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For those who suffer joint pains

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Posted 4/23/2009 3:22 AM (GMT 0)
Is your pain pretty consistent in terms of location, or does it tend to migrate? 

I am just curious.  For the first year and a half of my disease, I had zero joint or muscle pain.  Even after hospitalization last year, I felt fine in this regard.  When I tapered off of the pred last summer, that is when it started (I was put on pred for the first time in the hospital and was on it for about 4 months total).  It has waxed and waned since then, but the only consistent thing about it is that it never fully goes away.

Sometimes my knees will hurt, then it will move to my elbow, then my fingers or even just one finger.  Sometimes my ankle will hurt.  Same thing with my localized swelling issues-for a few days a toe will swell and cause me a lot of pain, then it will move to my hand or my whole foot, or my elbow, once it was my jaw, etc.  Muscle aches are the same way these days too-the muscle aches started about a month ago, but they migrate as well.  I take tylenol for the pain, but it doesn't make much of a dent.

Coupled with all of the fatigue I am developing now (that also started about a month ago), and I am a zombie these days!

Anyway, I know a lot of people suffer with joint pains, so I am curious if yours moves around like mine does, or do you tend to have pain in the same areas?

Posted 4/23/2009 4:09 AM (GMT 0)

My joint pain has always been in my knees and lower back.  It comes and goes, but it is consistently in the same place.  Like you, it started with pred and since I"m back on it has worsened again.  The drugs for this are so fun, no?

Heat helps my pain.  I take warm/hot baths and use a heating pad on my lower back. 

Posted 4/23/2009 5:13 AM (GMT 0)
Mine started in my shoulders, then my hips, then my lower back, then my ankles, then elbows, wrists, hands. Initially one set of joints (i.e., both hips) would flare for about six weeks, then in a few months another. Now it can be in a different location every day or in many locations at once, especially when the weather is bad.

Generally, my Remicade has reduced my joint pain quite a lot.
Posted 4/23/2009 11:26 AM (GMT 0)
Prednisone is great in reducing inflammation thru out the entire body so when you weaned off it, your body's natural defenses took over. To me it sounds like you may have Peripheral arthritis. This is very common for IBD'ers. I used the get that but now my joint pain is stationary and it affects mainly my knees, shoulders, hips and back. I do have proven arthritis in my hands though.


http://www.ccfa.org/info/about/complications/arthritis
Posted 4/23/2009 12:55 PM (GMT 0)
Isn't Asacol known to cause joint pain? I know the last time I weaned off pred I had some joint pain.
Posted 4/23/2009 3:45 PM (GMT 0)
The last couple months, I've been having pain in my wrists and fingers (both sides) everyday. A few times a week I'll have knee and lower back pain.
Posted 4/23/2009 4:09 PM (GMT 0)
When I had joint pain, it migrated from place to place. Exercise helped to relieve it, surprisingly. But I no longer had the fatigue at that point.

AMK77 wrote "Isn't Asacol known to cause joint pain?" Is it? I hadn't heard this anywhere. My joint pain started when I was on Asacol and disappeared when I stopped. But I also know joint pain is a symptom of UC, so I don't know what to think.
Posted 4/23/2009 4:41 PM (GMT 0)

ack2009 said...
When I had joint pain, it migrated from place to place. Exercise helped to relieve it, surprisingly. But I no longer had the fatigue at that point.

AMK77 wrote "Isn't Asacol known to cause joint pain?" Is it? I hadn't heard this anywhere. My joint pain started when I was on Asacol and disappeared when I stopped. But I also know joint pain is a symptom of UC, so I don't know what to think.

I had terrible pain in my knee the short time I was on Asacol. Here is a great site with ratings and comments from ppl that have taken Asacol. You can search other drugs as well.

www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=19651&name=ASACOL
Posted 4/23/2009 5:27 PM (GMT 0)
Great link, AMK77, thanks!
Posted 4/23/2009 6:51 PM (GMT 0)
Very interesting-thanks for all of the replies!!

AMK77-it is interesting that you said that about Asacol. I was started on that in the hospital (before that I had been on colozal-I didn't have any issues with it but when I switched docs, he put me on Asacol instead) along with the pred. I had never had so much as a twinge of joint pain prior to that. And when my joint pain worsened again this spring, that coincided with starting canasa suppositories-maybe too much mesalamine?

I know joint pain seems to be par for the course with many UC sufferers, but it has always seemed suspect to me that most all of my non bowel related symptoms began when I started taking all of these different meds. Sigh...one med relieves one problem only to cause another.
Posted 4/26/2009 2:04 AM (GMT 0)
I wanted to come back to update on this-last night I was so exhausted that i fell asleep without using my canasa suppository. Well, today my joint pain was SO much better. Back to manageable levels. So I am thinking that for me, the mesalamine may be a key culprit.

Problem is that it does seem to work well for the UC-but I will bring it up to my GI next time and see if they have any ideas about it and if there is a possibility of my switching from Asacol to something else. We'll see.

Thanks again AMK77 for bringing this up about the Asacol-I would have NEVER put it together about that!

It was nice to have a day where I felt almost normal! (whatever that is now...)
Posted 4/26/2009 2:10 AM (GMT 0)
Mine is mostly on my right side. It sometimes jumps around but almost always to joints on the right side. The docs usually give me a mild pain med because of side effects from over the counter meds. I just try to deal with it now... I only use pain meds "as needed" but it is rare.

Just add the joint pain to the mystery. It seems like there are more questions than there are answers.
Posted 4/28/2009 3:20 AM (GMT 0)
One thing that is better with me these days is the joint pain in my knees. I should be grateful for that one thing. It took a while to go away but it eventually did. My rash is getting better too. Now, if we can just get the colon to heal up all the way. I'll be really happy. I just have to figure out the list of foods to stay away from.
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