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What type of Arthritis do you all have?

My knees have been hurting lately along with my thumbs. Just wondering if this is the start of arthritis.
 
I dont like the title of this thread. I had to have a look.

'What type do you ALL have' Does that most Crohnies have athritis too!?

Is that something else I am going to have to fight off!!

I've only been diagnosed a year and I've had prolbems with my eyes already due to the crohns.
 
Dani, I have eye problems too. maybe we have underlying allergies that are being affected more by our Crohn's.
 
Hmm how strange.

I've had Uveitis (however you spell it!) It came on whilst I was on Mezavant but months after I'd been diagnosed and my crohns itself was under control.

Now, I've had it on both eyes, I was tapering off steroid drops and when I finished it came back so I've been back on drops again and tapering off them within the next few weeks.
 
My eyes are red and blurry sometimes. Im not sure if it is uveitis. I will look it up. Oh and my the way I am itchy today but wasnt yesterday.
 

Nyx

Moderator
I have burcitis in both elbows and knees...and sadly, yes, it's from the Crohn's.
 
Mary, my eye was bright red, bloodshot, painful and sensitive to the ligh. I looked like something out of a horror movie or terminator as I was told.

Its quite serious apparently, it can cause blindness so if you havent seen a Dr about it get it checked out.
 
My wife gets iritis all the time with her AS (autoimmune disorder like Crohn's). It looks like she has pink eye (blood shot, sensitive to light, blurry vision...). Took prednisolone drops to control it. It can lead to cataracts or blindness if left untreated... mind you the drugs to control it can lead to the same thing.
 
I get whicked joint pain in my knees and knuckes, sometimes elbow joints. Usualy an over the counter pain med helps, but dosen't take it away. I usualy end up sitting in the bathtub with as warm water as i can handle, or sleeping with a heating pad under my knees. I haven't had any eye probles.....yet.
 
I am feeling 100% better since I started Azathioprine. I had it very badly in my ankles,knees and feet. I even had to take a prescribed NSAID to maintain mobility prior to and right after surgery. But since the Imuran kicked in I have not had a single flair up.
 
I have horrible joint pain and swelling steadily since about 10/09, but started back in 2003. I get pain, swelling and stiffness in pretty much every joint possible.
Lately, its real bad in my shoulders, but feet, knees, elbows and hands.

It seems mine is mostly from having Sjogren's syndrome more than the Crohn's. My Rheumatologist, just started me on Sulfasalazine in conjunction with Methotrexate, Plaquenil and Prednisone in the hopes of getting it under control. Hopefully adding this med will help because I'm over being in pain everyday.
 
I have enteropathic arthritis. I have several joints affected. I am on Celebrex along with azathriopine. Hoping to be on Humira soon!!!
 

Lisa

Adminstrator
Staff member
Location
New York, USA
some arthritis in my lower back, also sacro-ileitis (sp)....that put me literally on my back for days - made the mistake of lying down on the gound outside (felt better lying down)....took me litterally a half hour to get up!.......

Think I am getting it in my hands - fingers get stiff.....knees are getting shot (1 surgery already just over 10 years ago!).....just falling apart slowly....
 

GoJohnnyGo

One Badass Dude
I have Rheumatoid Arthritis which has manifested itself as Ankylosing Spondylitis. It is also an auto-immune disorder that is very commonly associated with Crohn's Disease (though more common with males).

Luckily, I don't have the eye problems. I have been plagued though with inflammation of the lower spine and sacroilliac joints (and a bit in the neck and shoulder area). My spine has fused vertebrae in certain areas.

Pending approval, I shall be going on Humira for it. As of now, my Crohn's is under control minus the occasional mild flare.
 
Thinking about it, I had back problem for years, my lower back was the worst but also had it in my neck and sholuders. I saw a chiropractor for it.

I wonder if that was all connected to the Crohns, eventhough I hadnt been diagnosed.
 
No problem with knees or fingers. Mine is all in my right hip. So bad sometimes, that I have fallen from it giving way. Sucks when I have been sitting for a while!
 
