FEEDBACK Please:)

Hi, Has any one had Juevenile arthritis since they where in gradeschool?  If so what has your treatment been over the years.  was there ever a time that you were pain free?  any feed back would be great

My son is 12, was always active, even in the womb.  This year is hard for him and for me.  He is in pain in multiple joints.  The doctor is putting him on azrilifidine.  has anyone taken it?

Do you mean Azulfidine? I wasn't able to find any match for the name you gave.

I wish I was able to be more helpful, but my own problems didn't start until my early 20s and I live in mortal terror of my kids ever developing similar problems -- particularly if it were to happen even younger than mine did. You have my sincerest sympathy for all that you must be going through, not to mention what your son is dealing with.

Juvenile arthritis, if that's truly the precise diagnosis (many other conditions, such as Reactive Arthritis AKA Reiter Syndrome, can be mistaken for straightforward Juvenile in young people, if for example the triggering infection that caused ReA is not recognized as being associated with the arthritic symptoms), is one of the least well understood rheumatic diseases and that's not saying much, unfortunately.

I can offer this much advice for virtually any form of arthritis or other inflammatory auto-immune disease: check out Turmeric. It's a wonderful tool to fight inflammation with, and is much better for you than pharmaceutical or OTC anti-inflammatory medications.

You may also want to look into Low Dose Naltrexone.....it's an alternative to traditional pain medication which may be an option for your son, and has the added potential to actually treat the underlying disease process as well as improve mood. It can be challenging at first because it has to partially block your natural endorphins before it can convince the body to produce more of them, but in the long run I hear amazing things. It's on my list of next things to try.

I'm sorry to hear your son has RA. I've been since around 7 years old and am closing the gate of 50 years with
it. I was finally diagnosed at 25 with it and have done the gambit of stupid dr drugs that do so much damage to
the body and kill your teeth. If he is in the beginning stages try bromelain which is pineapple enzymes. For a cheap
and easy fix use generic gin and golden raisins. Take about 1/3 pound of raisins to a pint of gin and soak for a week
then take 9 a day. There is no way I'd chew the dang things and I don't like the taste of liquor so I rinse them off
in cold water and then take them like pills, swollowing them whole. This was even on Paul Harvey and it truly does
work. Please try alternatives before using the harsh drugs as it takes a toll on the body.

With my nephew (who was 2) they did 18 baby aspirin a day. He's now 34 and has some pain but was in remission
for years. My Dad was 7 and my 5 year old grandaughter is showing signs. It seems to be very heriditary.

Nana Monster

Hi, Spirted. I am sorry to hear about your son, but so hopeful the doctors can help him now and stop the joint damage. There is a woman named Lene on Health Central's Rheumatoid Arthritis website who has has Rheumatoid Arthritis since she was four. She is very familiar w/RA drugs. If you need additional information, you might try reading her posts ( she is on one of the "experts" ), and posting a question on the site re: your son and his meds. Best Wishes to you and your family. V

WearyRaSuffer, don't worry, we are definately going to take meds.  The RA doc has started DS on Azulfidine.  We go back in Dec.  I am also looking into trying to incorporate foods and vitiamins in to our diets that have anti-inflamatory properties.  I firmly believe in a good balance of conventional medicine and common sense alternative medicines.  ( the common sense vitamins, mineral, and ect. would be applied after consulting the doctor of course)  Thanks for voicing your concern.  Fyi my son is 12 so of course he told me he like the gin soaked rasins idea.  Honestly, I doubt he would eat them anyway because he doesn't like raisins.

I will say with all the research I have seen, it really depends on the the person.  Not everyone responds to current medicines so sometimes people will search for other answers to aleviate the pain and discomfort.  I refuse to critsize others for trying alternative ways to cope with chronic illness.  I have had Chron's disease for more than a decade and I know many have used the whole gamate of drugs including remicade. One of the ladies almost died every time she used remicade none of the drugs are effective so she gets resections every 3-5 years and takes absolutely nothing.    

Hi all, this thread got me thinking. I had a lot of pain in my legs when I was little, and I had to have lots of blood tests. I remember my mom telling me that they thought I had arthritis and for a while I had to take like 8 baby asprins a day, and I hated the taste of them! This was in the 70s, before they discovered Reye's syndrome. I guess I got better eventually, I stopped taking them after a while.
The problem is, I can't ask my mom because I am estranged from my family. They were horribly abusive when I was a kid, and I blocked out a lot of my childhood. Is there any way to tell if I had Juvenile Arthritis? I don't have any positive bloodwork for RA, my doc dx'ed me on the basis of the other symptoms I was having. Thanks!