Osteoarthritis at 25?

LMSB

Hey everyone,

I am new here, so hello to you all and thank you for letting me join in the fun here!

I am 25, and ever since I was about 10/11 have had clicky hips one of which partially dislocates, and I have been very flexible since then. It wasnt painful then, and I did gymnastics and all seemed to be fine.

Later in life at around 14/15, my hip started hurting and crunching and I had an X-Ray done to see if I had hip dysplasia. There was nothing wrong with the bone, but the Drs said I had "cartilage wear and tear". I never followed it up again, I thought wear and tear was just normal. My right hip would hurt more than my left, and damp weather would aggravate it further, as would being on my feet for long periods of time, and using the joints a lot. they would feel very weak and floppy and would crunch when walking, and the pain would extend down the right thighbone.

I started doing secretarial work at 18, and have done since then. My wrists have started hurting too, mainly my right one again which today wont support my weight and hurts when I actually move it. They began as really deep aches, and now are bigger deep aches that standard painkillers will not touch. My wrists click and crunch, and feel "frozen" sometimes, and again with damp weather and a lot of use they really hurt.

I saw my GP a few months back, as I was waking up actually crying because my bed springs dig into my hips and it is really painful. they ran blood tests to check for the Rheumatoid factor. Turns out its not rheumatoid arthritis. I saw them again and they asked for the symptoms etc and came up with Osteoarthritis and have prescribed Naproxen in the morning and night, and Tramadol at night.

As it stands, my wrist will "give out" if I try and lift anything heavy (I cant pick my son up today for example), it creaks and crunches when I move it, and there is pain on moving it too. the pain is in my actual joint and extending up my arm towards my elbow. The only way, non medicinally, to get rid of this pain is to heat up one of those wheat bags in the microwave until it is steaming hot and put it onto the joint. It burns me, but there is no joint pain afterwards.

My hips are the same, crunching and popping and pain radiating down my thigh bone and now around my whole pelvis. Damp weather is ALWAYS an issue, and I can generally tell when it is going to rain because my joints hurt. The Dr has said that I am hypermobile, and that hasnt helped matters, and that it is just pain management from now.


So, my question is:

1. Being 25, is this accurate? There is no family history of any form of arthritis at all

2. If I do indeed have OA, what else can I do aside from taking painkillers? I am not over the moon with the idea of taking Tramadol every night (not taken one yet), because apparently it is addictive and will give me withdrawal symptoms should I stop taking it in the future.

I have tried Codeine, paracetamol, ibruprofen, diclofenac sodium, aspirin etc but nothing is working now, only the burning heat

3. Is joint degeneration this quickly even possible? A few years ago, prior to having my son, my wrist joints would hurt about once a week, depending on my workload, now they hurt virtually every day.


Thank you for your time reading this, just wanted other opinions seeing as my GP has not x-rayed me this time around, nor have done anything other than throw pills at me.

- Laura

wall1409

Not a GP but to be honest dont know how he could say what this is without xrays or a visit to rheumatlogist. I would ask for a referral to be honest. Good luck

barbara12

Hi Laura
And a warm welcome from me, although I am so sorry you had.to look for us in the first place.
Fist off I do know that children and young adults can get different form of Arthritis.
Your GP should send you for xrays or even better MRIs..but sadly some of us have to pester for these.
After you have had xrays Physio can be a big help in building up the muscle round the joints.
I so think you should go back and ask for a referral to a rheumy, then you can get more blood test done.
Dont be scared of asking your GP for this referral. there is one things this forum has learned me and that is to stand my ground and be heard when going to see my GP.
I do wish you well with everything..and please let us know how you get on xx

Airwave!

Hi Lauren,
You're about the same age as I was on first diagnosis (35 years ago). There are so many hints and tips on these threads to find, it'll take your mind off of arther and his reminders, somewhere you will find your own answer to him.

No, pills don't work, well not at the strength that gps give them to us at. The real answer is learning to cope for yourself.

Have fun.

dreamdaisy

Hello, it's nice to meet you and I hope we can help. Sadly OA is a possibility at your age - current research is showing that the usual definition of 'wear and tear' is acutally not that accurate and that there could be other causes behind it. The auto-immune versions are proven to have a genetic input (but they can also start without a familial history) and OA is now being thought about in the same way. Whatever the reason it's tough. 'Nuff said. I am lucky in that I know why I have my OA -but I use the word lucky in a very loose way. Take care and I hope we hear from you again soon. DD