I'm New - Reactive Arthritis - 23 year old (Long)

danm2010

Hello I'm Daniel,

Last year (June 2009) I contracted a STD which triggered arthritic symptoms in most of my joints but after seeing countless doctors and reading as much information online as i could i was happy in the fact that reactive arthritis is probably the "best out the bunch" so after 1 month off work i pushed myself to go lead a normal life knowing it will be only short term (6 months - 1 year or so).

Then back in May of this year I woke up unable to move from my bed and it seemed most of my pain was from my hips but it was stopping me from getting up and moving my legs. I called a ambulance out and since I've been dealing with it since last year i just got some instant pain relief and i started to move again so i thought it was only a temporary flare up and didn't bother going to the hospital. Four days later i was in the same position again this time I went to hospital who didn't do anything and i had to wait 2 weeks to see my rheumatologist in agony.

Now i seen my rheumatologist she admitted me into hospital and did some tests/scans and came and told me that in some cases of reactive arthritis some people have it permanently and in this case i was one of them.

Since then i have been told i'll be going on methetraxate but i'm unable to since my liver function is abnormal from the drugs they gave me so currently i'm taking steroids and pain killers.

I'm still struggling to walk and getting looks from everyone i pass which i can handle but I'm just feel very lonely because everyone with arthritis I've met seem to be old and i have no one my age to relate to so that is why I'm here.

Also this tuesday i will be getting steroids injected into my hips i was wondering what to expect afterward?, is it a instant pain relief?, what are the methetraxate tablets like to take? and i'm a bit confused does this mean i'll have to take methetraxate for the rest of my days now? what kind of timeline i'm i looking at so i can handle returning to work? i've been off for 2 months now and i'm worried about my job.

Thanks for letting me get some things off my chest and any answers you give me, sorry for any spelling mistakes i'm really tired at the moment.

Daniel. [/u]

speedalong

Hi Dan,

Welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you have been dealt a lot to deal with.

I have OA and have had it since my mid twenties .... (I'm now in my early 40's.) A lot of people think of arthritis as an old person's disease - but if you start reading posts on the forum (more people visit the living with arthritis forum) then you will quickly realise that you are not alone and that there is a wealth of knowledge, experience and support on here. The advantage of the forum is everyone has some form of arthritis and so you can rant on about it and no one minds. Because the pain caused by arthritis is invisible to onlookers it is hard for those without it too fully understand what it is like.

There are recently be quite a few posts on steriod jabs ... they appear to work for some folks brilliantly and for others not at all ... Some notice a very quick improvement, others find it takes a few days.

There are lots of folks on here who take mtx, take a peek on the living forum and start a thread on there ... and let the real experts (those who take it too) answer for you.

There are some useful publications too see tab at the top "publications and resources" which will be helpful to you.

At least you have a rheumy who sounds like they are doing their best for you.

Keep reading and posting,

Speedy

loopylou

Hello Dan

so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. just wanted to say the speedalong is right, arthritis is usually associated with OAP but it can affect anyone, i myself am a meer 27 yrs old, there are plenty of parents of children with arthritis on here (feel so sorry for the young ones, i've been diagnosed since last oct and it really gets me down sometimes as i feel like an 80 yr old some days, can't even begin to imagine what the poor little'ens feel like as they will have restrictions as to what they can do and its difficult to stop a child doing things)
anyway welcome to the forums and remember your not alone we all know how you feel!

lou
-x-

danm2010

Thanks for the advice! and welcoming me to the forum thanks for supporting me speedy and lou, and if you need someone to talk to i'll be there to listen just send me a message. I'll let you know how i get on this week and tell you my experiences tomorrow with the injections. I'm off to another session of physio today

speedalong

Hope physio session is a good one.

Speedy

loopylou

no problem, dan

hope physio goes well, i went on fri for my shoulder (fourth time i'd been) managed to avoid the physio mentioning injection again (thank god) she said she'd contact doctor and that if i'm still having problems with it then go back to docs, now really hoping it gets completely better as reaaaalllllllyy don't want an injection!

lou
-x-

danm2010

well physio didn't go too well, my physiotherapist said he doesn't know how to help me any more every time he pushes the joints and gives me exercises my joint gets worse or doesn't improve so we agreed that i'm waiting on the steroid injections to see what happens.

Methotrexate is still on hold until my liver function tests are normal! how long does it take for my liver function to go back to normal been waiting 3 weeks now i mean i don't drink and it was the sulfasalazine that disrupted my liver function in the first place and i stopped them about a month ago. god i'm so annoyed at my own body at the moment - why can't it just repair itself or something!! :x

anniesmum

danm2010 wrote:

well physio didn't go too well, my physiotherapist said he doesn't know how to help me any more every time he pushes the joints and gives me exercises my joint gets worse or doesn't improve so we agreed that i'm waiting on the steroid injections to see what happens.