I had arthritic pain in my left hip since I was diagnosed with crohns at the age of 16. Eventually had a hip replacement four years ago. Nowhere else seems to be affected though... my fingers look a bit gnarly but they don't hurt and I can still play musical instruments
 

soupdragon69

ele mental leprechaun
I have sero negative inflammatory arthritis - in other words its not rheumatoid but acts like rheumatoid and yes it is linked to my crohns.

Affects all my major joints, my hands and feet and I have bone erosion at the base of my toes.

Also been diagnosed with calcific tendonitis in my right shoulder for which I will be having a nerve block on 2nd june to help with the pain. Consultant said he cant rule out the possibility of other tendons in my body becoming calcified even though the shoulder is the most common - again because of my crohns!
 
Hi, I have enteropathic arthritis in my knees, hips, ankles, and fingers. Have had it about 25 yrs. I find it always gets worse if I don't keep strictly to my diet. I am allergic or intolerant of quite a few foods, i.e. gluten, dairy, chocolate, caffeine, nuts, alcohol, citrus fruit, tomatoes, spinach, legumes, but I think dairy products are one of the major culprits for causing joint problems.
 
My lower back knees hands and feet and also my neck bother me constantly. I have to see the chiro weekly if I don't I get into real trouble. I can not let it go to long if I do watch out it gets ugly. This is all caused by this disease sorry to say. But it can always be worse. Keep the faith and yes try the chiro I have found relief in using there treatment.
 
I have "Crohn's associated Arthritis" so mine is defiantly from the Crohn's, and being that I'm only 20, I would defiantly put it down to that! I use a gel at the minute, which is kind of like paracetamol in a gel that helps with the aches, and I'm on Humira which helps with Arthritis, though I still ache something awful in the mornings, and most mornings it feels like someones got a screwdriver under my knee cap and is trying to pull it off, or a sharp pain in my shins.. the gel doesn't help with them. My eyes are going slowly, every time I go to see the eye doctor, my glasses are getting stronger and stronger, though I only need them when I'm reading or on the computer. But last time I went they said I need to come more frequently as my eyes are starting to show signs of (really can't remember what he said but it was something to do with the Crohn's). It's great, 20 years old and I have the body of a 90 year old! LOL! But you just got to keep smiling, or else you'll never get out of bed in the mornings!! x
 
How do you know if it's arthritis or just achy joints? I am stiff in the mornings in my back and can hardly squat or I can't get up. If I try to squat several things make cracking noises. What's that about? I am paranoid about more things coming since Crohn's. I never had any issues before and now I feel like a new part if my body breaks down all the time.

Anyway, how do you know it's arthritis?
 
teeny5 said:
How do you know if it's arthritis or just achy joints? I am stiff in the mornings in my back and can hardly squat or I can't get up. If I try to squat several things make cracking noises. What's that about? I am paranoid about more things coming since Crohn's. I never had any issues before and now I feel like a new part if my body breaks down all the time.

Anyway, how do you know it's arthritis?
well firstly because the doctor said so :lol: I'm not trying to be a smartarse with that either. It is just that it was so problematic and limiting that I needed medical assistance to maintain mobility. Rheumatoid arthritis or this other interesting Dx what Soupdragon is mentioning are probably associated with abnormal immune system responses which attack joints just like the way it attacks the gut. Its not like Crohn's gives us arthritis. It is that the abnormally functioning immune system is hitting us in more place than just the gut or just the joints.
 
I have pre-existing RA, diagnosed long before CD. I have the joy of dealing with RA pain, and CD joint pain - I can tell the difference, although there's nothing in it in terms of severity. They just don't feel the same.

Mary - the pain you've got at the moment may just be linked to a CD flare, and will hopefully pass xx
 
Here is a really good article on IBD related arthropathies, how they are different and the same, and how they diagnosed

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/750045

Edited to add:

At first you will think that I have gone mad, that this is not an interesting article at all!! LOL!! However, skip the first few sections and go to Peripheral Arthropathies in IBD and Axial Arthropathies in IBD
These sections are the most relevant to what we are looking for.
 
eye inflammation is very common with ankylosing spondylitis also called axial arthritis . I was basically told i could be dx AS simply because of how much eye inflation i had. Of course that was after I had gone through all sorts of test and was already in pain.

