First time on here .... I've had a Jpouch for over 15years with little troubles ... a slight bit of joint pain in one knee or sacroliac joint, but always manageable with minimum meds .... last 6 months ... awful, was scoped and had pouchitis (first time) and given meth and cipro for a month .... things seemed to get better quickly gut wise, however the arthritis has kicked into high gear ... alway migratory, one knee or the other, fluid taken off, cortosteriods etc. ... doesn't seem to be self-limiting as it was before ... I had this happen occassionlly over the years but never like this ... thoughts ??? presently on up to 200 mg Indometh for inflammation, probably not too good for my guts at any rate ... also issues with getting back to a regular diet which was no problem before ... lots of irritation down below .. any suggestions ???

Thanks

Scott

Indomethacin is one of the worst for gut problems and I would suspect that it is making your pouchitis worse. I'd get off it ASAP if I were you. Ibuprofen is even better. Mobic (meloxicam) or Celebrex might be better options.

Push comes to shove, you can try a two week course of oral steroids to get an acute joint inflammation under control. After that, it's methotrexate or anti-TNF drugs (Remicade or Humira).

Jan

thanks for the advice Jan .. much appreciated !!! i'm off it and will just go back to Motrin ... and see what happens .... and idea of time here ... should I see some reasonabvle short term change if it is the meth ??

Thanks very much

Wow, that seems tough. Health issues such as arthritis are colitis are often linked because they are both inflammatory diseases. I've discovered with myself that if I take care of one problem (colitis), the inflammation shows up in another (I now have psoriasis, brocheactasis, etc.). This seems to have happened with your arthritis. I'm not sure exactly how to do it, but getting to the root of the problem, the inflammation is what needs to be done. Personally, I've discovered that taking foods, such as sugar, out of my diet is really beneficial.

All,
I really appreciate the string of comments here. I am relatively new to J-pouch (takedown Feb 2007). UC diagnosed May 2005, and in the following year after Dx I tried everything to get into remission, to no avail. I developed a DVT (blood clot; deep vein thrombosis) in one leg, and had a lot of joint pain. After takedown I still have lots of joint pain-all over, comes and goes, andmy DVT leg does give my pain. I think as a community we need to voice these symptoms to our docs, esp GI, as some don't seem to be able to understand that the colectomy may eliminate the colitis, but the undelying nature of our autoimmune problem can in some be exhibited in various other ways, e.g. joint pain, fatigue, etc etc.

Tell your docs, and dont settle for a psychological explanation for your (our) pain....

Mark

Mark, Your docs try to tell you your pain is psychosomatic???? IBD related arthritis has been documented for many, many decades and while peripheral arthritis usually improves after colectomy, if you have sacroilitis, it generally does not improve. Sacroilitis also is accompanied by peripheral arthritis. My leg also has never been the same after my DVT.

Jan