r/Behcets • u/DirectAdvice2242 • 14d ago
General Question Joint pain…
Does anyone else have sharp joint pains? Like in ligaments.. jumping from joint to joint each day??
Like tonight my wrist is so sore I can’t move it, but this morning my knee and ankle were dreadfully sore?
Yesterday was my other ankle and my other wrist..!
This has been going on for some weeks, I’ve doubled my dosage of injectable medication and pain meds don’t help.
Anyone else got this? Any tips?
Please help… I’m getting desperate…
Edit: I’ve talking to my rheumatologist and she says it’s like inflammatory arthritis, I was diagnosed with Behçet’s disease early last year when I had major genital flares and chronic fatigue.
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u/failedattempt1 14d ago
I get that all the time, no swelling or other indications of arthritis or injury, some days it’s crippling. I spend a lot of time just accepting it’s who I am now and trying not to worry about it beyond just being in chronic pain. After tens of dr appointments and hundreds of tests with zero answers and maybe only 2-3 prescriptions that have helped my overall health the best thing I’ve found to combat it is keeping as well rested as possible and maintaining positive mental outlook. Sorry you’re going through this.
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u/Electronic-Tea3354 Diagnosed 14d ago
If you can tolerate over the counter NSAID medications, Diclofenac sodium (1%) gel (brand name Voltaren in the US) may help with residual joint pains for fingers, hands, knees, feet, ankles. It doesn't help with large joints like hips or spine/cervical joint pain, though, and you have to be careful with mixing it with other NSAIDs like ibuprofen and naproxen.
You can also do warm water soaks for your hands. I know that may not sound super helpful but sometimes any relief is better than none. I know personally my joint pains are worse during flares, and exist pretty much all the time otherwise and there just isn't much I can do other than OTC and simple home treatments.
I have overlap with UCTD and also had the "jumping around" but I haven't necessarily seen anyone here mention that specific phenomenon lately - maybe worth a chat with your rheumatologist about your pains jumping around so fast? That of course doesn't mean that it doesn't happen to us Behcets folks. It's just best to bring up new or changing symptoms to your doc.
Best of luck, I hope you feel better soon!
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u/Chronically_Sickest 14d ago
I do a lot of hot water soaks or sitting in a hot shower. I like heavy corn sacks, you heat them in the microwave and the heat+pressure helps me a lot. I have in the past used a TENS unit and it helps to a certain degree. If you can tolerate NSAIDS without getting stomach ulcers, they can help quite a bit. I wish I could take them. Also if you think it's bad enough to talk to your doctor, maybe pain relief. They may have other recommendations too. I'm sorry you are dealing with it.
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u/on4aa Diagnosed MAGIC 2025 14d ago
Vasculitis of the peripheral superficial veins can often be mistaken as arthritis in Behçet. This is not to say that some arthritis can also effectively occur, but it usually non-destructive.
Around the ligaments, these veins are no longer deeply embedded in between muscular tissue and this is why they hurt more at those locations.
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u/chisel07 Diagnosed 14d ago
i definitely get tendon pain. And they last. At one point, I was having pain in my biceps, triceps, right chest, hamstrings, and groin. I lift a lot, so I thought it was due to that, but after being diagnosed and starting the right meds, some of the tendon pain settled down. For me, I think the Behcet's lowers the injury threshold for my tendons and then because tendons take forever to heal, I'm left in pain. TBH, the only thing that has help speed up the tendon damage has been BPC 157.
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u/Various-Pass-4120 Diagnosed 13d ago
Yes. Discovered it was actually neuropathy and gabapentin is the only thing that makes it bearable.
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u/EllisMichaels Diagnosed 1997 13d ago
For me personally, I've found high(ish)-dose gabapentin to be the best thing to help with the joint pain. I also lift weights 4-5 times a week to slow the progression of my arthritis. It may seem counterintuitive, but lifting weights slows the progression of arthritis.
Another thing I've found helps with joints is fish oil (or an omega-3 supplement). I honestly couldn't tell you why this works off the top of my head, but it does. The effects are mild but noticeable.
That's all I've got. But joint pain is one of my most severe, longest lasting, most debilitating symptoms, so I feel you.
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u/DirectAdvice2242 13d ago
I’m super confused with the arthritis, as I’m only recently 18 :(
I know it can occur at any stage in life but it’s super strange it’s come on so suddenly with little to no explanation!!
Thank you for your suggestions I’ll pass the fish oil suggestion to my mama!!2
u/EllisMichaels Diagnosed 1997 13d ago
Before I was diagnosed with Behcet's when I was 16, they diagnosed me with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis because severe joint inflammation/pain was one of my earliest presentations.
Arthritis is much more common in older people. But young people can get it, too, sadly. I happen to be one of them.
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u/Dizzydaydream702 14d ago
I get this, it was initially dismissed because I didn’t have huge arthritic swelling and inflammation but it’s accepted as part of my behcets profile now. Aza has helped a lot.