To say if you think 40 years of age....

I don't know about UC but I've known/do know people with Rheumatoid and/or Osteo in their teens and I knew one who got it when she was just 4. Evil conditions they are.

My first wife started to get autoimmune problems in her 30s including RA so was on steroids after that to control it, we never found out what triggered it, no family history at all.

Why don't you phone the help lines LilacRain, my friend, your age has RA and is on this new drug which has taken her pain away, she is a member of RA on a group on Facebook, which put out her in touch with others and she gets support.No doubt there is one for UC. Good luck.

Autoimmune illnesses can come out of the blue at any age I’m afraid

Sadly, autoimmune diseases can occur at any age. I once knew a teenager who had UC - I am not sure how old she was at diagnosis; she was 14 when I knew her.

Our friend has both, she’s 34, it’s tough

My aunt had RA aged 28. It's just the luck of the draw what age we get things . A friend has had Osteoporosis since she was 30.

LilacRain

Is quite young to have both ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis?

I was diagnosed in my early thirties with R.A and Sjogren's, both auto immune conditions.
It would have been diagnosed earlier, but was masked for years by high doses of steroids for brittle asthma.

My eldest daughter contracted Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of 19, ended up bedridden and completely disabled. She`d have had a better life if the disease had waited till she was in her 40s.

A friend had her large bowel removed as an emergency op at the age of 11 due to UC. She’s in her 40’s now and thankfully keeps well, with no signs of RA.

I had ulcerative colitis in my late 30,s ,it’s not uncommon ,My friend lost most of his bowel and another developed cancer both by early 40,s as a result of the colitis

My DH has had ulcerative colitis from his early thirties, but not RA. Am sorry you suffer from both, it must be debilitating.
🌺🙏🏾

My mum developed it in her mid 30s, she died at 69 in a care home without being able to move a muscle,had to have water given to her via a syringe squirted into her mouth..
That was about 25 years ago, so obviously treatment would have come on substantially from then..

the two diseases are connected! I googled it

Yes, ulcerative colitis (UC) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are connected,

rheumatoid arthritis age range 30-50.

My sister was only 30 when she developed RA

I have known people in their teens and 20s with those two illnesses. Neither is any respecter of age, or sex.

I have certainly known people in their teens and twenties with debilating chronic illnesses. There are several charities that help people with RA. They offer help and guidance and often have phone numbers you ring to talk to people who really understand your problems.

'Versus Arthritis' have a Help Line you can ring and is a very useful site. It would be worth really searching this site. You can find it at versusarthritis.org/

The Arthritis Foundation runs, what it calls 'connect' groups to bring groups of people together who have this illness to talk and exchange informaation. These can be found at connectgroups.arthritis.org/

My Dad got ulcerated colitis in his early thirties. Rheumatoid arthritis is not uncommon in younger people.