Hi :)

Lisaa

Hi, my name is Lisa and im 19 years old.

I was diagnosed with Rhumatoid Arthritis in May last year, after being missdiagnosed as everything from a a hypocondriact to a sprained ankle for an entire year. Only when i struggled to get out of bed, wash and dress myself and had to quit college did doctors start to pay attention.

It has been really difficult to come to terms with having arthritis, in the begining everyone was shocked and tried to tell me i was too young to get it. Now i find it seems to be more of a running joke with my friends, and although i try to laugh it off and join in as i know they mean no harm, it really gets me down sometimes as i struggle through the day.

I try to be as positive as possible, and do as many "normal" activities as i can. I love going out clubbing with my friends and out for lunch or shopping. I do find im torn between knowing im not allowed to drink much because of my medication and then just wanting to be young and enjoy myself when im out. When i go out i normally just go for it and drink the one thing i was told not to... spirits. Does anyone else find it hard when they are out with their friends? I'm worried im going to do myself serious harm one day but i keep getting told my liver function is good so it hasnt really given me an insentive to change my ways.

One thing i struggle immensly with is having arthritis in my jaw. On bad days i can barely fit my toothbrush in my mouth and on a good day im lucky if i can get a banana in. Does anyone have any tips on how i can cope with this??

wow ok im going to leave it at that, i seem to have written an essay.

Lisa

caterina57

Hello Lisa
Welcome to our forum, although its sad that you have had to find us. No you are not too young - it seems that it can and does strike at any age I think the youngestI have seen on here was diagnosed at the age of two!
I don't have RA I have sponylosis and Osteo Arthritis. But there are plenty here who do have RA and have a wealth of experience and knowledge regarding the condition.
The forum is the place to be for advice or just to have a rant and of course we have a laugh as well! Hope to see you around the site
Cath

dreamdaisy

You poor girl, I feel for you. Luckily I am an old bag of 52 so clubbing etc is not an issue any more. Drinking, however, is - I'd be a very grumpy mare if I couldn't have my likkle dinkies at the end of the day: steer clear of spirits tho my sweet, your liver is under atack from the methotrexate (I assume that is what you are taking) and despite the good figures you don't want to place that really vital organ under any more strain than necessary.

It is good that you have had an early diagnosis (mine took five years before any medication was given, then another four until they really determined what version of this cr*p I had) so you stand every chance of the meds making a difference. Try to pace yourself as much as you can: payback (the price we pay for having fun, usually in terms of more pain or a flare) further damages your joints and that is not needed. RE your jaw: do you have an electric toothbrush? They have smaller heads than conventional hand-held ones, they might be easier to use. I am tired today, cannot think of anything else: if I have any more ideas I'll come back to you. DD

tjt6768

Hi Lisa, welcome from me too, hope that you are not suffering too much tonight...
Wish I had a quid for every time I have heard the "you're too young, blah blah" speech..... :roll:
As is quite obvious from this forum it can strike very early.. You are young though hun, and shouldn't have to give up everything, just learn to adjust, it may take some time, trial and probably a fair bit of error, but you will get there...
I stopped drinking many yrs ago but I am on osteo sufferer (maybe have RA too now though) and have been on some quite strong painkillers for a long time, one thing is certain, they really don't mix well, lol....
Now I am an old fart I can't be bothered anyway :shock:

Be well hun, hope to catch you posting...

Lisaa

Hi again

Im not doing to bad today acctually, went back to work today which was nice, had a few days off due to steriod injections in my wrists (not so nice to get but they are worth it in hte long run )

Thanks for the advice about the toothbrush, i will definatly look into that

As for the drinking, ive been a good girl and not drank for a couple of weeks, so i figure that means i can go out and throughly enjoy myself on the 19th, im going to a smirnoff nightlife exchange party. Miami night!

Thanks for the messages you all seem lovely and i feel very welcome xxx

tjt6768

You will feel at home here hun, we are a friendly bunch with just about every kind of arthur knowledge there is between us, lol....

There is even a young person's section, but I am afraid I dare not go in there for fear of turning into ash... Way too old :shock: :roll:

I have a music thread in the chit chat section, do requests too.. Feel free to ask, mind you, I ain't exactly down with the kids, booyakashar :???:

MarkC

Hi Lisa, I'm afraid I can't offer much in terms of knowledge etc. as I'm not an expert,yet!

I'm 26, 27 this week,and was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in December. Whilst I don't think I quite qualify for the young persons section of this site, I get the jokes about it being an old person's disease, stops being funny very quickly a doesn't it?!

I'm also v new to this site, bit there seems to be plenty of people on here that can help out, hopefully they'll be able to help you!

Into terms of you're drinking, I do feel for you. Thankfully my days of doing shots every week are past me anyway, but I really enjoy a good drink so it's knocked me back having to actually think about how much I'm drinking, and I am slightly disappointed I can't do sambuca shots anymore, but probably not the worst thing in the world!

Like I say, I don't know a huge amount, but if you want to ask me anything, feel free. I know how horrible this thing is, especially as one wouldn't expect to have to deal with it at our age, so may be able to help with that side!

Lisaa

Hi Mark

Firstly dont be silly, in my book you definatly still qualify for the young persons section. I fully intend to consider myself young untill im atleast mid 40's and even then i'll probably knock 5 years off my age like my mum does :P Though the thought that i turn 21 next year bloody terrifys me lol.

I'm finding this site great, not just the useful tips but also being able to talk to people who just, "get it".

As for the drinking im taking the option to be reallygood for a couple of weeks and then just go for it, have an amazing night shots and all,and not hit the water untill i feel sick. Though i have found since haveing to watch what i drink that i remember a lot more of the night out in the morning... not nessicarrally a good thing haha

Hope you have a really good birthday next week, enjoy yourself
Lisa

dreamdaisy

Hit the water long before you feel sick. Ideally, alternate the drinks. You have to give your liver its best shot, not just shoot it down yourself. Drinking and meth is not an absolute no-no any more but with the reckless, drunken culture amongst our young people (no, I know, not all of them) you do have to be careful and realise that you do have a limit. In some ways abstinence followed by a binge is far more harmful: it's amazing how small an amount of alcohol counts as a binge. DD