Wheezing and Joint Pain

[anonymous]

I am a 19 year old college student. I was diagnosed at 18 mostly due to major constipation issues and being unable to gain weight. I am in pretty good health right now, haven't been on antibiotics since the end of August, and mostly have sinus and digestive issues. I have yet to have any major lung infections, though my last sinus infection nearly developed into one. Morning are worse for my cough which my doc told me if faily commen. However, I've recently started wheezing inbetween coughs and my chest feels pretty congested. Almost at times like I'm breathing through a large straw - a very annoying feeling to have during 3 hour lectures! Could it just be from the change in weather (I"m in the Boston area and its cold!) or the first signs of an infection?

Also, does anyone out there have arthritis or joint pain issues? I'm seeing a rheumatologist in December, but wanted to know if this was something related to CF or not.

Thanks!

"Two roads diverged in a wood and I
I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference."
-Robert Frost

 

[JazzysMom]

The one thing with CF is you never know for sure about infectoins until its either advanced or you had a sputum test. Since you are fairly new in diagnosis it could be allergies or just a reaction to the weather change, but since your lungs have had minimum issues so far you should be checked out to be sure. If it is an infection (which can spring up anytime no matter how healthy you have been) then you want to catch it early to avoid damage. As far as the joint/arthritis problem......yes it can be CF related. I believe each doctor has their own reasoning for it of which they all make sense, low oxygen intake, infection, low calcium, vitamin A/D, reactions to meds etc. I personally am experience a horrific time with my fingers. I will be going to a doctor soon for it. I have been putting it off hoping it would get better, but....If you have any other ??? please ask, but I would defintiely get in touch with your doctor until you can recognize problems on your own which will come with time.

 

[anonymous]

My daughter gets horrific joint pain (mainly knees) prior to a pulmonary exacerbation. Her infection tends to settle into her joints first & when this happens they get antibiotics started to help with her lungs - this has always been like her aura of things to come.

 

[WinAce]

It's been a long time since I've been able to tell the not-infections from the actual ones. From my anecdotal recollection, it would manifest as a combination of factors--increased sputum, fever, weakness, loss of appetite/weight, shortness of breath, more time spent sleeping, less effective sleeping (i.e., you still feel drowsy), depression, weird tastes or smells or sensations while breathing, even.

If you're confident that life is getting worse by objective factors like the above--the ones you do have are more persistent, or additional ones rear their ugly head--it's probably "Club Med" time. They don't have to be all present at once to have an infection, obviously, and I'd say more than 1-2 puts you in the danger zone unless indepedendently accounted for (i.e., bad sleep from jet lag, or staying up 48 hours in a row).

 

[WinAce]

Speaking of which, I forgot:

Last year, I got some rather annoying inflamed joints on my hands and feet just prior to three different hospitalizations. The symptoms seemed to appear way before I knew anything else was wrong. At one point, a diagnosis of CF-related arthritis was suggested, but then they concluded I was allergic to an antibiotic I'd been taking prophylactically, instead.

The problem hasn't recurred, lending support to that view. However, while I haven't been on that specific antibiotic itself, I've been on related ones (Ceftin, Ceftazidime) with no ill effects. So "the jury's still out," unless CF arthritis is something that doesn't just mysteriously go away (in which case we know it had to have another cause).

I believe I read somewhere, though, that it can go away and stay hidden for months or even years, so it can be a tricky, puzzling beast to tag.

 

[luke]

you may be one of the lucky ones that have asthma and CF, it is like winning the lottery really. It may be your CF though, sometimes we get sick so slowly that we don't realize it. I suggest you f/u and get a PFT done.

But to answer your specific question, change in weather can cause wheezing for people that have hyperactive airway disease.


Luke

 

[lovemygirl]

My daughter gets knee pain quite regularly but there has never been any connection to an infection. She has not had a cold for many months (touch wood) and is beating the pseudamonas, but still gets joint pain. It is possible that many CFers make the connection to an infection but that does not seem to be the case in our house. We were also told that CF related arthritis starts in the teens, but our daughter has had it since about 3 yrs old.

 

[anonymous]

I didnt have any joint pain growing up that I remember, but I do notice an increase in back pain and neck pain, especially if I sleep on my stomach at night. It's pretty bad the next morning.

 

[Dea]

I was diagnosed with CF related arthritis when I was 9...I am now 32. It is so painful on some days that I cant move at all. I took ibuprofen, then celebrex for 3 years. I have seen a rheumatologist and none of the meds he has tried have worked. Right now, I rely on prednisone to get me through a flare-up. I dont like it, but nothing else works. My brother also has problems with it. It is very likely, that you have it as well. Good luck at the rheumatologist.
Dea

 

[anonymous]

Thank you to everyone who responded. For right now I'll keep an eye on the wheezing and might have student health services have a listen. I can't get to my clinic until December anyway, though if need be I'll go to a Boston area one. Thanks again.
Jamie

 

[Cowboy]

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[JennifersHope]

After spening the last 12 hours in bed but unable to sleep because I had such severe bone pain... I am pissed and really looking for some answers....I know I am not getting sick, I just finished IVS less than a week ago, and I am not coughing or anything...but oh my gosh... From the top of my head down... every joint hurts....I couldn't lay on my side cause my shoulders and hips hurt, couldn't lay on my back because my spine hurt, couldn't lay on my stomach cause my neck hurt... etc... UGGGGGGGGGGG...

Does anyone take meds for their pain???, I don't want to take narcotics, but I am wondering if anyone takes the new arthritis meds?????????

Thanks,

Jennifer

 

[LilTricky1886]

I always have horrible joint pain in my ankles, I never relaited it to being sick or having infections, because they seem to be brought on by cold, cold water, walking on cold floors, cold weather. My dr's could never figure this out, they think it might be because most people with CF have mild osteoperosis and that is what's causing the pain, but thats not really an answer. Do a bone scan and see what results you get from that.