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Does anyone with UC also suffer from chronic arthritis

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Posted 2/19/2016 11:36 PM (GMT 0)
I have been treated for my UC since 2010 and am currently taking humira and sulfasalazine. Since then over the past couple years I have suffered from ongoing arthritis primarily in my feet, ankles, hands and wrists. I have had cortisone shots for trigger fingers and also surgery once to release a trigger finger in my middle finger. I recently retired and working a part time job that uses my hands repeatedly. Now I'm in a flare which I'm now using meloxicam twice a day. Nothing seems to be working as now I go to bed and my right hand becomes swollen and several of my fingers get short term trigger fingers which I have to work out each morning. Now that I increased the meloxicam to twice a day my UC is starting to flare. Has anyone had similar issues and is it possible that the humira is not able to keep both from flaring. I'm getting rather frustrated as the pain in my hand is starting to interfere with what I like to do. I'm only 56 and have many years ( I hope) ahead and not ready to give up things I love because of the pain.
Posted 2/21/2016 5:30 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for your reply - I will discuss it more as humira just doesn't seem to touch the joint issues.
Posted 2/21/2016 6:01 PM (GMT 0)
You don't happen to take large doses of vitamin C, or drink smoothies,do you,or perhaps a lot of spinach.
Low intake of calcium.
Ever have a incidental oxalate crystals finding in a random urine sample.

Old Mike
Posted 2/22/2016 4:28 AM (GMT 0)
I've been treated for UC for 30 years now and while I don't actually know if I have arthritis of some sort I do have osteopenia of the lower spine and do have stiffness quite often but many times it has to do with sitting too long so I don't know. I do notice joint tenderness and achy knees sometimes but again not sure it is arthritis related. Think some of it is symptomatic of UC.
Posted 2/22/2016 1:06 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, my arthritis has gotten out of control the last few years as the UC flares have gotten more aggressive. The doc is talking about knee replacement and I have chronic shoulder issues.
Posted 2/22/2016 1:35 PM (GMT 0)
Ask your doc about corticosteroids injections at the base of your fingers. This will help ease inflammation as well as help with the trigger finger. I have had 2 trigger release surgeries and one simple cyst removal on the tendon sheath. But I've had injections and it seems to really help however, you can only have so many in a year. I believe it's 3.

I also have Peripheral arthritis. This is a non-damaging form of arthritis that mirrors the inflammation in the colon into the joints.
Posted 2/23/2016 8:55 AM (GMT 0)
You should ask to see a rheumatologist. It sounds like you have UC related arthritis. Humira is often a treatment for some forms of it, but if it isn't touching your arthritis, you might want to see what a rheumatologist would recommend instead. I'd be a little wary of cortisone injections. Like all treatments, they can help, but they have side effects you might prefer to avoid.
Posted 2/23/2016 11:26 AM (GMT 0)
I had my ileostomy due to UC 39 years ago and have had inflammatory arthritis for most of those years. I also have psoriasis which can produce psoriatic arthritis. However.... my mother (who doesn't have IBD) developed arthritis at around age 26 so who knows whether mine is hereditary or due to UC or due to my psoriasis? Guess I lucked out, I was bound to get it at some stage lol.
Posted 2/23/2016 3:26 PM (GMT 0)
FSLondon, those injections,as long as you don't exceed the frequency of them (which doctors won't do anyway), are safe. There are no side effects at all. And they last a long time. Sometimes as long as a year. I've had numerous injections over the past 20 years with no issue other than pain free hands :)
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