Joint pain

[RHOV]

joint pain

I have been having pain in my joints lately. Specifically my shoulders, jaw, and left knee.

Joint pains were one of my major symptoms when I was diagnosed a few months ago. I haven't had any other symptoms recently. Is my current joint pain due to Crohn's, or is it something else?

Thank you!

 

[Kev]

great question, RHOV.. Welcome to the forum, btw. I've asked it myself, never got a satisfactory answer. Long before I was officially diagnosed, I consulted a specialist.. knew it wasn't RA (ruled out by blood tests).. Thought it was osteo. But the specialist who checked the X-rays ruled out osteo. No evidence of that at all. But, my joints most affected were injured, either accidents or long term damage. I have noticed that my joint pains decrease on pred, increase as I taper off, and become much more noticeable whenever I have a flare-up. And, I noticed since coming off pred this last time that my joint pain is now in joints it previously wasn't. Not sure if this is due to the spread of my disease, or the effect of steroids on joints and bone density in general. I'm having a density scan within the next 10 days to see the overall impact of steroids on my bones.
Plus to see if my disease has affected my calcium absorption, all that good stuff

Anyway, good luck getting an answer to your question. wish I could've helped. I'll be following this thread to see what other feedback your question receives.

 

[D Bergy]

It is likely from inflammation. Likely Crohn's is a contributor, but from inflammation for one reason or another. It is not uncommon if you have Crohn's or most any other inflammatory disease.

Dan Bergman

 

[RHOV]

Kev: Is there a specific blood test for RA? Or will it be apparent in normal blood tests? I had blood taken yesterday.

 

[Kev]

I'm not sure what they were looking for in the bloodwork, but whatever tests they ran they definitely ruled out RA. I don't know if RA is dependant upon exposure to Rheumatoid fever, resulting in specific anti-bodies present in the blood, or what? I expect there may be someone on the board here who is more familiar with it. I've a younger sister who contracted Rheumatoid fever; she never developed either RA or heart complications, but she did develop MS... It's all pretty much a mystery to me how they ruled it out in my case, I didn't ask. I was just happy that it was something I didn't have. RA is a pretty nasty disease.

 

[soupdragon69]

I think there is an antibody they can test for called Anti nuclear antibody and when tied in with other bloods it can identify things like RA... I had the test last year when my asthma consultant decided I must have an autoimmune disease but he didnt have a clue what.

We know now though!! Funny that..

 

[RHOV]

I'm now having occasional abdominal cramps and I'm more tired than usual. Could this be the begginings of a flare? All of my bowel movements are normal, though...

 

[Kev]

I've had episodes like that too. Start a downward trend, hurt a little more, and lose all of my so called energy. This lasts 3 - 4 days. I couldn't discern if it was a flair, as it usually stopped mid development, and key warning signs just simply did not appear (big D, or decreased stool diameter, form, shape or cohesion - sorry, I know that's pretty gross) OR if it was some secondary infection; stomach flu, etc., that never developed either. I did notice something that tells me this whatever has ended (WARNING: More gross stuff follows). My bladder suddenly goes into overdrive... I start voiding like a racehorse on steroids. Its not to the point of dehydration, I always am careful about dehydration, but its noticeable. Anyone ever heard of or experienced anything along those lines??

 

[RHOV]

I think we're all used to the TMI's by now...
I still have joint pains and occasional abdominal cramps.
hopefully my blood work will come back soon and they can see if there's any inflammation that's causing this.

 

[Kev]

Ol brain fart at work here... Refresh my memory, or educate me. What's a TMI?

 

[hanaa al baydany]

yes and me too what's TMI ? when u say RA means romatoid?

 

[RHOV]

Too Much Information.

sorry. maybe that isn't universal.

 

[Kev]

(Big, stupid, sheepish look on my face) Think it was the switch between PC n medical acronyms that took me off guard... Sheeesh, there I go again, adding to the potential for confusion.. PC = computer.. Oh, and RA is short for Rheumatoid (sp) Arthritis.. I got to admit that I can be overly descriptive in talking specific symptom situations, but there are just times when trying to see if others ever experienced the same, EXACT symptoms for comparison that you have to cross the line. Just be thankful I haven't resorted to posting pictures.

all that aside, as I used to tell my students, there is no such thing as a 'stupid' question... Always better to ask a question than to make an assumption, OK?