The doctors all think I'm some crazy mental guy who seems healthy (therefore I'm not sick right? (sarcasm)). My mom doesn't even know what the heck is going on, she doesn't even know what arthritis is despite the fact that I told her that I probably had it when it all started. No one seems to realize what I'm going through right now because I'm a really competitive student ranked number one at a high school. I have very ambitious dreams of getting into a good college. I'm very sad that I have arthritis and I'm just seeing it spread as I study. I feel like I'm being overwhelmed with school work and now this. I'm sad....
Does anyone know what type of arthritis I might have? My joints have not been extremely swollen but have had redness and heat. They also had physical characteristics like grinding, popping, and other noises that were once abnormal. There were times when I couldn't walk without the sides of my hips hurting like someone just stabbed me there (only when I put force on my feet). My grades are dropping due to all of this. I don't know what to do... Should I tell my teachers about this? I feel like they will just put it off like it's nothing and not that severe. The attacks are rather intermittent and I definitely have had remissions in between and gotten better from before... Help please....Hey Omega -
You need a rheumatologist ASAP. Like yesterday. Can you parents take you over to the PCP and get a referral? Have him/her run preliminary blood tests.
Nobody understand arthritis and with your age, I'm betting there is a lot of 'he's going thru a stage'. You have to be calm and determined to get them to help you.
Don't freak - your life isn't over and there's a ton of stuff on the Internet that'll freak the heck out of you. It did me.
There are JRA peeps here - hopefully some of them will chime in.
Hugs,
Ask questions,
Pip
I'm with Pip that you need to push to see a Rheumatologist. You're 16 so you don't NEED your parents support to push your GP, although I'm sure that would help in more ways than one. I'm concerned because some of the symptoms you describe are not typical of arthritis.
You're not alone in getting doctors to take you seriously. It's a story heard over and over again with this disease. You must persist. Keep a written record of symptoms and take pictures of visible symptoms and show them to the doctor.
This is a scary time for you but also probably the worst. I think for most people the pre-diagnosis/first year time is the worst and scariest.
Remember you can come here any time you need support and you will find people who understand.I agree. Get a thorough going over by a rheumatologist. This might very well impact on your school and plans, but I wouldn't worry about this right now. You need some decent doctoring.
Hang in there, I had one of my early school years sitting at home in a cast. Builds character.
Oh yeah, I also have finger deformities, specifically hyperextension of my PIP joints of the middle fingers of my hands. The hyperextension of my left hand is over 40 degrees and the one on my right hand is just starting, but I have noticed a difference from 1-2 months ago.
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Oh yeah, I also have finger deformities, specifically hyperextension of my PIP joints of the middle fingers of my hands. The hyperextension of my left hand is over 40 degrees and the one on my right hand is just starting, but I have noticed a difference from 1-2 months ago.
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You certainly have picked up the terminology quickly since Jan. - you must be a great student! Are you doing a self exam to judge the forty degrees?
I think you should talk with your mom more about your pain and how it is affecting your school work and quality of life. Moms hear a lot of stuff from their children - she may be tuning out 'arthritis' when you say you think have that, but she should listen when you say you know something is not right and you can't function like this.
Yeah, unfortunately, my mom is just a mere high school grad who thinks that "it's all in my head." She keeps saying, "why don't the lab tests say anything then?" All my lab tests that I've done so far are "normal." I'm so angry and sad at the same time because my family is really not even a family at all. My dad is so consumed with his work that he only comes home once a week and I barely talk/see him. My mom works everyday and I just hate her attitude now because she always critizes people and all she does is read newspapers and watch TV when she could be doing this to help me. Everytime I bring up my symptoms she gets annoyed and looks at me like I'm just trying to make stuff up. I don't think she thinks I'm telling the truth. Why the hell would I do this when I never cared about my health before (I never really did) and I'd rather focus on school and my life? The doctors I've seen so far say, "you look just fine and your labs are normal," so they probably think it's all in my head too. They haven't tested me for all the posibilities and they are just giving up with like 5-6 lab tests. That's why I'm so sad, angry, confused, and everything right now. -____-
Should I try to shy away from my mom if she makes me feel this way? I just want to leave my family but I don't know how I'm going to survive myself if something else happens you know? My mom doesn't even act if I don't force her to. She used to feed us junk food all the time and I'm angry about it. I feel like it is her fault. She also left me for about a year or so because she was angry at my dad. No one took care of me during that period. I had to do everything myself. Someone tell me how I can get over these feelings please...