AS affects the spine and si joints (hip/groin area), but is it also is inflammation in tendon or ligament, which can cause pain other places.

I was also dx with reactive arthritis which is arthritis after stomach issues (as well as a few other things). this dx is only for the first few months.

arthritis is when it's annoying or painful enough you have to see a doctor. then the doc gets to come up with the dx. is my best idea.
you should be careful since the inflammation can causes fusing in AS.

interestingly crohn's is also sometimes refereed to as enteritis arthritis
good luck
 
Officially have been diagnosised with Arthritis in both hands and right knee. Also, have arthritis and bursitis in my right hip that hurts like you wouldn't believe at times. Have started having the same kind of pain in my ankles, so now I am wondering if the good ole arthritis has spread to them. Isn't the life of a Crohn's patient just wonderful???:yfrown:
 
I have not been officially diagnosed with arthritis but I have some pain in my left knee.While my mother did not have crohns, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I swear there is some genetic tie between the two diseases.
 

ekay03

My dog has hands!
I have regular run of the mill osteoarthritis. It mostly is just in my left hip and left shoulder. I am currently taking Cymbalta and tho it works very well I think I am having a reaction in my mouth and I might have to stop taking it
 
My younger brother has severe Ankylosing Spondylytis, actually diagnosed before his Crohns was (it's often associated with Crohns disease).. he sleeps in a hospital bed so he can adjust his position for comfort & raise it up to help him out of bed in the mornings. His SI has been fused since he was 18 or so, a few of his vertebrae are fused, and he currently has open lesions on his shoulder & collar bones from it. He goes to the nail shop to have his toenails clipped because he can't physically reach them. He's 25.

My daughter is 10 and was diagnosed with arthritis in her knees when she was 8. We thought it was a vestige from Lyme Disease, which she had very badly to the point of losing patches of hair before we knew what was going on earlier that year... but now we're being told it's just as likely it was a manifestation of Crohns, as she's also suffered from mouth sores since she was just a year old. Her ankles also ache sometimes.
 
Its so intriguing that many other people have joint-pain along with Crohn's. I too suffer from excruciating pain in my left foot/ankle. I have seen several doctors and have gotten nowhere. I'm seeing a new specialist later this month so I hopefully can get some answers. The pain is always at rest, and at its worst when I hop out of bed in the morning. Its like someone has put a vice-grip on my foot and is applying constant unrelenting pressure.
 
at its worst when I hop out of bed in the morning. /QUOTE]
ask about plantar fasciitis. I have that which is common with AS (cause it effects the tendons & ligaments).
it hurts on the bottom of your foot and can go into you akles tendons. it is classically worse first thing in the morning. it's an awful way of getting out bed in the morning.
 
Hi outlier. I do have plantar fasciitis, too, since I have a high arch. : ) The pain I'm speaking of is not in my arch, though. It's on the left side of my left foot throughout the ankle bone and surrounding tissue. Very strange issue that 3 different docs have not been able to figure out. We'll see how #'s 4 & 5 do later this month.
 
Ask about accessary navicular. I had this, it's where two small bones below/in front of the ankle bone are supposed to fuse into one, but instead fuse separately. It can cause all kinds of pain, and radiate pain into the surrounding area as well. Also worse first thing in the morning.
I had pain for years in middle & high school and was brushed off by doctors. Finally diagnosed my senior year of high school. Not only did I have the AN, but my arch was attached to the wrong one of those two little bones, so it was continually over-rotating. By the time an ortho took me seriously and stopped blowing me off with an ace wrap and "it's a sprain" my arch was hanging on by a thread. I missed my entire senior year of sports.

A 2-3hr surgery to remove the extra bone was all it took to repair five years of constant pain.
 
