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does anyone suffer from arthritis?

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Posted 10/23/2007 10:02 PM (GMT 0)
Hi. I was wondering if anyone suffers from the symptoms of arthritis of any kind. I have experienced swelling in my fingers over the past couple of years and wondered if it may be connected to my UC or prehaps the beginnings of arthritis. I am only 30, and really not sure what to think!!


Thanks for any help.

Ant
Posted 10/23/2007 10:51 PM (GMT 0)
Joint pains can be one of those effects of UC that occur outside the digestive tract. It's pretty common, I think. I had joint pain in multiple joints for years before the UC symptoms appeared. Talk to your doctor about what to take, as a lot of people with UC can't take NSAIDS like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen. I tolerate Naproxen well myself, and my GI says I can keep taking it as long as it doesn't bother me.
Posted 10/23/2007 11:07 PM (GMT 0)
I get joint pains so often that it can be hard to move about. My knees and hips are the worse. I've been tested numerous times for RA but luckily I don't have it. Yes, arthritis and joint pain is common in people with IBD's. The swelling, does it hurt? Does it hurt to bend your fingers? Are they hot to the touch when they swell?

Here's a website that tells about the different forms of arthritis and their symptoms:
http://arthritis.about.com/od/arthritissignssymptoms/a/early_symptoms.htm
Posted 10/23/2007 11:44 PM (GMT 0)
I was dx with arthrites in 1987 I would have been 31, it started in my ankles and back wasnt to bad for several years but for the last couple years been in my hip and fingers lots of swelling in the morning gets better with movement. mine tends to be weather related, hurts worse when it rains are when its cold, the fun months are comeing. havent found anything that really works for it yet. I took arthrotech a prescription med it helped a little but hurt my tummy.so I decided not to trade one pain for another.
Posted 10/24/2007 12:43 AM (GMT 0)
I had horrible arthritis in various parts of my body, especially the knees, wrists, neck and ankles. It came on last fall after being in a flare all summer that was out of control. At times I could hardly move it was so bad. I have now been in remission for several months now and seem to get stronger with time. I have noticed that as I have gotten better with the UC the arthritis seems to have for the most part gone away although there was some lag time so it was hard to correlate the IBD symptoms with the arthritis. I thought I would have it forever as it was really bad through the winter and up through this spring but it has gone away with the UC symptoms. I'm hoping this lasts for a good while! What I found out when I had it is that as others have said it is a potential symptom that comes along with UC. It seems the inflammation in the gut sparks inflammation in other areas of the body.

Posted 10/25/2007 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks all for your response. I have been on a photo shoot last couple of days and unable to check for replies.

Red, it is mainly the little finger on my right hand that swells between the first knuckle and the tip of the finger, it does not really hurt to bend, just a bit stiff from the swelling, its like a lumb that is kinda itchy if that make sense! Its been there before and because my fifst finger and third sometimes ache and go red a little i would usually associate it with the cold or something, but have been looking a lot harder at my body in the last few years.

I do have some aches and pains, but this could just be long days/unsuitable sleeping position etc. I do however suffer from lower back pain, and have for quite a while. Though i can not find a direct link to any UC symptoms, and at the moment i am in a very good remission(and hope to stay that way!)

Is it easy to get checked for RA?

Thanks again for your replies.
Posted 10/26/2007 9:09 AM (GMT 0)
i got arthritis from this flare that im in now.

right when i was getting married and on honeymoon.

knees and ankles were shot. i looked like an 80year old going up and down stairs. ankles were super swollen. couldnt wear my wedding heels.
crazy.

its completely gone now.
no idea why but no more arthritis.

thank god
Posted 10/26/2007 9:14 AM (GMT 0)
Kazygirl, i totally know what you mean about knees acheing, when i was on steroids and could not get things under control my knees were in so much pain.

However at the moment i think iam in remission, but the fingers on my right hand are a bit stiff and painfull in some of the knuckles, it just dose not make sense!
Posted 10/26/2007 11:11 AM (GMT 0)
Antz, yes it's easy to check for RA - as simple as a blood test :) Joint pains is an extra intestinal affect of having UC. When I'm flaring, the join pains become pretty bad but while in remission they are still there just not as bad. Sometimes people will know when they are going to flare because they experience an increase of joint pain before the flare.

You should go get checked to be sure you don't have RA because if you do have this, they might be able to prescribe you different medications that can benefit both RA and UC such as Humira.
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