Recently diagnosed and confused

salamander91

Hi all, I'm 21 and just been diagnosed with arthritis by my GP. I've had pain in both my knees for 2 years now but mainly my left knee. I put up with the pain for a while but I finally went to the GP to get help about a month ago. He suspected inflammatory arthritis because my knees get stiff in the morning and it can last for quite a while. He ran loads of blood tests looking for inflammation and CRP, rheumatoid factor etc... and also sent me for xrays of my knees. The blood tests didn't show much except slight inflammation which he said could have been from a cold or something but my xray showed mild arthritis in my knees.

So now I'm kind of confused as to what arthritis I have considering nothing much showed on the bloods, I've never had any swelling in my knees and none of my other joints hurt :? The doctor never explained what the xray showed just that it was mild arthritis.

Also would like to know about the first appointment with the rheumatologist. I'm still waiting for an appointment and I was just wondering exactly what happens in the first appointment. Is there more tests? Will they tell me what is actually wrong with me :roll:


Sorry for the essay

dreamdaisy

Hello, it's nice to meet you and I hope we can help with information and support. I'm not a young person with arthritis, I'm an agéd crone of 54, my troubles began in 1997 with one knee, then six years on the other joined my painful little party.

Diagnosing what type of inflammatory arthritis may be affecting you is not necessarily that straightforward. If one presents with the 'right' sort of bloods and the 'right' kind of symptoms then it can be, but many of us don't. I was labelled 'an infammatory arthritis' case from 2002 to 2006, it was only when my skin helpfully obliged with a rare burst of psoriasis that everyone went 'Ah-ha!' (well, everyone except me, I just thought, well, I won't write what I thought. ) It changed nothing for me meds-wise or life-wise.

Your first appointment will probably be more investigative than diganostic. The rheumatologist may request more blood tests, possibly another Xray or maybe an MRI - we can talk you through that if it comes to pass. I advise starting to keep a diary of what hurts when, how much, what helps and hinders, your tiredness levels etc so that when you do meet him / her you can present them with a better over-all picture of what is currently happening with you. I also hope you will be able to take someone with you for moral support and another pair of ears.

Please let us know how you get on and don't be afraid to post on the Living with Arthritis part of the forum - that's open to everyone and tends to be a little busier then this part. It is Easter, however, so be prepared for delays in replies as people are busy with families etc. I wish you well and hope to hear from you again soon. DD

salamander91

Hi DD, Thanks for your reply

I suppose it's not really important what type I have as long as the medication they give me works.

Would they xray anywhere about from my knees do you think? I've only ever had pains in my knees which seems strange to me so I'm interested to see if theres signs of arthritis elsewhere. I will definitely try keeping a diary, I hate going to the docs and them asking you questions about what happened weeks ago lol. I'm type 2 diabetic as well and I never remember to write things down. My fiance will come with me, he always comes with me to my doc appointments and remembers to ask all the stuff I forget about

Thanks I'll look into the other forum too

Sally

alyssanadine2

Hello

I'm 23 and was diagnosed with JIA at the age of 12. All I remember from the beginning was seeing the GP and him making me go straight to hospital as they thought it could be sceptic arthritis which would not be good! However I finally got diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. I was very lucky that just a basic anti inflammatory helped and I had a few x-rays and blood tests then a steroid injection.

I thought it was just my knee until he looked at my hands and said I had it in one of my fingers!

It was only last year that I started having problems and got referred back to rheumatology. I'm now on the lowest dose of sulphasalazine which I find really helps and I'm pretty much back to my old self! The only thing I can't do is run but find other exercise really helps. Mine started off in just my knee but I do find my wrists and elbow can sometimes be painful but nothing too bad.

It's good if you can take someone with you as I'm terrible at remembering all the questions I wanted to ask or write a list. Don't be afraid to ask questions though as it's your body.

Hope you get on okay

Alyssa