The Girl With Arthritis

Whenever I'm introduced to a new doctor or present doctors with new, odd symptoms, my mum likes to tell them "she's going to give you a run for your money." That's completely accurate. Most times, doctors can't figure out what's wrong with me- at least, not for the first two visits. I think the only time I ever got a diagnosis in one doctors appointment was for a classic case of bronchitis (that I walked around with for a month or so because I just didn't want to see another doctor). And I know I'm not alone in that either. Lots of people I know walk around for years not knowing what's wrong with them. I went about a decade. I know a lot of GPs are not able or don't know how to properly treat many autoimmune and other chronic illnesses, but I can't understand why patients aren't refered to specialists faster. It's cruel to make someone suffer and ignore it. I also hate when specialists dismiss patients quickly. Maybe it's ...

I was about eleven when I began being treated for juvenile arthritis. As clever as I was at eleven, I didn't understand everything. Sometimes I wish doctors would sit there and tell you more, or at least give you a little pamphlet called "All the Things I Don't Explain." Even if I was beginning treatment and diagnosis now, I wouldn't have known these things. And I admit I'm still learning. 1. We're Not Treating Symptoms. We're Treating a Disease. Treating the symptoms doesn't treat the disease, but treating the disease does treat symptoms. It may not mean your symptoms are relieved for a long time, but it could mean that damage is prevented. For example, if your doctor says it could take six months for a medicine to take full effect it means that you're body will be completely using the drug against the disease. It doesn't mean your symptoms will completely disappear by that point. I really wish they explained that. 2. This disease is...

I've always had arthritis. Okay, since I was about two years old I have had it. The odd thing about not having a proper diagnosis until a few years ago is still puzzling. Especially because of what my mum went through for years trying to get someone to take her child's medical condition seriously. You see, there were quite a few things that weren't exactly 'right' in my medical life for a number of years. Being diagnosed with tendinitis is one of them. I've had the privilege of being able to have access to some great hospitals. One in particular was called the 'best paediatric hospital ever' or some rubbish like that. I'd been there with disappointing results in the past, but we hoped I would be different this time. I was about ten years old, with no diagnosis and a flare that required hospitalisation for a week just two years prior. All signs pointed to juvenile arthritis. Tendinitis. The world class doctor walked in, sat down, scanned my cha...

The other day whilst going through some old notebooks and folders, I found my diary. I was eleven years old when I began to write in it, and it was a few months after I began seeing a rheumatologist. We didn't know what type of arthritis I had at that point, and we wouldn't for about two more years. Anyway, I couldn't help but share some of my eleven years old thoughts with you. I'm sure that little Elizabeth wouldn't mind. "We played football today in gym. The teacher wouldn't let me sit out when I began getting really painful, so I started to think about Beatles songs and that made me feel better. I was able to finish the game this time too." Aww. Good job little Elizabeth! If you want to read about that mean teacher, click here . By the way, that game only consisted of following behind a group of children who thought it was the Olympics. "I don't know how I feel about having arthritis. I'm not in denial, I'm not happy, but I a...

Today in class, a teacher put together groups of students and gave each group a paragraph of the last page of a novel to examine. Instead of giving my group a paragraph, she gave us the very last line. Unlike the others who were rather frustrated that we were given a very confusing line, I was thrilled. My teacher saw my expression and told me that it's harder than it looks. I didn't think so. In fact, I pulled apart almost every word and wrote as many interpretations on it as I saw made sense. You see, in a way I relate this to arthritis. I walked around for years with the obvious symptoms of arthritis, being ignored because I was just too young to possibly have arthritis, or any sort of disease for that matter. And yet, every time someone I knew who had obscure symptoms went to see a doctor BANG they had a diagnosis and a cure. I could never understand it. In a lot of ways, I feel like that little line that everyone dreads. Nobody wants to read deeper into it because it...

Hello again. I've been home from holiday for a few days now, and ready to write about what has been going on. What I wrote in my last post was actually regarding my best friend, of whom also has arthritis. Her medicines, as well as mine and most other's, have a risk of cancer. We had a 'cancer scare' a few days ago, as  she needed a biopsy  to check for Lymphoma. After waiting a few nerve wracking days of waiting  for results, we found she does not have cancer. It was a huge relief, naturally. However now I'm going through  a medical scare of my own. I've demonstrated quite a few symptoms  of thyroid and kidney problems. In the past few days home, I've gone through several tests and shall go  for more tomorrow before seeing a specialist the day after. At the moment, I am alright. It was not quite that way at the doctor's office when we recieved this news. And it's still quite heart breaking for  my family and friends. Right now, I'm trying not...

So since I haven't had any views in a while, I'm going to assume I've been doing something wrong. Since I don't notice any difference in the style of which I post, I'm just going to continue on and hope everyone is just on holiday. Anyway, I've noticed a bit of a trend in my exams at rheumatology. Now he has been checking me for Fibromyalgia. Not just recently but for a while. He seems less sure of arthritis at the moment. The thing about these diagnoses is that there is really 'no' or 'yes' test. Things change rapidly. You see I show many qualities of arthritis and  yet I do not. I also show qualities of Fribromyalgi and do not. I swear they should just call it 'Elizabeth's Disease.' It's too difficult to categorise.

Some things are easier to diagnose than others. They often tell you that you need to be patient to be a patient, and they say life goes on anyway. But in reality, things are really not that way. Yes it is true you need to be patient but I've read of people who have been sick since they were ten years old and were diagnosed when they were fifty or sixty years old: They had no relief of their pain, often had much damage to their organs and sometimes they were the simplest of diseases to diagnose and treat. And yes, their life did go on without a diagnosis or treatment but some of their stories are extremely sad and most of their lives were conducted in extreme pain. They got married, worked, traveled and some had babies (some didn't due to their disease causing infertility or just not being able to provide for a baby). Some lives didn't go on, not saying they died but mostly they dropped out of college because they were too weak to study, never held a career as they were in t...