painfull joints

[orangedog]

recently had a problem with liver blood result in the 200 . weeks on i have devlepod painfull finger joints in both hand. not able to do the most basic task without pain . awiting test reults fo r ruhmatology . i have fibromalgia but is there a conection to liver, joins.

reading on this form has made me think. hepatitius was mentiond. weks agao  but managed to get blood reults down dont no how but managed

any advice would be welcome this has hit me hard and ned to get sorted as soon as i can as it changed my life . takes longer to do anything that iused to take for granted before.

[epiphiny]

Is it confirmed that you have Hepatitis C?  If you suspect you have it, it would pay to get tested and then you can move forward from there...  You will need to decide whether you want to treat it, or whether you want to adopt the wait and see approach.

Also, if you do test positive and have an active viral load you would be best served finding a Hepatologist rather than a GP or Gastro doc.

All the best

Epi :)

[epiphiny]

Many patients with chronic HCV suffer from aches and pains in their joints. In my experience a large number of different joints can be involved but the commonest joints that ache are those in the hands and wrists. The pains are often minor but, occasionally, the pain can be quite severe and some patients find that they need strong painkillers to improve their symptoms.

It is important to remember that chronic hepatitis C is common and that many patients with chronic hepatitis C will also develop other, non-hepatitis, related symptoms. It is therefore very dangerous to assume that all of your aches and pains are related to your hepatitis – for example thyroid disease, which can cause fatigue, is common in patients with chronic HCV and patients with hepatitis C are not protected from other causes of abdominal pain, like everyone else they can develop stomach ulcers and gall stones.

Hence your symptoms need to be properly investigated to ensure that HCV is responsible for your aches and pains and it is potentially very dangerous to assume that everything is hepatitis C related. You should discuss your symptoms with your doctor who should be able to arrange appropriate investigations to exclude other common disorders.

www.hepctrust.org.uk/hepatitis-c/Symptoms+of+chronic+infection+with+hepatitis+C.htm

[epiphiny]

It is possible that HCV can exacerbate preexisting or potential Rheumatoid Arthritis.

RHEUMATOLOGIC and AUTOIMMUNE MANIFESTATIONS

Myalgia (muscle pains), fatigue and arthralgias (joint pains) are common manifestations of HCV infection. HCV-related arthritis commonly presents as symmetrical inflammatory arthritis involving small joints. The joints involved in HCV-related arthritis are similar to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This sometimes makes it difficult to differentiate true RA from HCV patients with positive rheumatoid factor but without RA. HCV-related arthritis is usually non-deforming and there are no bony erosions in the joints. A marker called anti-keratin antibodies has been studied to differentiate true RA from HCV related arthritis. In a recent study, 71 patients who were rheumatoid factor positive were tested for anti-keratin antibodies. Anti-keratin antibodies were detected in 20/33 (60.6%) patients with true RA and only 2/25 (8%) patients with HCV-related arthritis (10). Patients with HCV-related arthritis seldom respond to anti-inflammatory medications, and although there are no controlled trials to address this issue, it has been recommended to treat these patients with combination antiviral therapy of interferon and ribavirin (11).

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hcsp/articles/Bonkovsky-2.html

[orangedog]

thank you for reply. i am not eldery at all thats why the concern for me . i am jsut middle age. thank ay way for advice.

[lalapple]

that's a new one, i personally, haven't really heard of big correlations between joints and hep.  if you are an elder, this might just be a case of arthritis.  i would wait to see your other results too.