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Joint pain anyone?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 7/17/2008 3:12 AM (GMT 0)
Hi guys. I posted earlier. I have had a dull left sided cramp for over a month, it was VERY sharp a few wks back that I went to the ER. I could not even move-20 min later it went back to being dull. Now my bowels have been acting up, everytime after I eat I need to go. The pain is still dull. However, I do not have blood and though my stools are quite loose, its rarely diarreha. My GI suspects colitis, I go in for a colonscopy Aug 8 

I have been getting really bad joint pains the past month. The pain travels and sometimes it is stabbing and quick, other times last for hours and feels like someone is crushing my bones. I read that one of the main things with colitis is joint pain. Anyone else experience this? If so, can you describe your pains?

I have also been very fatigued, have zero appetite, and am losing weight (which is not good because I am already very underweight!)

Posted 7/17/2008 4:04 AM (GMT 0)
Every day, pretty much all the time for twenty years. With my doctor's agreement I take Ibuprofen to keep me moving, and then just ignore the pain that's still there. For many people, though, the arthritis comes with flares and gets better when in remission. Hopefully if you do have ulcerative colitis, the medication will control your flares and eliminate the pain.

Remember that there are numerous types of colitis with different causes. Don't assume you have UC until after your scope and biopsies.
Posted 7/17/2008 5:21 AM (GMT 0)
you could have an infected pocket in your colon like i did,is the pain on your left side below tummy?
Posted 7/17/2008 5:55 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. My pain is about 2 inches left of my belly button. It has been dull for over a month. When I landed in the ER a few wks back, the pain was so bad that I could not move---I thought I was about to die. I had this similiar pain about 5 yrs ago, same spot, ended up in the ER. Since the initial time I had it I have had the dull pain on and off.


Can a flare come on with stress? In May,I found out my Dad has PC and has very little time to live--a few days after the news the pain started.

My bone/joint pain is not really a stiffness, its a quick jab or it feels like my bones are being crushed or sliced. I get it in my feet (toes too), ankle, fingers, hands and the jabs to my spine. They last for a second or over an hour. This isnt what I would think arthritic pain would be like? Also, my joints are cracking like crazy--I counted 15 times in 10 minutes, this came on shorty after I started to get the pain. I am 33 and feel like I am 93.  I get buzzing in my feet here and there too...so who knows.

So anyway, GI suggested that perhaps this is related to possible Colitis and I am just curious how similiar of an experience others have had with joint pain and UC. I have to send some samples to the lab (that should be interesting) before the colonoscopy so he can rule out a virus first.

Also, just want to note I am going to get tested for Lyme and am also going to see a neurologist tomorrow.

Post Edited (king1234) : 7/16/2008 11:59:43 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/17/2008 3:30 PM (GMT 0)
I was going to ask if you were getting tested for Lyme. I have a close friend with lyme that describes his joints much like you just did. If your test comes back negative, ask how close to positive the results were, Lyme is notorious for false negatives. If you are close to positive I'd ask for a retest in another month. It took my friend 5 tests to finally show up as a positive and he was in pretty rough shape by that time.

I would also push for an abdominal ultrasound or a CT scan, you might have something not UC related causing that constant pain. If it were to the right I would have suggested gall stones but to the left I'm not familiar with other than kidney/kidney stones and I would think that would be more on the left side and back pain than in the belly. . . . I'm no doctor, just sharing my thoughts.

As afar as stress . . in my case yes, stress can greatly effect my UC. I don't know about others.
Posted 7/17/2008 5:17 PM (GMT 0)

Thanks so much for your response. I have been going nutty trying to get an idea what is wrong with me. I keep thinking its lyme, but I live in San Francisco...though I lived on the east coast many years ago perhaps its flaring now, or maybe I got it going back and forth to AZ. I did get a nasty cold a couple months back followed by 5 little red bumps on my stomach, a month later this joint/bone pain and cracking started.  Do you remember any other symptoms your friend had? My feet have been buzzing, and I feel like my blood is shaking sometimes too. When I think of that I think, maybe I have M/S. Its so hard not knowing exactly what is going on.

Thanks also for the feedback on test. I will ask my dr about that, I also am going to have new labs sent to Inegex.

I had an ultra sound of my kidneys, liver, pancreas, gallstones (twice) all was fine. My GI said the only thing in the area where I am sensitive is my bowel track. You are totally right too, this may not be UC but something totally unrelated it could be connectd to whatever else is going on in my body.

Thanks again for offering feedback

Posted 7/17/2008 6:25 PM (GMT 0)
he has fatigue, joint pain, nausea uhhmm I can't think of any other's off hand, he's out in Denver now so I don't have daily contact with him.

It's unreal what can be going on inside your body that they easily miss. I had constant abdominal pain starting about 1993 until 12/27/2005. I know that date specifically because that's when surgery found the problem and even post-surgery I felt 10x better than I had in years. I had scopes done, CT scans, Colonoscopies, and laproscopies done. I had ovarian cysts removed 4x and after 4 gall stones they took my gall bladder. In 2000 they finally dx UC but I still had the pain, they basically said "thats what you have to live with". I started ttc in 2000 also and was completely unsuccessful. Finally in 2005 I started to see a specialist and on 12/27/2005 they did a hysteroscopy and found out that my uterus was 80% full of scar tissue. I was under for the longest surgery I had ever been (3.5 hours) and it was the best and fastest recovery I ever made. So whatever they tell you if they don't manage to correct the problem, don't give up trying to find the root cause.... your body can be hiding something strange they never thought to look for.

Another abnormality, my aunt had bloody bowels for YEARS to the point that she needed transfusions along with terrible abdominal pains. They kept telling her it was "UC like" but never gave her a confirmed UC dx. After 8 years of this she finally pushed for exploratory surgery because the scopes were always inconclusive. What they found was no UC at all . . . 2 sections of her bowels had fused to the abdominal wall and the bleeding was them pulling apart (basically ripping the intestines) with her normal bowel contractions. They were able to seperate them without perforation and she's been fine since.
Posted 7/17/2008 6:54 PM (GMT 0)
My 2yr old Has ulcerative colitis and when he's about to have a flare up we've noticed he complains alot about his wrists, elboes, knees and ankles hurting him. When he's like that he's less active and lays on the couch alot. That's a key sign he's having a flare up or ones coming.
Posted 7/17/2008 7:56 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much for your feedback. Does the pain he has sound like mine by skipping from place to place and lasting anywhere from seconds to an hour?

Also noticed a weird spot on the palm of my hand, almost like a beginning of wart. It was small clear with a dot on the inside and now its getting larger. I never had a wart before and do not think this is one. Who knows if it means anything...
Posted 7/18/2008 4:40 AM (GMT 0)
Peanut- wow you have gone through a lot! I will not give up till I have a definative answer. So far I have seen 9 doctors! Once dx I am going to send all of the doctors I have seen over the course of this (those that have not taken me seriously) a "nice" little note.
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