Guest guest Posted January 2, 2002 Report Share Posted January 2, 2002 Back pain in people with PSC can be one of many different things. Sometimes it's related to the PSC, most times it's probably not related. The related diseases can be different forms of arthritis, pain related to bile duct blockage or infections, or pancreatitis. The first would be figured out by your doctors, and usually there are other joint pains at the same time. However, back pain can be the first sign of a spondyloarthropathy, the type of arthritis related to PSC and to gut diseases like UC/Crohn's. These can be treated with drugs such as methotrexate, imuran or NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as Motrin, Naprosyn, Celebrex, etc. Care must be taken because sometimes these drugs can affect the liver (this information is usually in bold on leaflets that are givent to patients when the drug is dispensed). Other causes of back pain include kidney infections, stones, mechanical back pain (stress of the back due to lifting or overuse), vertebral fractures (pretty rare). None of these is really related to PSC, specifically. There are other more rare causes of back pain. In cases where someone with PSC has a combination of back pain, or gut pain and chills, shaking, and fever, medical care should be sought immediately. These are signs of significant infections. Sometimes it's just a bad cold or flu, but with the underlying PSC, infections of the liver and pancreatitis need to be ruled out. That being said, common things are common. In other words, even in folks with PSC, colds and flus are still the more likely diagnosis when someone is feeling sick, especially when they are exposed to those carrying these illness. The important things to remember though are in the previous paragraph. Aubrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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