joint pain/arthritis symptoms???

Hi there, I am new to the forum and have recently been diagnosed with UC. I was only having D about 2 or 3 times in the a.m. and only a few times with blood...didn't seem TOO serious. The symptom that sent me into the ER and for an emergency colonoscopy was terrible joint pain and arthritis. It was everywhere...couldn't move my neck or lift my shoulders, could not move my right collarbone, knuckles swollen, arms throbbing, couldn't bend knees or ankles, even my heals were sore. It was the worst pain I have ever experienced. My husband had to literally carry me into the ER. I was later diagnosed with UC and am currently tapering off Prednisone and beginning to take Lialda on Monday. Currently, my bowels are normal and I only go once in the morning. Everything is completely normal, besides some "gurgling" noises in my stomach at times. My joints are so much better, I have been able to get back on my normal workout routine, but sometimes I can still feel my muscles and joints getting sore in specific places. So my question/concern.....does anyone experience this kind of arthritis pain with their UC? Has anyone ever had joint pain worse than their actually D symptoms? It seems odd to me...

Thanks for any input!! :)

I see. I didn't know that was a side effect of Prednisone. I am looking forward to finishing it completely - just praying it doesn't cause me to flare!

Thanks for sharing. My gastro actually just referred me to see a Rheumatologist, so I will have an appointment with them coming up in the future sometime. I try to stay away from all pills, but Tylenol is okay? Thanks!

Here's a tip for alleviating some of the joint pain ... I have had UC for 14 years... done all the drugs ... was in remission for almost three years till I got recurring staph from a spider bite while at my kid's baseball tournament. Currently in hell tapering off prednisone again (UC under control after 5 months though). Down to 20mg from 70 mg. I go down in 2.5mg increments. This is one of the worst flareups ever. The joint pain in my legs became debilitating when I got under 30mg to the point I was unable to walk and had to crawl to get to the bathroom, or wherever. I didn't know if it was joint or muscle as my gastro said it could be proximal myopathy. Anyways - I coach a lot of sports and have tried to stay on top physical therapy trends. I was absolutley dying in pain and decided to wrap my legs and knees with tight wraps and voila, much of the pain went away. I had my wife run to the store and get a neoprene knee brace and instantly I was able to walk again, pain levels not totally gone, but down at least 70%. Then it moved to my hips, ribs, shoulders, elbows and arms. Again the wraps worked extraordinarily well in reducing the pain, that coupled with massage from my wife at least once a day. I have found that compression socks and leggings work very well for reducing the joint and muscle pain in the legs, they are not cheap, but well worth the investment. For the hips ... the old pro football player trick works well ... get some control top pantyhose a size or two too small and cut them off above the knees .. again works wonders. Shoulders are tough because you need a wide ACE bandage and have to have someone wrap it right, but again it works.

The joint pain on a pred taper is the worst.