I have Rheumatoid factor but no ANA and my ESR is in the normal range. I'm a little anemic. With all of the physical manifestations, I highly doubt that it is "all in my head" and I'm still trying to believe in myself. I have been seeing doctors and I am now seeing a rheumatologist. I definitely am not an exaggerator. The Rheumy told me to come back in 3 months after some blood tests and a physical/family history exam. The next appt. is next week.
Actually I think it is more 30 degrees and yeah I'm using a protractor. I think the arthritis actually started last year... When I was writing extensively, my thumb joint would hurt severely and it would become red and warm to the touch. I could barely write without hurting and I didn't know why. At that time, my head was far away from me having arthritis. One day when I got up and turned my direction, it felt like my bones twisted completely at the knee and it hurt REALLY bad. I thought it was weird at first so I tried walking and turning again and the same exact thing happened. I could barely walk for 30min-2 hours after that. It hurt that much. What might have caused these?
Then this year, after eating at a restaurant, a lot of people from my family got sick, including me. I had a flu-like symptoms and then about a few days-1 week after that incident, the arthritic symptoms spread from my hands to everywhere in my body (except my jaw and neck).
Omega2008-04-20 14:28:55Make sure you discuss Reactive Arthritis with your doctor, given the urinary symptoms and manifestation just after a stomach virus. Do you have a counselor at school that you could talk to? It's so nice to talk with someone neutral to just get things off your chest...
_popupControl();Hi dude, I was just another 'crazy mental woman' according to my doctors, for quite some time before I got diagnosed. The key is to be persistent. I was not pretending to get sick, nor was I faking anything to get out of work, I in no way chose to be in so much pain, and I know how insulting it is when the doc looks at you like you are. You know you are sick.
Your Rheum should aim for a diagnosis within the first few sessions, so definately ask him/her what they think next week.
As for the issues with your mum, I don't think leaving home would be a good idea, its really a last resort option which has major potential to backfire on you at such a young age. If you can't talk to a school counselor, I would suggest seeing a therapist, just to get informed feedback about how cope with your anger.
Definitely do not leave home - if your dad took care of you when your mom left before, maybe he is the one to help now. Teenage years are complicated for even the healthiest kids, so do not burn any family bridges at this age.
I'm glad you have an appt. with a rheum. I'm sorry you are having such a hard time right now, but three months is not unreasonable to wait in "rheumatology years". I think they want to be to be sure the benefits of the meds outweigh the risks before they rx them.
I am so glad you have an appointment next week. Its really important to get diagnosed and treatment to prevent damage. Sometimes if we start mentioning diagnosis's they think we are mental so I recommend writing down all the symptoms and then cross out the ones that aren't too important or obvious to the doctor during the exam. You want to be concise and to the point. When I wake up my joints are still and hurt. This lasts.......hours. etc.
Regarding your parents. Sigh. Sorry. Sometimes people think if they pretend something isn't happening that it will "go away". So they ignore issues they shouldn't ignore. It might not even be personal, directed at you but just a way to cope when there are too many stress factors going on. Sorry. We are all just people with all kinds of faults. Though you sound like a really smart fellow with his head on straight. I wish I could shake your hand and say "good for you", Because you are taking care of business. You will need your mother and father for insurance to cover the expenses. When I was your age, I hated my parents and left as soon as I graduated from high school it made it much harder to get through college-so don't be dumb like me. My parents improved and now I don't hate them.
One final thought that I hestitate to mention because if you say Maybe its this, maybe its that--they'll dismiss you. But. Does your back hurt? Your back and your hips? Because Anyklosing Spondylitis is much more common in teenage boys than RA. If that is the case, I recommend you sit down and think which hurt first and try to sort them in some order. All bloodwork can be normal in AS.
All the best, to you, you have many people routing for you.Omega, how did your doctor appointment go?
Hope the doctor took you seriously and either your mother wasn't at the appointment or she was and totally with you.
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