Any Mothers Familiar with JRA?

I was diagonosed with JRA at 16 after 8 years of trying to figure out what was wrong. For me it helped to keep moving. Yes I know it hurts, but not moving will make it even worse. I spent 4 days unable to get out of bed at one point. I really thought I would be in a wheelchair by the time I was thirty. I am now 36 and most of the time symptom free. Watch what foods he is eating nightshade veggies are a killer for a lot of JRA people. Also check out natural health books. Good luck & God Bless
B. V

Hi V., I'm so sorry to hear about your son having JRA. I was diagnosed with JRA when I was almost 13 years old and I just found out about 8 months ago that I no longer have it and I am now 25. I grew out of it and I will be praying that the same happens for your son. It's not an easy thing to live with. I had to try out so many different medications to find the one that best worked for me. The one that worked great for me was called Mobic. It's an antinflammatory medication and you take it just once a day. If your son goes on medication for it he will have to go through the samething to find the right one that works for him and Because the drugs suppress your immune system he may end up sick a lot. I know that I missed days of school here and there because I was sick or I hurt so bad that I couldn't go. The best thing for him to do is to stay active. Here are some websites that I found for you. If you go to google and type in JRA a lot of stuff with pop up. You can also contact the Arthritis foundation and they will send you information about JRA, that is what I did. http://www.medicinenet.com/juvenile_arthritis/article.htm
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/juvenile_rheumatoid_arthri...
http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/arthritis/jra.html
http://www.rheumatology.org/public/factsheets/arth_in_chi...
Here are a few websites to start you off. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me! I will be praying for your son and family! God bless you all!

my daughter has had the same symptoms jra,and her tests have come out negative except for the sed rate and ana. I still have to do the cancer ones. what test did your son have done? you should ask his doctor to order a rheumatoid factor and sedimentation rate and westergreen esr. I know it is easier said than done but try not to worry I know I am trying.

Hi V.,

When I was twelve, I too was diagnosed with JRA after about a year of not knowing what was going on with me. Mine started in the right knee and eventually spread to all of my joints. I went back and forth from orthopedics to rheumitology until they finally diagnosed me. It was frustrating. I received the best care from CHOC.

I am now 38 and have been in remission since I became pregnant with my son at 28. One of my doctors said that can happen although they were not sure why. Happily this seems to be an illness that can be outgrown so thank your lucky stars for that.

Your son will probably be quite fatigued and medicines will only add to that. It is important to stress to others that he really does have an illness. I was hurt by so many that did not believe me because I did not look like their was something wrong with me. My grandfather years later apologized to me when HE got arthritis, saying he didn't realize when he was telling me to "tough it out" how much it really hurt.

Be your son's biggest advocate. My mom was mine. I would let him be the determining factor on how much activity he has, with the doctor's input of course.

Good luck to both of you. Please don't be discourage because in all likely hood this will eventually go away. It could be soo much worse than arthritis. Keep telling yourself that on the bad days!

My daughter was recently diagnosed with Poly JRA in Sept 2o1o. I would love to chat....