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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 6/8/2015 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
I have ulcerative colitis for 10 years (left side only) which is in remission. I am on lialda daily for it. I have been doing well until January. I started having major pains throughout my joints and muscles. Had a very low positive ana but other blood works shows up normal. I went on a 3 week test on prendisone and responded great. I felt wonderful with no pain. So my rheumatologist is unsure what if it is a colitis thing or is in fact lupus. I am not starting Plaquenil to see if that helps. Does anyone with uc have any of these issues? Thanks in advance.

[I added a subject to this post]

Post Edited By Moderator (iPoop) : 6/8/2015 10:18:30 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 6/8/2015 4:15 PM (GMT 0)
Uc is an autoimmune disorder. about 20 percent of uc patients have extra-intestinal complications (that is, other immune related issues outside of his/her intestine). Our immune systems have gone haywire, with autoimmune disorders, and can attack elsewhere in the body. For some, it brings autoimmune skin disorders (e.g., eczema, psoriasis), for others it's joint issues, and other things can occur as well.

I've seen some posts about joint pain before, use the forum's search.
Posted 6/8/2015 4:54 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the response. I guess my real question is would uc give trouble diagnosing other issues since it all all autoimmune. I just don't want to miss anything (not that I want any other issues either).
Posted 6/8/2015 5:10 PM (GMT 0)
I have a terrible time with joint pain. It's my understanding that it should mostly be a problem when my UC is flared up. However, I have a great deal of pain pretty much all the time. RA has been ruled out. When I do flare and go on Prednisone, I feel great for the time I am on it. I can usually tell when I am about to flare based on the increased pain - I've finally put together that association. It's crazy.
Posted 6/8/2015 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
Did you take the prednisone for the joint pain or were you on it for the UC and then you had the joint pain? I've had joint pain after stopping prednisone. I also had a low positive ANA before and terrible joint pain but it subsided when I stopped remicade. They say low positive doesn't necessarily mean anything and you can have it rechecked but it sounds like something is going on. It is possible that a flare up can cause joint pain but you're not flaring so it seems like it must be something else. I haven't heard of many people experiencing joint pain from Lialda...
Posted 6/8/2015 5:52 PM (GMT 0)
Lisabeans, I have been where you are and it isn't fun. The good news is that there is help for joint pain.

Your rheumy should be doing a lot more than just seeing what your ANA is before ruling anything out or in. ANA is not a test for lupus.

As iPoop said, about 20% of people with IBD have joint pain. My rheumy and GI worked together when I had worse joint pain than any IBD symptoms - I went on pred for about 3 months, continued my remission by using entocort for 3 months, and added sulfazine to my meds to support that remission once I was off the entocort.

Sulfazine is an old arthritis med that happens to work really well for people with UC and joint pain. I take 1500 mg/day. It can give you headaches at first, so if you take this route, ramp up over a couple of weeks.

Sulfazine breaks down into 5-ASA plus something else in the gut. The "something else" is what treats the joint pain. It is not fully understood.

There are more side effects from sulfazine than the other 5-ASAs, but overall I am so glad to no longer have joint pain.
Posted 6/8/2015 6:00 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone. I went on the prednisone solely as a test for the joint pain. It is actually worse than joint pain. It is buring pain all over. Can't have my kids sit on my lap. Hurts to the touc . Since uc is in remission rheumatologist doesn't want to rule anything out. Had many blood tests - all normal except for the ana. Also my uc did not seem better or worse on the prednisone so he is not sure if there is a 100% connection. So confused.
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