Do any of you actually remember feeling GOOD? Not even as a kid, and I'm not so old that I dont remember being young. I DO. and I hurt then too. I couldn't do things like other kids did. I was always called LAZY because I couldn't ride my bike for a long time or play softball for very long. I could never run in gym class..etc. I remember my ankles always hurt - and my legs. I remember my back and neck hurting so bad all the time and my mom took me to the chiro 3 times a week the whole school year. .. and it never helped. I am thoroughly convinced that I had RA my whole life and never knew it. I was always told I was "borderline anemic"... and would take iron and it never helped. I was always hurting somewhere. The point............. Now - my daughter (age 11) is complaining of things. Little things. But they are familiar to me. I remember saying the same things to my parents. I dont know what to do. I wont take her to my doctor. Im not even sure that I like him yet. Here's where I'm going with this............ I didn't get really really really bad until I was 25 ... so maybe they did me a favor? I dont know. I dont know if they knew.. I dont know if I should do that with my daughter... wait ... What will they do for a kid? Will they put her on all this crap that I'm on? I dont know if I want her taking all this medication .......... she's so young... and the meds are so invasive, and harsh. Her quality of life is not bad... but if she's anything like me - she's not like other kids, and it bothered ME. I dont want her feeling like I did, and I dont want to "ignore" it. But - at the same time, I dont want her to have to start taking prednisone at such an early age. I want her to have a chance at life too... Maybe she CAN feel good if the doctors help her. Maybe the doctors will just make her worse. does this make sense??? OK - i'm rambling - ---- What would you do if this were your kid? woobie
Woobie.... I'm no expert.. but I would take her to her pediatrician tell him/her what you wrote. With your family history she may have a problem. I don't think it is something to push under the rug. At least they could do some tests. If she does have an autoimmune condition it might be best to get help now. Maybe it's not that ,but as a parent you have to check it out or you will be questioning yourself all your life. If it is RA..etc.. you can then make the choice of treatment but until you find out you will be torturing yourself. Hope I've helped... Good luck and keep me posted..
The other thing I thought of was...and please don't take this the wrong way..it's just that sometimes this happens...but could she be saying things that she maybe hears you saying? Since you didn't say what she complains about, I was thinking if she was saying she was tired or not wanting to walk etc could it be from what she observes? Just saying that it's a possibility. That's why it would be best to have a doctor see her. Kelly I agree with the posts too. I do have a daughter and she doesnt have RA but IF she did show signs I would definately take her to a dr. I like to "know" things so I can move on and deal with them. Also i have felt "GOOD ,really good" for over a year now and that IS because of my meds. I was off ALL meds last winter and let me tell you there is a beast inside me just waiting for me to give him a chance to come back out again but he's just gonna have to wait until my Enbrel stops working before he comes out again! My advice is find out what you're dealing with, if anything, then go from there. Debbie You need to have your daughter checked as if she has something the earlier it is treated the less damage it may do her. A few years back I took a few Panadeine Forte combined with Celebrex and as the Codeine kicked in I felt so good I suddenly realised how I had become used to living in pain because of its gradual onset that I had forgotten what life used to be like pain free. In that brief period that I took just the right combination of medicines I was pain free and re-experienced how it used to be in my youth living without pain and how nice this was. It is a pity that you have never known what it is to be pain free (I could not imagine what that would be like) and I hope your daughter does not have what you have as I'm sure it would be heart breaking for you. Edward Please have her checked asap. You don't want her to have damage and feel pain. I understand your reluctance, but with your history, you don't want your daughter to write someday "I don' know what it's like to be pain free" God bless both of you
mary I agree with the others too, I think you should take your kiddo in and also speak with the doctor privately. Kids do go through some growing pains, but you need to know for sure so that you can make informed choices about her care. Maybe Motrin or Tylenol would be enough for her, you don't have to give her a bunch of meds if you don't feel that she is in enough discomfort. I mean any good doctor is going to weigh the benefit vs. risk for any patient, especially a child. I wish you the best of luck, I know you must feel frightened but you owe it to her make a decision based on facts and not assumptions. Good luck!
Like - NORMAL? When nothing hurt - when you weren't tired, GOOD? Anyone??
I dont remember. What does it feel like?
I would stay home most days on the weekends to avoid hurting.
I remember doing EVERYthing I possibly could to avoid walking home or TO school. I would stay after school and ask a teacher for a ride, or another parent.. I would play sick so my mom would have to come get me early - just so I wouldn't have to walk home. ..
because my ankles and legs hurt so bad.
I would get up 2 hours early for school so that my mom could give me a ride to school, and i would sit and wait for 2 hours for school to start - and I was HAPPY to do that if it got me out of walking. I would use that two hours to figure out how I was going to get out of walking home.
THis thought depresses me.
I don't EVER remember feeling OK. Ever.
My mom has lupus. My dad has RA. Maybe they KNEW that I had it - and just let it go because it wasn't BAD BAD. Maybe they knew that if I went to a doctor about it - they would put me on all this heavy medication, and I would be worse, sooner.
But - considering they both had RA and lupus, and they never argued with me when i didn't want to walk to school or walk home, or go out and play - ...If I told them I was tired, they never argued with me. They let me rest. If I told them my hand hurt, they would help me. It's almost like (in retrospect) they understood, and didn't want to push me and make me feel bad.
I dont know if they knew, or just figured since they both had issues ... or maybe they were just more compassionate because they were in pain too... but the more I think about it - the more I think that maybe they knew, or atleast suspected. I let my pain be known to them.. i didnt hide it.
Or take her in - and hope they dont make it worse, or traumatize the poor kid.
I dont want her to be 33 years old like me, and say "I don't EVER remember feeling GOOD. Ever."
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