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Sacroiliac joint pain

Hello, I have been dealing with RA for almost ten years, beginning with a shoulder. Since then, although I am fairly comfortable on Enbrel and methotrexate with Tylenol Arthritis ( which I find useless and if my pain is bad enough I take Ibuprofen)..I find I’m going from pillar to post to get help for my crumbling body. I have two replaced shoulders, two knees, a hip and am waiting for another hip, and a laminectomy. All of these surgeries have helped with the chronic pain and debilitation, but try as I might, I have difficulty walking. I suspect that my sacroiliac joints are being impacted by the disease. The inability to walk without a rollator is driving me crazy.Has anyone else had this problem? It is very hard to find a surgeon in this instance, and when steroid injections wear off, I’ve had to resort to low dose hydromorphone. Help! What works? What doesn’t? It is very hard to exercise and my physiotherapist recommends trying to walk as much as possible. Sometimes this is too painful. What to do to minimize whining about something that no one understands? I’m exhausted! 77, and my head feels 20 years younger despite my body feeling 20 years older!

  1. Hi . So sorry you are having this lower back pain and mobility issues. Sacroiliitis, while not common, can occur with RA. In fact, when it does occur it is often diagnosed as comorbid ankylosing spondylitis. Of course, only a doctor can provide the proper diagnostics and, for your protection we cannot give medical advice. I can tell you that the fact that you do receive some temporary relief from the steroid injections may make you a candidate for radiofrequency ablation (see: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17736-sacroiliitis). Hopefully others, potentially with some direct experience, will chime in with their thoughts. Hoping you get some relief soon and please feel free, if you like, to keep us posted on how you are doing. Best, Richard (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team)

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