Concerned about joint pain

[valleysangel92]

I've had problems with joint pain since way before I was diagnosed with crohns, when I was twelve I had problems with shoulder pains that resulted in 6 months of physio therapy that never really solved the problem. I've also had some issues with my wrists and ankles, but always put this down to old injuries as I was a very accident prone child.

Recently, I've had an increase in pain in my lower back, I'm used to some problems with it as the bottom of my spine has a slight curve and there are a few vertebrae that are slightly out of alignment too. This pain however, has been far worse than that, sometimes spreading up through my spine and into my neck.

Ive also had several spells of severe hip pain, getting worse each time, this morning I woke up with another round which by midday had become so painful i could barely move.

This is concerning me as I have had osteopina (first stage osteoporosis) since I was 17 which is unmedicated because there's too much calcium in my blood stream and the doctors aren't sure it would be safe. Both the osteopenia and the high calcium could have the potential to cause an increase in joint pain if either is getting worse. When i was younger we were told the high calcium was just a family thing that wouldn't cause problems but my current GI is not so sure so he's reffered me to an endocrinologist to get it reassessed .. I also have intermittent tachycardia with an unknown cause (highest recorded heart rate -150bpm) which too much calcium can be responsible for.

All this means its really hard to tell whats causing the issue.. being unprotected from further bone loss from the steroids cant have done my already weakened bones much good can it? But how do I tell if this is just another symptom from crohns... Any advice?

thanks all

just wanted to add... as well as prednisolone (nov. 2012-feb 2013) and budesonide (feb 2013-present) ive also been taking a budesonide inhaler for asthma for over a year

 

[Ki3]

Hey, I don't exactly have much advise because to be honest im no expert, but when I told my physio about my joint pain, she said it could be arthritis, as you sometimes get it with Crohns disease. Might be something to ask/think about.

I have had joint pain since before I was even diagnosed, before I even got the stomach pains, but I just assumed ut was growing pain and moved on.

Best of luck xx

 

[SkinnyNinny]

I'm not sure what you mean about having too much calcium in your blood. What is that from? I would think calcium would be good for bones. I suffer from arthritis too, but assume calcium is good. Not sure if you can explain. Maybe milk and products with calcium are bad? Worth looking into. Hope you feel better soon...

 

[valleysangel92]

thanks both

SkinnyNinny: Calcium can be good for your bones if the level of calcium in your blood is within safe levels (around 2.2 to 2.6 mmol/L). However, out side of these levels, calcium can cause a wide range of problems. For example, it can lead to kidney stones, long term kidney disease, depression and a range of gastro symptoms as well as many others.

A calcium level of more than 3 mmol/L requires immediate treatment and sometimes hospitalization.

There are a number of possible causes of high calcium in the blood.

In my case, we were told that it was a hereditary condition called familial hypercalcuric hypercalcaemia. This means that my body doesnt regulate calcium levels the way it should. Normally, when the blood calcium reaches the higher limit, a signal is sent out which lowers the level of parathyroid hormone (PTH). PTH controls the absorption of calcium into the bloodstream. If the PTH is high, the body will absorb more calcium, if the PTH is low, then it will absorb less.

In familial hypercalcuric hypercalcaemia, the calcium receptor doesnt function correctly and therefore the rise in calcium isnt picked up the way it normally would be and so the PTH and calcium levels still rise. In most causes it will only rise a small amount and wont be enough to cause much harm as the body is used to functioning with raised levels.

However, it can sometimes cause symptoms or people can be misdiagnosed for this when they have another condition. My current GI is concerned that my calcium is now causing more harm than they first thought, as some of my symptoms cant be accounted for ( rapid heart rate etc).

Despite the high calcium in my blood, my bone density is low. Changes to my diet wouldnt help with this condition as the problem is with the way the body uses and absorbs calcium.

 

[amrycrohns]

Honestly you need to find a doctor that really cares and then give him a lot of time to figure it out. It sounds like you have multiple things going on and it may be very complicated to figure out what is causing what.

I also have numerous issues I will call them and they are still guessing 3 years later why each thing is occuring. I have low Iron which cause's low Hemoglubin which cause's my heart to beat faster to get enough oxygen where it's needed. These chains of issue causing another can take sometime to verify in my experience.