Had rare type about 16yrs go (undifferent connective issues disease) only for few yrs. But left me with weaken and damage joints (muscles) in my legs and shoulder also left behind raydaund symp
 
Hi outlier. I do have plantar fasciitis, too, since I have a high arch. : ) The pain I'm speaking of is not in my arch, though. It's on the left side of my left foot throughout the ankle bone and surrounding tissue. Very strange issue that 3 different docs have not been able to figure out. We'll see how #'s 4 & 5 do later this month.
ask them if it's entinistis (the inflammation of the tendons/ ligaments). It's what makes AS different from other arthritises, and not a common thing. I've had it not just as plantar fascitis but ackeles tendon as well as on the outside of my foot. Good luck!
 
Thanks all for your replies. It turns out my issue is completely unrelated to Crohn's after finally seeing some top docs in the country. For 7 years I've been trying to figure out what it is. Apprently I have a rare tumor, which may or may not be cancerous. This has not been a good year medically for me. I'll find out for certain when I have surgery in 2 months. Ugh...
 
I have degenerative arthritis in my lumbar spine. It bothers me and the docs considering I'm only 26 with both Crohns and degenerative arthritis. I think I got arthritis from the Army because of carrying 70lb packs everyday.
 
I have AS in spine and enteropathic arthritis in hips, knees, shoulders, hands, and feet. I think the Crohn's goes to my joints because I was physically abused as a child and it goes to all of my old injuries.

It started in my right knee after a car accident, and spread from there. I don't know maybe conincidental but it doesn't seem like it.
 
Hands, feet, shoulder. My GP dosent think I have arthritis- the knobby knuckles and swollem, stiff and red joints must be my imagination.
 
I have sero negative inflammatory arthritis - in other words its not rheumatoid but acts like rheumatoid and yes it is linked to my crohns.

Affects all my major joints, my hands and feet
yup. I have that kind. I have had the rhuemy doc call it like 3 different names, but this is it... My hands are always the worst in the morning. A few years back it was bad enough that I needed a cane. Now most of the time I can make it to the gym and be active, but when the really bad flare was going I was feeling crippled... Some permanent damage from that.
 

Chrismac

Best of British
I occasionally get a bit of ache in knees and thumbs, but the worst for me is my hips. I had to limp home up the hill yesterday.
 
yup. I have that kind. I have had the rhuemy doc call it like 3 different names, but this is it... My hands are always the worst in the morning. A few years back it was bad enough that I needed a cane. Now most of the time I can make it to the gym and be active, but when the really bad flare was going I was feeling crippled... Some permanent damage from that.
If you have reumy you have to take meds or you will end up in a wheel chair or worse it will even get to your organs :( I have screws and plates in my hands and feet from it being to late before I was diagnosed and I was young when those surgerys took place :(
 

Crohn'sFor Life

Colon Free!
Location
Honolulu,
I have Ulcerative Colitis related (Rheumatoid) Arthritis. It affects my hands, elbows, shoulders, knees and feet.
20mg of Methotrexate per week is keeping the pain under control so far.

Lost my colon...but gained the arthritis! :ybatty:
 
Humira has really helped my arthritis. I still have to get up out of bed in the middle of the night and walk around, because the pain and stiffness wake me up - but I am so much better. I have spondylitis, also known as sero-negative inflammatory arthritis. Some doctors are calling all forms of this Ankylosing Spondylitis, but not everyone has ankylosing (fusing of the joints). I wish I could take Aleve, because it helps the most, but with Crohn's, it isn't a good idea!

Before I got diagnosed, I couldn't stay in bed for much more than 5 hours due to the pain in my hips. I would almost cry when I first closed my hands in the morning, I avoided putting my bare feet on the floor in the morning because it hurt so much, and my neck was so stiff, that I was not sure if I should continue to drive. I could not turn my head far enough to look for traffic when I was on the on ramps. I also had trouble standing up from a sitting position, and felt like I was in my 80's rather than in my 40's.

I still have pain and stiffness, but it is so much better. We had to increase my Humira to weekly injections for a while to get me here, but wow, what a life changing experience. Not everyone that has joint pain and Crohn's have Spondylitis, but, if you suspect you do, it is worth it to get diagnosed. It took a lot for me to find a doctor that would really listen to me, but finally I did. She said that it isn't that rare, but lots of rheumatologists are not as familiar with our particular conditions.
 
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