Whew what a night. Spent from 630pm-1030pm in the ER with Danielle. She started complaining about her wrist about 1 in the afternoon. Gave her some tylenol...elevated it...put heat on it...and she eventually fell asleep. We were all snoozing when she woke me up screaming in pain about 6 in the evening. Her wrist was swollen about 3 times it size so I call Danny at work...he comes home in a record amount of time...and off to our ER we went. 2 doses of tylenol with codiene later she is finally comfortable enuf to go home. Called our family doc who knows her and her situation and he did not want to up her dose of pred because of her age etc. So sent home with enuf tylenol with codiene to make it thru the weekend until I can hopefully get her in with the rheumy Monday and if not the rheumy...our family doc.
I grew a few new gray hairs tonights. Hindsight really is 20/20 once Danny and I sat down and looked at how she has been acting the past few days. She has been spending a ton of time in her room...napping a lot...which we really just put off to the off and on cruddy weather we have been having....very snippy with everyone lately. As we mucked thru all the parental guilt and tears we have decided that this is a learning lesson for both of us. We now know what to really watch for since Danielle will not always tell us the amount of pain she is in or how she is really feeling. Part of it we think is that she feels she needs to be brave..part of it she thinks she is going to stress us if she says anything...and part of it is her fear that she is going to end up like me. We brought her home from the ER and fed her and she and I went off to bed together. She is still sleeping and moaning once in a while in her sleep. Of course now I can't sleep. So going to try and and answer a few posts and limp back to bed.
If I can't get her into the rheumy I will probably just ask him over the phone to start her mtx and have him call it in. I just can't see waiting til her next appt. in Sept. to go over changing her meds since obviously the celebrex and the pred are no longer cutting it for her. Not only will I have an RA buddy now...I will have a shot buddy since she has decided to pass on the oral mtx since she saw it bother me so badly and go straight for injections. I never thought I would have to be injecting my baby every week or even dealing with this crap until one of them was an adult.
Highlight of the evening....the very cute ER doc. After Danielle's 2nd dose of codiene he came in and checked on her and in her obvious state of euphoria she made it known to him just how cute she thought he is. Something she would never do if it had not been for that codiene lol. I wonder if she will remember that when she wakes up in the morning lol.
Yikes....wow, that's rough. I hope her RA is gotten under control soon. AsOh you just gave me some GOOD ammo, for when I talk to her again!! YAY!! I will make her smile
I am sorry she is hurting so bad. I hope the MTX does the trick for her. I mean, I did not really think the celebrex would have done anything for her. I took it when I came out of remission, and it really did not do anything for me, except make my right side hurt.
Hope you get some rest and try not to worry to much about it all. I know hard to do, but you must try. How else are you going to clean the house, if you are flaring from worrying?
Oh not to hi-jack your post... but ya remember me telling you about my daughters feet? How they slanted inward? Well, when I took her to the dr today, I asked the dr about her feet and had daughter stand up and turn around. Well, she is flat footed. She has no arches. That is why my daughter complains of her feet hurting her. Because her arches are not supported. I done thought it might have been JRA, because my left foot does the same as both of her feet, except mine is deformed from JRA attacking it when I was a kid.
Huggs to both you and Danielle!
I hope she is feeling a lot better when she wakes up and that her meds get sorted earlier.
Take care of yourself too
I am sorry to hear your daughter is suffering so badly. It is difficult when our children are in pain. I am willing to bet it is more difficult in your situation because you know exactly how she feels.
I hope she is feeling better.
Wow. It's so hard having to see your child suffer, I wish none of you had to go through it. I'm glad for Danielle that she has a mom that understands what she going through though. Well, of course I don't mean that I'm glad you have RA...you know what I mean though, I hope.
Anyway, I hope her wristgets back to normal quickly and that the MTX will do the trick.
Awwwww I wish I had been around! Poor chicky. Tell her to rest much or I'll kick her butt. Love you both!!!!awww im so sorry Danielle is in so much pain. Hopefully the dr will start her on mtx so she can get to feeling better. Give her big (gentle) hugs for me...Hope she gets to feeling better.I am so very sorry for both you and Danielle. Keep her sleeping this weekend until your call to the Doc on Monday. Be careful with the codine, the reason why no one, except the ER perscribes it is because of a high likelihood of an allergic reaction. Hives and difficulty breathing.
Take care and you need as much sleep as she does. Love ya both and take it easy.
Hugs,
Pip
AWWW Poor Danielle, thats terrible for one so young. How long has she had ra? Im sure that is upsetting for you and dh. I hope she feels better today and you all can get some much needed rest. Hugs to you bothI'm so sorry about this Liz! Poor Danielle, Poor You, Poor Danny.
You two need to stop beating yourself up and feeling guilty. This is a learning process for all of you, and you need to just kind of deal with it as it comes. You are good parents dealing with a very tough situation, and I think you are handling it remarkably well. You don't want to go to the other extreme, where you overreact and read something serious into every bad mood or sleepy day. Some of that is just going to be normal teenage stuff and will have nothing to do with RA. You can't spend your lives on the edge of your seat looking for a flare. If you get paranoid, Danielle will get paranoid too. I think you were in fact doing it the right way, my dear. And part of this whole thing will be helping Danielle learn to interpret her own symptoms.
You are a super set of parents and you have a very brave, and very tough kid!
Now go take it easy and take care of Mamma for a bit while Danielle is sleeping.
K, Very big bummer. How old is Danielle? Still kinda new here. Bless her heart. I have a Danielle too. Hope all is better this day, so far.
