JEUVENILLE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITUS

[littleh]

HI

Iam very new to the site so bare with me.I have had jra sice i was 11 iam 35 now and i concider myself to be very lucky i have had steriod injections for the last 3yrs which i have put 2 stone in wieght on with.I had a chest infection at xmas and found that it has flared up my knees and hands.I had fluid drained from my right knee due to a bakers cyst but now feel the left need sthe same so need to get that done this week.I have a positive attitude most of the time as i try and not tell anone but this time i have allowed it to get me down and iam in tears alot of the time.I would love to hear from some other people in my situation.

littleh

[christinaadams]

Hi there

Yeap it sure gets you down i know!

Keep going.

Chris

[littleh]

Hi Chris

thanks very much for replying to my message it has been there for over 2 weeks i was beginning to think id done something wrong.I have since had some more steriod injections and at last it seems to have calmed down.Have you had the same kind of thing? i would be interested to find out more from people in the same situation.

littleh

[PhoenixXFeatherz]

jra stinks 

I was diagnosed with it my freshman year of high school but thanks to Remicade I feel great. I am now in my senior year of high school.

[vivienne]

Hi littleh, I contracted jra at the age of 18 months. I have had 3 hip replacements, a left knee arthrodesis ( stiffening of the knee) and a right knee replacement in 1976 which lasted until very recently. ( 30 years is a very good outcome isn't it?) I have recently had a revision of my right knee 5 weeks ago so am in the early stages of recovery. I have just discovered this websit and am finding it very useful, as I am having a few probs with my revision.i.e. leg seems longer and rom is not too good so far. I am now 67, so have had the problem a long time now. up till recently I have managed to lead quite an active life, though a lot of normal activities have not been possible. I find keeping positive is a definite help to maintaining a useful life.  I wish you well and as this is my very first posting on the web site, I hope my experiences will be of some encouragement to you,
from Vivienne

[tiapuss]

Hi My son has JIA or JRA he had it diagnosed when he was 6 and is going to be 13 on Sunday.  He has had everything going but is getting on well with Methotrexate.
His flares have clamed down and he is mobile.
It can be very tough for a kid to be in such pain and have to deal with school ~(and the hoirrible kids out there that think its funny to poke fun)
but he found another way and has learnt to play guitar so look out for the next famous rock guitarist with JRA!

[anthony27]

hi littleh,
I read your post a couple of weeks ago and feel compelled to reply. i had Juvenile RA in my right knee when I was 4, but it luckilly calmed down shortly thereafter. I am now 33 and my knee has deteriorated to an extent that I am seriously considerring a TKR.
I have recently been to see a herbal medic who talked to me about links between viral infections of the lungs and RA... this struck a note with me, as my recent flare up and rapid deterioration of my knee seems to have been triggered by a flu vaccination I had recently... I also notice that my knee tends to be aggrivated by colds/flus I contract.
I have in the past had shingles (another viral infection) which (I felt) was successfully treated with herbal anti-viral medication... I understand that modern medicine has difficulties dealing with viruses.
As your RA seems quite active I wonder if you might not be helped by herbal medicine... the way I look at it... it cannot hurt... I include a link into the national institue of medical herbalalists http://www.nimh.org.uk/links.html
I have just started taking capsulated powderred ginger (x3 per day) and some other preparations (which the medic prescribed) and I am going to see how it goes.
Good luck with whatever course you chose.
regards