advice needed for JRA

Wanted to say Hello. First of all, it'll be harder for you to see him going through all this, as a parent of a child with a heart condition I know it will be a rough road for you both, maybe think about counseling if you get a JRA diagnosis as counseling can help with long term diseases and maybe a counselor could even get you connected to the best doctor's in your area. Second your very good for posting this, and do not in anyway blame yourself for this.
As with anything be careful of dietary supplement's but a good one to ask your doctor about is tart cherry juice, tart cherry juice can help with pain, but start at a low amount like 1/4 cup at night as it can cause diarrhea in large doseages, get this from a good health food store like "natural rewards" or whole foods.
Medications can help. But google them after you get the diagnosis. Deffinetely go with a pediatric RA doctor. A good pediatric doctor is worth his weight in gold, so that should be a starting point.
Then google any and everything you can.
Look for children's books that you can read to him, and stay positive for him...
Many Prayers and well wishes to you. My daughter when to University with another child that had JRA, so they got on very good...

With the pain that RA can produce you might want to consider using medication and natural remedies to working together for the best relief. I know that medications can seem bad, but they do help and sometimes that's all you have, so keep open to medications...Ginger can help with pain as well but you do need to talk to a doctor about these cause even natural remedies can be bad, plus you'll need lower amounts for children and a doctor can help you better with this.
So when you go to your doctor today, ask if there are any natural remedies to help and how to give them and if it's okay to combine the medications with the natural remedies..
.Make a list of what you want to talk to the doctor about and take it with you. Also, ask about side effects of the medications and ask to start at the lowest doses if possible. I know the medications like methotrexate can be scary and the side effects but in most cases the side effect are when the medications are given in large doses like a cancer patient would get, with RA usually the dose is much smaller and only done once a week not (never) everyday.
and this medication has been around for years and many people adults and children take it. Plus you might be able to start on a different medication to begin with.
Yes I've tried the tart cherry juice and it helps, can make you sleepy so should only be taken at night and just in small amounts. Ginger can help but it's very spicy and hot...
Keep us posted what your doctor tells you in you do have my prayers that it's not JRA.
Make sure to take a list of questions to the doctor's appointment and have some toys for your child as well, like a coloring book or a "Cars" toy...and when he gets older always encourage your son to ask the doctor questions...sometimes Children ask very smart questions...

The Lyme Forum on here is great, maybe post in there for further help, Hopefully the pain will go away with the lyme treatment. Get a Lyme specialists and many prayers...Lyme is treatable as well and hopefully things will get better for your son. Ask Your Doctor if probotics will be of help him with the antibotics of the lyme treatment...

Hi Nansee - can you let me know what foods were changed on the child's diet?