Hello,
In October I had surgery for Crohn's Disease, small intestine re-section. The surgery was a success, started gaining weight (I was very "light") and able to eat everything. I started having a bit of shoulder and elbow pain in my right arm. I thought I was over doing using hand weights, so I cut back. But I still have pain and it seems to be in a lot of my joints - especially shoulders, fingers, toes and hip joint. and it seems to get worse in the early morning after a full night's sleep. After I am up for awhile the fingers and toes feel better and other joints feel a bit better. But the pain gets worse again after half a night's sleep. There's no visible swelling, but it sure feels like my fingers are swollen. Any thoughts, suggestions or ideas will be helpful. I have not been to a Doc for this. I'm trying to pay back 1000's for the October surgery and don't like to think of more medical bills.
Thanks,
Jeff B.
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Don't Realy Know What I have
- By JayBee
- Posted February 22, 2009 at 10:57 pm · 10 replies
- In Medications and therapies
- Shared with the public
Explore topics in this discussion:
Surgery Arthritis Crohn's disease Advil Allergies Ulcerative colitis Rashes Pain Fibromyalgia
10 replies
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- Newest first
- By robsmom54
- Posted February 23, 2009 at 9:28 pm
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Hi JayBee,
Did you know you had Crohns? My surgery was Sept. 06 for a perforation of the bowel. It was an emergency, I didn't know I had Crohns.
I have had RA for over 30 years it affects both knees, neck hands feet, From what I've read a lot of Crohns patients have arthritis or just joint pain since it is an autoimmune disease also.
I'm being treated for the Crohns with Remicade which started as an arthritis drug. It seems to help both conditions.
- By JayBee
- Posted February 23, 2009 at 10:12 pm
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Thanks for the reply,
My Crohn's has been with me for over 40years. The recent surgery was my second re-section. The first was 25 years ago. I feel fortunate that the first "fix" lasted so long. I appreciate your suggestion. I try to stay away from medications. I took sulfa drugs for a little while many years ago and want to stay away from Remicade -- too expensive and my insurance covers very little. I try to control my Crohn's with diet. I am happy to hear that you are controlling your RA and I will try to find some alternative treatments. How did you discover you had RA and how bad did it get before you found the right medication? Also, was the onset of the disease gradual or sudden?
Thanks Again,
JB
- By lioness_aurora
- Posted February 24, 2009 at 10:16 am
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Hello JayBee,
I have arthritis from undiferentiated connective tissue disorder and the arthritis came on gradually. I first felt pain in my right shoulder, then my right shoulder and right neck, then my whole right arm joined in. A couple of years later, I had pain and swelling in all of my joints and still do today. When it first presented, I just felt pain, later I 'felt' swollen but it was not visable, a while after that, the swelling was visable. I was diagnosed by a rhumatologist and I take a number of medications. I didn't fight them, because by the time I was diagnosed, I couldn't even lift a glass of water without risking dropping it. The meds allow my body to move.
However, there are books out there about foods that are suppossed to help. I have tried a number of those foods, but they didn't help me. However, I have a friend with RA, and he receives complete relief from ibuprophrin, cherry juice and grape fruit. There is some research that indicates that green tea helps, however the research has been done on animals and doesn't indicate how much it helps.
Good Luck!!!
- By JayBee
- Posted February 24, 2009 at 10:43 am
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Thanks so much for your input,
There are so many "so called" remedies for RA like apple cider vinegar and mangosteen juice. We are all different and respond differently to meds, fruits, veggies, herbs, spices, etc. I always like to start with the non-traditional "cures" before trying the hardcore meds. I always like to think that long before drug companies there were people successfully treating their diseases, infections, rashes, allergies, etc.
Folk medicine from all over the world has a rich and lengthly history and certainly has been well documented. So why not give it a try as the first line of defense? The big exception to all this are critical and immediate life threatening problems. Sometimes you have to get stabilized with traditional meds before you start experimenting with other treatments.
JB
- By lioness_aurora
- Posted February 25, 2009 at 7:39 am
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Have you found anything that helps you? I'm still looking, because my meds still leave me in some pain.
- By JayBee
- Posted February 25, 2009 at 9:40 am
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I have 5quarts of Mangosteen Juice on order from: http://brazilbotanicals.com/drtimsexoticjuices.aspx
There are several popular exotic juices that have been used in reducing inflamation. They are available in health food stores and supermarkets. The most popular is Acai Juice which is sold and marketed by many companies(it seems to be everywhere). But if you search Mangosteen you'll see a lot about inflamation-reducing properties. I have had many conversations with the owner of the above website (Dr. Tim) and he is truly a genuine and caring person who is willing to talk about the quality of his product without forcing it on you. One of the reasons I buy 5 quarts is because he pays shipping and the per bottle price is cheaper(and I can sell a bottle or two to a friend), but you can try a single bottle to see if it helps. We all react differently to medications and alternative therapies, but for the cost of a bottle of juice it's worth a try. I have read that 4 to 6oz once or twice a day is a typical dose. It tastes great. I'll let you know if it helps me. Please do the same if you decide to try it.
JB
I gain nothing financially from telling you about this juice! But, in fact the price from Brazil Botanicals is the lowest on line.
- By foreverinbluejeans
- Posted February 25, 2009 at 1:51 pm
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So sorry about your medical bills. There may be clinics you can go to that use a sliding fee scale. If you are unable to work you should be able to get Medicaid. If you live state with bad laws for Medicaid you could move to a better state.
I lost Medicaid coverage in Indiana and racked up thousands of dollars of bills. I moved to Arizona and had Medicaid in 3 days and saw a doctor in a week. Medicaid laws vary by state.
Make sure you move to a nicer state! Notice I moved from Indiana to sunny Arizona.
- By ccrippen
- Posted March 26, 2009 at 2:51 pm
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Hi Jeff,
My brother had ulcerative colitis and he developed what is called IBD related arthritis. The IBD is for irritable bowel disease and I believe Krohn's is in that category. Have you tried anti-inflammatories like, Motin, advil, etc?.
- By JayBee
- Posted March 26, 2009 at 3:09 pm
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Thanks for your suggestion. Before anti-inflammatories I like to look at diet. I still have joint pain, especially after I lie down for awhile. I may try some advil.
Jeff
- By ggahwheeler
- Posted March 27, 2009 at 9:26 am
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I thought all of my pain was arthritis. It came on me all at once. I hurt from head to toe. My shoulders, hands, knees, feet, neck, elbows, back all hurt me. Now I find out that not all of this is arthritis. They are telling me now that some of it is fibromyalgia. Have any of you been told this? Thanks Glenda
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