keeping the joint in motion helps, plus ice and compression (since NSAIDs are out of the question).
Posted 5/8/2012 12:05 AM (GMT 0)
Exactly my point. All my other friends with JRA/Crohn's arthritis, no matter who their Rhuemie is, have been prescribed muscle relaxers. Mainly because it helps calm the gut down & ultimately the joints down. It works for some & not for others. I get twitchy muscles all the time & that along with my joint inflammation is heck.
Posted 5/8/2012 1:56 AM (GMT 0)
I have something similar, where my elbow is so painful that it feels like I whacked it on something, therefore affecting 3 of my fingers on that hand.  My fingers are weak especially my indax finger and now I can't do things like push buttons, do up zippers etc.  My doctor found that I had a pinched nerve in my neck through an xray, so maybe consider asking your doctor if he/she thinks it could be something like that.j

Good luck and hope things get better.  

 
Posted 5/8/2012 2:05 AM (GMT 0)
This sounds like carpal tunnel, not arthritis.
Posted 5/8/2012 2:24 AM (GMT 0)
The kind of joint pain I got with my IBD was not a swelling of the joint itself, but an inflammation of the tendons that connect to the joint. So my elbow would be sore but not stiff. My fingers would hurt but if I searched for tenderness it would be in my hand. My wrist actually got hot, red and swollen a few times but it was always on the bump where the tendons connect. This is not carpal tunnel, and it's not rheumatoid arthritis, it is enteritis arthritis, which is a specific kind of joint pain associated with IBD.
Posted 5/8/2012 4:47 AM (GMT 0)
so with IBD arthritis do you still have changes to the joint on xray? or is it more idiopathic pain?
Posted 5/8/2012 6:56 AM (GMT 0)
Don't you need an x-ray to confirm arthritis? I sure wouldn't want to begin any treatment until I was sure.
Posted 5/8/2012 10:17 AM (GMT 0)
With CD arthritis you don't always have the joint swelling and I've never had anything show up on xrays, but my PCP call it Arthralgia. Which I translate as "yes you have joint pain but we don't know why". Ice helps, and some of the topical rubs give a little relief also.
Posted 5/8/2012 1:08 PM (GMT 0)
An X-ray would confirm osteoarthritis, which is changes in the bones of the joint. Rheumatoid arthritis will ultimately cause changes to the joint, but probably not in someone age 17. Rheumatoid arthritis is diagnosed through blood tests and other imaging (not x-ray). "Arthralgia" means painful joints, and I don't agree that's the right term for what we get with IBD (although it is painful). I do think there is actual inflammation. My rheumatologist just wrote "enteritis arthritis." As long as my GI was willing to deal with it I was happy.
Posted 5/8/2012 3:19 PM (GMT 0)
Yes but elbow pain and weakness radiating down to the pinky and ring finger sounds like a classic case of carpal tunnel. As a teenager and even now as an adult I experience a lot of tendon and ligament issues. Way too many for someone who is not an athlete. My rheumy and neurologist think that these issues are likely related somehow to my autoimmune issues.

Post Edited (petittarte) : 5/8/2012 9:22:29 AM (GMT-6)

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