Hi Liz, I'll be thinking of all of you and hoping that the pain calms down. Sounds reasonable for her to start MXT now and not wait. Take care, hugs to all, Lindy
Ditto, sorry to hear about Danielle. You want to rage against the world when its your kids who are suffering. My son's pituitary doesnt speak to his thyroid and so he stopped growing (looked 8 years old when he ws 14). After lot and lots of tests (one which needs to put him 'almost' into a diabetic coma) he was put on very expensive hormone treatment which he has to inject every night. He is not in pain but you feel for your kids when they're going through the mill.
Lot of luv and understanding go a long way. I make sure I give or ask my son for cuddles ever day. I tell him a cuddle a day keeps everything at bay he's 18 in January and he believes me! Oh Sarah that is so sweet. For those of you that are new Danielle is 12 and was diagnosed in April. It's been an interesting journey since then.
We really try not to read into every little ache and pain she has. Which is prolly why we didn't realize just exactly what was going on. We don't want her all paranoid and thinking she can't live as normal life as possible. This has been a learning lesson for her too. To speak up when it is really serious and not wait til the last minute and let herself go in pain. When we got up this morning she said to me I think I will just take it easy this weekend. It is definitely hard to keep a very active 12 year old down when it is necessary.
We have dragged an air mattress out to the living room and us girls are laying around together today just watching TV and catching up on our recorded girly shows. Poor Danny lol. He puts up with so much living with 3 chicks lol.
I am watching her like a hawk for any signs of a reaction to the codeine. I haven't let the kid out of my sight since last night. I think I spent half my night awake watching her sleep lol. She has had to have 2 more seperate doses of the codeine. She is going about 5 hours or so between them. So something is up with this wrist. She is not one to take pills and I literally have to give her the maintenance meds every morning and watch her take them or she won't.
Thanks everyone for the hugs and caring thoughts. We will get thru this..we always somehow do.
Liz- the matress idea sounds great and a good way to keep an eye on how Danielles coping.My youngest Nicole takes codeine for her knees, she hasnt had any reactions to it which is great as its been a good med for her.
Keep having a relaxing weekend and take care
You are in my thoughts
I have a question for you though.....of course this is my "worrying brain" probably...but my 13 yr old daughter has a heck of a time with her knees and ankles. We did go to the Dr last year for her knee and ended up at physical therapy. It seemed to get better with the exercises they had her doing, along with some inserts for her shoes. Her legs/calves seems to be somewhat "bowed", and I'm not sure if that is the problem. But anyway...I've been noticing somewhat of a pattern that I'm becoming concerned about. We went to an amusement park...by the end of the day and the whole next day her ankles and knees were in terrible pain.....4th of July, she marched in the parade for band..and then spent all day "running around" town at all the activities--again by the end of the day and the next day, knees and ankles in terrible pain.....shopping trip, same thing. I haven't noticed swelling, etc though. Just pain it seems. I plan on asking our family Dr about it when she has her physical...but I don't want to seem like I'm "reading" into things. It just doesn't seem "normal" for a 13 yr old to have those kinds of problems. She's not overweight AT ALL...so it's not like she has extra strain on her joints from that. Oh....she went with me to the gym I just joined too...and rode the stationary bike and did the eliptical...about 1/2hour later, she was in pain. (knees..) What do you think? Should I get over my paranoid thoughts or is it something to be concerned about? ( didn't mean to hi-jack your thread here...)
Hi Amy
My son has suffered with pain & swelling knees all through his puberty. He's had physio, always been active (adult black belt at 14 his height never stopped him trying), swimmer, rock climber etc. After some xrays and tests it seems he has hypermobile ligaments (or tendons). Anyway, he's nearly finished growing (a proud 5ft 11" amazing what drugs can do
I feel for you, it is so hard to know with kids, even older ones. My daughter becmoes horribly ill before she complains, and by then it takes a long time to get her well again. Don't feel guilty, like everything else you will get the hang of it and learn to see the signs. And she will learn that she can't ignore the signs either and that it is a lot easier to deal with pain/flare right away before it gets so bad. I hope she is feeling better soon.
Laker
I loved the times my kids would camp out in the living room. We still talk and laugh about it. My son has been in because of rain, but he's been bossy about letting me up a lot. We have watch movies(not girlie ones, but Tyler Perry's Big Momma's house and Cheaper by the Dozen 2.) I need to make dinner but Liz, keep us informed. I know about sleeping with one eye open. My daughter has asthma since 16mo. and everytime she gets sick, I am on alert.
Sending much love and prayer your way.
How's Danielle feeling this evening?
I haven't been able to jump on today to catch up with any post but I wanted to check in on you ladies. Big (((HUGS))) to both of you.
Peace & Love...Neasy
Danielle, you poor baby! I haven't been on much so I had no idea what you've been going through. I bet you gave your mom and dad one heck of a scare. Did the hospital make you wait very long? I hate when that's the case, but it can't be helped. So, how are you feeling today sweetie? Better, I hope. Has the swelling gone down in your wrist at all? I love the idea of the air mattress on the living room floor - great idea. Is your wrist the only joint giving you grief? Rest up and maybe talk mom into ordering in chinese - yum!!
Take care, (and maybe milk it just a teenie bit)
Deb
I hope Danielle is feeling better. I am sure the low key weekend it doingLiz, I'm so sorry you all had to go through the ER trip. Poor little girl! I sure hope she is feeling better tonight. I would think your rheumy would make the time to see her on Monday. For her wrist to swell up that badly and so fast, it sounds like he should look at it and x-ray it asap.
Has she had a fall or bump on that wrist lately? For it to swell up that much, it almost sounds like an injury, on top of the RA. Or did they x-ray it at the hospital?
It so good that you can understand what she's going through. As time goes on you two will likely become even closer, having the same health issues. At least you will understand each other.
Hope she is feeling better. Keep us posted. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.
Gentle hugs to all,
Nini