UC and joint pain ??

Hi- I was diagnosed about a year ago after a colonoscopy - the doc prescribed 4 a day Lialda - after a while, the doc tried to "wean" me down to 3 a day and then 2 a day, but the blood in stool symptoms returned - I tried an alternative to save a few bucks but it wasn't effective, so now I'm back on 4 a day Lialda that I purchase online from the UK - it's still expensive (much less expensive than in the US), but it does the job - no UC symptoms for a few months now.

I have recently started experiencing joint pain in my fingers, wrists, knees, and ankles - I found out the hard way that while Alleve helps the joint pain, it's not at all good for the UC. So, two questions:

1 - what kind of meds do you guys that have UC take for the kinds of joint and muscle pain that the NSAIDs target?

2 - I read about Rheumatoid Arthritis also being an autoimmune disease (as is UC) and the RA symptoms seem pretty similar to what I'm experiencing - any connection between the two??

Thanks!

Thanks for your thoughts.

I read about the SCD - I can't see any way that I could make that a part of my lifestyle unless there was a gun to my head.

I just started having the severe joint pain over the last few days - at first I thought it was muscle pain from too much exercise after laying off for a while, but it's definitely joint pain - comes and goes - seems to bother me more at night, and that's when I take the 4 Lialda, after dinner before bed. I've been taking the Lialda for about a year, and the joint pain just now starts bothering me. I have a call in to my doctor to get his take on it.

I tried the turmeric, and CBD oil, but couldn't tell whether they were helping me or not since I was taking the Lialda at the same time. I also have GERD, taking daily omeprazole for that, and oregano causes my stomach a lot of problems.

Generally, I'd prefer taking meds versus supplements, and I have read so much about different dietary regimens that help or hurt that I'm not convinced that anything more than eating relatively sensibly is the way to go - but I'm always open to something that'd work.

SCD stands for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It's a diet that's been around for a long time and is used to manage UC (not the arthritis). It's basically a very low refined carbohydrate diet and is pretty similar to Whole30 and Paleo diets (with a few wrinkles). As you'll see if you search here, plenty have tried it and found it made no difference to their UC whatsoever, whereas for some it is helpful. It's quite a restrictive diet, so you have to be up for it (or at your wits end). For me, it helped get my UC into a more stable remission and keeps the worst of the arthritis at bay.

I would note that joint pain that is worse at night is one of the hallmarks of arthritis (including AI arthritis). I'd be surprised if the Lialda was the problem/cause, but do ask your GI.

Unfortunately about 30% of us can get various pains as extra-intestinal-complications of having UC. We can get arthritis or arthralgia, it can be directly related to UC symptoms (worse when we flare and non-existent in remissions), for some pain is an ongoing challenge even when doing well. Here's a good read on it:
www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/assets/pdfs/arthritiscomplications.pdf

NSAIDs shouldn't be used on a regular basis with an IBD basis as it can trigger a flareup of your UC. If you have ongoing pains that need treatment, you are much safer with COX-2 inhibitor (Celebrex) than with NSAIDs.

You could consider trading in the prescription for Lialda for a prescription for Sulfasalazine, which is used for treating RA and treating UC. A two-for-one. Sulfasalazine is generic and less than $100 a month if you had to pay 100% out-of-pocket. Ask your gasteroenterolgisit.

Yes, headaches in particular are more common. It's something to try, if you get side effects then switch back to lialda.