Newbie

ChrisArth

Names Chris Im 22 and new to this and have suffered with psoriatic arthritis since last year. Im takin methotrexate 20mg once a week and also folic acid a day after. Just only recently been told I have likely got another form of arthiritis as wel and had an MRI scan yesterday to see if that was correct. Just wanted to chat to other peeps with arthiritis and see how they handle it socially. Im very socialable and am at uni doin a sport course (typical I know lol) so am very active and also love goin out but cant drink anythin really due to the drugs and its not always easy when your da only larry not drinkin x

stickywicket

Hi Chris and welcome. I hope some other young people will be around soon but meanwhile this is an old codger saying hello. Still pretty sociable though but lacking the energy of sporting youth.

Keeping active will be good for your arthritis as long as you remember you still have it and don't push stuff too much. As for the drinking - you don't say how long you've been on meth. Usually they say don't drink at all at first until they've monitored your bloods for a few months. After that it's usually a case of 'proceed with caution'. (Yes, I know. I was a student once. x ) I've been on meth for over 10 years and I do have a glass of wine most evenings and more occasionally. However, I've been blest with a first class liver and my ALT levels are always low. If they rose I'd quit because meth does a great job for me. I guess, worst case scenario is that you become the very popular designated driver.

Good luck.

loopylou94

Hey im laura i'm 17 and i was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis 11 months ago and i take 20mg methotrexate once a week 2. I am currently at sixth form and i understand what it likes to be the only sober one at all the parties all my friends cant wait for me to pass my drivving test so i then become the designated driver all the time which is great for them but sucks for me. I occasionally drink with my methatrexate b ut my LFT are always low so its not to bad. i have kind of accepted that to be able to go out with all my friends i have to take the methatrexate. I have a great occupational therapist who once told me its all about balance and that the occasional drink mwouldnt do me a great deal of harm!!!

hope you are well!!!!!
hope this helps
you can pm anytime if you want a chat
laura
xxx

amyloveheart

Hi, my name is Amy and I'm 18 years old. I've suffered with painful joints since I was about 11 years old. During that time I've had many flare ups, sometimes so bad I can't get out of bed. Both my father and my grandmother have rheumatoid arthritis, and have had since they were both very young. My pain started in my right knee, then moved to both my knees, I've since had trouble with my hips, my right elbow and my right shoulder. My shoulder is whats hurting at the moment, it's so bad when I wake in the mornings, until the strong painkillers I have been prescribed to take kick in, I cannot move it. I've had several visits to the doctors and all the seem to do is tell me its an inflammatory problem and prescribe me more painkillers. I've had a blood test to check for rheumatoid arthritis, but it came back negative.

The only way I can describe my pain is, on a good day, I'm very aware of my joints, I can't straighten my knees to quickly, I have to take it slow. And on my bad days, its so excruciating I can hardly move, all I can do it cry.

I've spoken to my father many times and he says that that I'm experiencing sounds very similar to to pain, when he first started having it (all though his is much worse now as he has had it for nearly 40 years)

Every time I visit my doctor, they all seem to say the same thing, but I never get an answer. I was wondering could it be rheumatoid arthritis even if I tested negative? Has anyone had a similar experience as me?

PLEASE HELP!

MrDJ

Hi Amy
sorry to hear of all your pains you have been going through at such a young age.
which doctor did you see. was it your GP or a rhumatologist and have you got any idea which blood tests they might have done.
the main ones they normally check is ESR and CRP which measure the increase in inflammation in the body.
just because these tests come back normal doesnt mean the patient hasnt got arthritis.
there are quite a few different forms and ostio and rhumatoid are the most common ones.

if it was your gp that done the tests i would try and get another appointment and ask could you be refered to a rhumatologist as you cant cope with the pains anymore.

there was 1 doctor i saw 27 years ago that went by the book. if it doesnt show up on tests then you havnt got it was the abrupt reply i got.
for my next appointment i refused to see him again and the next doctor done various more tests and i was told i had ostio arthritis as soon as the results came back.

have you had any xrays taken in the last year.
it sadly sounds like you are being fobbed off and if i were you i would persist until they refer you to a specialist who knows what they are talking about.

good luck and i hope they can help you out soon or change your medication with something that might help the pain more.
jim

EDIT: just seen this post but i know nothing about the condition. might be worth comparing notes on pain http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/forums/living-with-arthritis-forum-f8/just-diagnosed-t31409.html

amyloveheart

Thanks so much for your reply! I've been to see my GP about 12 times this year already, and I think I'll phone them tomorrow, make and appointment, and demand they refer me to a rheumatologist. The blood test I had was called RF (rheumatoid factor). They have never sent me to have xrays, they clearly don't think its necessary which hurts me to no end, because they don't see my when my pain is so bad I can't get out of bed!

I'm SOOO tired of being told there's nothing wrong because the blood test says so! If they felt even a tiny bit of my pain they would understand.

I've been dealing with this for half my life, and I'm done with doctors.

I really appreciate your reply, thanks so much Jim! You've given me the courage to stand up to my gp and to get answers.

Amy

MrDJ

your welcome Amy. if i could help more i would.

now this may be a shot in the dark but its worth a go.

i was 21 when my OA was diagnosed. then a couple of years later my left eye started going blurred. long story short i had a specialist blood test called a HLAB27 which came back positive. i was then told i had ankleosing spondilitis but as it was not affecting my spine but my eye the specialist told me i had juvenile anky spon.
last thing i expected was to be called a juvenile at 21 (ok i did and still act like one some times)

the thing is there is no pattern to these ruddy conditions. it affects everyone differently.
as you was 11 when your pains started i would take this quick question and answer screening quiz that i found while reading up on the RF blood test.

it might not help but depending on the results it might be worth copying them down and showing your GP to explain more how its affecting you.
i know what its like when your sitting in front of them and all they seem to do is type on their ruddy computer instead of fully listening to you.

>> http://arthritis.about.com/library/quiz/bljuvenilequiz.htm

mine came back:
You answered 12 items out of 21 correctly.

Your score is 57%. Your child has some of the symptoms associated with juvenile arthritis. Please consult a rheumatologist for a complete evaluation and proper diagnosis.

hope it helps.
Jim

amyloveheart

Thanks for the link Jim! I took the test and scored 16 out of 21, I will definitely take the results to my next appointment with my GP

Amy x

MrDJ

thats not fair, you beat me

hope it helps.