To think I've got arthritis at 26?

[user6776]

I've been struggling with pain in one of my wrists now for a few weeks. I haven't done anything to it whatsoever but my god it is so, so painful. As well as this, my joints ache a lot. My knees & my ankles in particular.The pain often wakes me up during the night because it's so bad. This is usually when the pain is the worst. I can't even describe how it feels but it really is awful.

Surely this is not normal for my age? Would a GP take me seriously? There is family history of RA as well. Both parents and my grandmother had it.

See your GP and ask for bloods to exclude RA and other inflammatory conditions. They might also advise getting your hands and etc x-rayed to confirm osteoarthritis, or send you to see a rheumatologist.

I developed arthritis at 21 (Stills disease) it went into remission after a few years. Go to your GP and if it persists insist on being referred to a hospital. They can tell by blood tests for inflammation that you are not lying.

Yanbu to go to the GP. There are lots of things that can cause joint pain at a young age. It may even be something easy to fix like vit d deficiency or hypomobility or something like that.

I started with arthritis in my big toe joints in my mid-20s, so I would definitely see a GP. Mine is always worse at night.

See your GP for investigations, you can mention your family history. I have RA and others in my family have other autoimmune conditions. Mine started in my thirties with my feet and jaw. You can try the squeeze test, google how to do it.

There are a lot more effective treatment options for inflammatory arthritis nowadays, and a tendency to treat earlier for better long term outcomes. See your GP and expect to be taken seriously. Good luck and I hope things improve soon.

I had a bout of inflammatory arthritis in my early twenties. It lasted about 12 months and then went away again. It also started in my wrists and hands and then was in my feet for a while. GPs took it seriously. I got painkillers and meds that really helped.

Please, please go and see your GP. I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis at age 17 so it can happen. I hope you find some relief soon x

I was told I had osteo in my toes at 17, but symptoms began when I was about 10 so it's definitely possible unfortunately.

If you have a family history, you're better off getting checked out. I developed symptoms at 18 but ignored it for 7 or 8 years because I was 'too young'. The delay on getting on the right treatment from early on has led to permanent joint damage.

I am 26 and have arthritis. I got diagnosed as a young child. It’s always mainly been in my ankles but it affects my other joints all over. The main joint in my ankle where it affected has worn the joint away meaning I had no cartilage and had to have a fusion. Please try and get an early diagnosis so it can be monitored and you can get the help and support you need. Especially with pain medication. I’m on strong pain meds and have been for years as I’m in immense pain each days, but i think if I didn’t have a diagnosis or was under a consultant I would be able to get that pain relief.

I also assume you’re in the uk where it’s cold at the moment? I’ve found the cold weather really affects my pain and stiffness of my joints.

This might be off base but also look into Carpal tunnel syndrome. I had it in my wrist when I was pregnant and it only really caused pain of a night, but when I tell you how painful it was - I couldn’t because the pain was so bad but so difficult to describe. Similar to you. So it could be a combo of this and arthritis in your other joints

A malfunctioning immune system such as you get with autoimmune disease like RA, Psoriasis, Coeliac and others doesn't read your birth certificate before cracking on with the pain and damage.

Your age is utterly irrelevant in this.

See the GP and explain the family history.

We've had the same experience! I'm also 26 with a fusion.

It’s nice to know (in a non selfish way), that there are other people have gone through the same thing - it makes me feel less alone. How have you found your fusion? I’m two almost two years post fusion and unfortunately mine has caused me worse pain than I was in before.

The pain in my wrist is awful. And the way to describe the pain at night is literally like my joints are on fire! Terrible.

Funny you mention this as I'm pregnant at the moment also..

I'm sorry to hear yours has caused worse pain! My fusion did help but I now have arthritis in other joints and also have neuropathic pain so I'm far from pain free 😕

Have you had some sort of infection such as a UTI in the past few months? This can cause reactive arthritis.

Family history is very significant with arthritis.

My mum has it is her fingers and hands so struggles with opening jars etc. I also have it in my fingers and hands and struggling to open jars and grip weights in the gym was one of the first signs.

Im 30 btw and had these signs for the last few years.

I was diagnosed with it at 26.