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Early / mild symptoms of UC? Pain + mucus + joint pain...

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Mir2015
Mir2015

Hi all,

I'm new here and hoping you guys can give me some insight.

For the last few years i've had hip / sacroiliac pain that has been slowly getting worse. In the last 8 months it has peaked and now i also have pain in my knees and hands, which resembles carpal tunnel pain. it's worse in the morning and after walking or standing for more than a few minutes. When it's bad i can barely walk up stairs or drive. Physio didn't help, NSAIDs and codeine don't help, the only thing so far has been corticosteroid injections, which have been magic!!

After pushing my gp for a year i got referred to a rheumatologist who thought it might have been enteropathic arthritis due to family history of UC and ruling out rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. I didn't consider i might have had UC until now... i've always had dodgy bowels! Thought it was ibs... i've been hospitalised twice for severe constipation, and generally it's either diarrhoea, loose stools or rock hard, almost always with lots and lots of mucus, but no blood. Frequent left side tenderness or pain.

So my question is... do you think this sounds like early or mild UC? Anyone experience anything similar?

Thanks in advance...

Mir

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • bob1234
    bob1234 Mir2015

    Posted

    The line between irritable bowel syndrome and Inflammend bowel diesese is blurred.

    I have indeterminate colitis. I am in flare up now the flare up started in January.

    I have wear nappies. I have to drink lots of fluids.

    Because I leak mucus.

    However the drugs are working and slowly abating the flare up.

    The left hand side is where the descending colon is the next bit is the sigmoid colon and then thr anus.

    This pain suggest an inflamed descending and sigmoid colon.

    However many othet things can give pain in that area.

    Keep a log of pains etc. And then discuss with GP.

    I hope that you have only an IBS and not IBD because colitis is for life not just Christmas.

    Bob

  • pca
    pca Mir2015

    Posted

    Hi Mir,

    Symptoms of IBS and UC can be very similar.  I have distal (left-hand) UC which was diagnosed in early November 2011. UC, being an inflammatory disease, can indeed cause inflammation of other joints, such as in the sacroilliac/hip area. Bloody diarrohea with mucus is a common symptom of UC and the fact that you have no blood may mean that you're a IBS rather than an IBD sufferer.  It is, of course, perfectly possibly to have both conditions.

    The only way, as far as I know, to get an authoratitive diagnosis is to ask your GP either for a referral to a gastroenterologist, or to book you for a colonoscopy. Not pleasant, I admit, but not that bad either and you would at least have an answer.

    I wish you the best of health for the future. 

    Peter  

     

    • Mir2015
      Mir2015 pca

      Posted

      Thank you both for your replies. Unfortunately my symptoms overlap several things and my bloods are all normal so its difficult knowing what the problem is.

      Thanks again,

      Mir

    • pca
      pca Mir2015

      Posted

      Hi Mir,

      Thank you for your response.

      May I wish you all the very best, and I hope you manage to get to the bottom (pun not really intended) of your problem. Then hopefully successful treatment will be possible.

      Take care.

      Peter A 

       

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