Methotrexate is still on hold until my liver function tests are normal! how long does it take for my liver function to go back to normal been waiting 3 weeks now i mean i don't drink and it was the sulfasalazine that disrupted my liver function in the first place and i stopped them about a month ago. god i'm so annoyed at my own body at the moment - why can't it just repair itself or something!! :x

Hi Dan - poor you, you are having a really tough time. I am sorry. My daughter was diagnosed in January age 5 and I can empathise with your frustration - not only with your young body but with the illness and medication. it all takes so long and you just want to get on with life - hang in there as JIA is about being managed. This took me ages to get my head round and i felt very low at a times but the consultants know so much and they will get you to a better place than you are in now. in the mean time are you allowed any pain killers? Thinking of you.

danm2010

Thanks, Yeah i'm allowed pain killers, currently maxing out on tramadol and paracetamol every day but doesn't really do anything for me anymore. Just another 12 hours i should be back in hospital for injections that's all i'm thinking about...i know i'll get there just today was a bad day i guess i needed a rant

anniesmum

danm2010 wrote:

Thanks, Yeah i'm allowed pain killers, currently maxing out on tramadol and paracetamol every day but doesn't really do anything for me anymore. Just another 12 hours i should be back in hospital for injections that's all i'm thinking about...i know i'll get there just today was a bad day i guess i needed a rant

You rant away - hope the injections have gone well today.

danm2010

Its been one hell of a day! i was admitted to hospital to have the injections into my hips, i had to have a orthopedic doctor to do it so i was in theatre - and anyone that says steroid injections do not hurt is lying! in this case. Anyways i've now had to injections and currently they is some improvement but still not walking 100% and still can't close my legs together so going to see what happens over the next couple of days.

speedalong

Sounds horrid. At least they seem to be helping. Hopefully mobility will return as pain and inflammation reduce.

Take care

Speedy

danm2010

Thanks Speedy

Currently i'm still not 100% but things are 75% better than what they were before my injections, people in the street don't really noticed my walking anymore, not straight away.

I've been told my liver function tests are low enough to start methotrexate which i will be having my education session today so see how it goes using them...my doctor has given me permission to go back to work with altered hours and light duties if i feel the injections are working so i've decided i'm going back the week after next to give me time to get used to the methotrexate tablets and get my mind set on working again.

So all in all my life is slowly returning back to normal and i'll tell you what happens when i return to work and any problems i have.

speedalong

That sounds a good result, I do know what you mean about nobody noticing your walking is any different - that is one of my goals in life!! I have read elsewhere that the improvement can continue with the steriod jab so don't over do it because you feel so much better - prioritise a little (I know that is not something you will want to do, but it is worth doing for quality of life..) and save your energy for what is most important to you.

It's worth taking a peek on the living forum too as lots of people of different ages take mtx and there are lots of posts on there about it. Hope education session goes well. Let us know how you get on.

Speedy

danm2010

Well everything is going great!, Work basically doesn't know how to handle the situation so they have left it up to me to handle it at work which sounds like a bad thing but means i have free reign over my condition at work.

So far I'm doing a phased return to work i started on 4 hours a day, 4 days a week...and now increased it 1 hour per week, I'm currently on 6 hours per week, 4 days a week. I now work with a chair and a equipment that just makes things easier...so everything is fine at work well except the lack of pay but my health comes first.

I'm exercising alot more, I've been swimming 3 times this week without any major aches or pain, except for a lump on my arm just above my joint it feels like a pulled muscle when trying to straighten my arm, it looks like a blister because my skin is a different colour like whiter and a lump around the whiteness. My doctor think its a rheumatoid nodule but I've looked at pictures on google and it doesn't look the same my looks less severe.

The only other major problems i got is concentration and tiredness. I've been trying to study and i seem to read off the page but i don't seem to register it in my mind...if that makes any sense and my memory is terrible to the point I've got a diary writing everything down, forgetting even the simplest of things. I thought it was all the drugs but i'm not sure.

I'm just laughing as this i say everything is great then i write down loads of problems. I think everything is great compared to what it was and these things I've mentioned above are the little things still hanging around.

Thanks for reading.

Dan.

dreamdaisy

It certainly sounds more positive dan. Is it the meth that's helped? If it's any consolation I think the majority of the posters across the forums feel that their concentration and memory is affected and not just because of the arthritis. Some of us are on pretty heavy-duty medication and that can knock the stuffing out of one. Compare your last post to the first few you did - the difference is very clear. Well done to you and keep up the positive thinking - that does make a difference. Dreamdaisy (who has psoriatic arthritis and has given up dreaming of walking without crutches)