Expert: Eric Brandt - 4/6/2009

Question
I am a 55 year old female.  Was diagnosed with colitis 10 years ago.  Was taking Salofalk and prednisone off and on during those 10 years.  Had to be on prednisone 40 mg for 2 -3 months before my operation.  Had an ileostomy in August 2007.  Four days after taking my last prednisone I started to have joint pain and feeling very tired all the time. I've started hormone therapy with Progesterone cream 6% & Estradot 37.5 UG two months ago.  It doesn't seem to help with my fatigue.  Last week I started taking Thyroid 30 mg and the fatigue does not go away.  I've also been taking Zopiclone 7.5 mg for about 5 years & Elavil 25 mg for the pain for about 3 months.  The fatigue seems to get worse theese pas weeks.  Could it be the long term use of Zopiclone that causes that severe fatigue and joint and muscle pain?

Answer
Hi Monique,
Ulcerative coltis has some features that are not gastric. The joint pains may be related. Pain itself can cause fatigue. You should also check to see if your are anemic as anemai can cause fatigue.
Thank you for using Allexperts
Sincerely,
Eric Brandt, B.Sc. Pharm