Teen with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

[Cezzy]

My youngest is 16. She had a one off incident of JIA when she was 8. This summer she fell and now has been diagnosed with JIA again in both knees and wrists. Seems to onset after trauma. She has anxiety issues. Her college have agreed she can do home study so she can gain her college qualification but I feel so bad as she must have got this from either DH or me. Is there anyone else whose teen suffers from this as I could really do with sharing/talking with someone else who experiences this and DD2 would also benefit talking to another teen going through this.

I don't have first hand experience with JIA, but www.jia.org.uk/ and www.versusarthritis.org/ may be good sources of support.

It's unlikely she got it from you/ DH; that cause generally isn't known (that's what the 'I' stands for - idiopathic means of unknown cause).

I hope you find the support you need.

Hi; my DS is 15 and was diagnosed with this at age 9. He has had it in ankles, knees, hips and jaw. He is also hyper mobile so has issues with his shoulders, neck and fingers etc due to his joints being too bendy. He also has anxiety (mild depression I think) and low self esteem.

He had steroid injections but has avoided medication and seems to be much better over the last couple of years but he does say sometimes it's because he used to the pain. He sees a specialist quarterly.

He clams up and doesn't talk to me much so I struggle with how to help him. He has lots of friends but he thinks he is largely worthless. Very hard to watch

Thekewgirl I know what you mean. Oh to be able to take away the pain. We tried to bring our girls up to be independent and resilient but once DD got to about 14/15 she withdrew, got anxious about any social situation, putting herself down and self harmed. I think we are currently on top and I’m helping her do things for herself like asking for things in shops, going in on her own etc. My mum has lupus and my DH sarcoidosis both of which are autoimmune diseases so there may be a family link. Hope you get on ok and get him help. We got help from wellbeing but at 16 she comes into adult care not paediatric. If she has to go into hospital at all I don’t want her on an adult ward with geriatrics, she would be so stressed and at under 18 not really prepared for what she may encounter. If you ever want to chat please feel free to DM me x

Good to hear back from you Cezzy. Yes I will DM you.

It's odd as the very few people I know with JA all seem have anxiety issues. My DS has always been sociable but has recently cut himself off from doing things his friends do. He is reluctant to push himself into situations he is unsure about. And at his age his friends are wanting to go out and try new things and be more independent. He spends a worrying about of time in his room. I try to encourage him but it's a very complex dynamic. He hates the way he feels but he can't break out of it and gets angry with me. Exams this year isn't helping either

I asked about family history and genetics etc as my mum had awful arthritis but they said no connection at all.