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| My Battle with JRA |
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| JRA ----------------------- Juvenile Rhuematoid Arthrtis. This is a very painful and debilitating illness that is caused when a person's immune system begins attacking their own body. Jra effects the cartilage, and tissues of the joints. A normal RA factor is between 0-40. When first diagnosed, my factor was 333. A year ago this month in January it was 444. Now some may wonder why my numbers jumped if the treatment plans have worked. This is where this becomes a VERY sketchy issue. I have suffered with this illness since my childhood. However due to the fact that I was an otherwise healthy and athletic person, my illness was ignored. Some days I had alot of pain, but there no outward signs of anything being wrong. I had the normal childhood. I played baseball, Football and was actively involved in Martial Arts and went hiking and played soccer. At age 19 I suffered a hip injury that unbeknwonst to me at the time "awoke" the jra in my system. The morning after the injury, I had inflammation and terrible stinging pain in my legs. I was working at the time on construction and was unable to make it in to work that day. I went and saw a Dr three days later when the pain had worsened. I explained to him that my mother had jra and that she had passed away just a year before. Just 8 days before my 18th birthday. He looked at me, in my eyes and told me that at 19 years of age, I should not be looking for sympathy, or a free ride. I did not understand what that meant or even what it had to do with my explaining to him that I was afraid the jra my mother had had been passed on to me. He sent me home with a prescription for Advil 800 Mg. So...believing it was in my imagination, I fought through the pain and worked the best I could while taking the Advils. They worked somewhat, but the pain always broke back through within 4 to 6 hours. After about 5 months since the injury, I began to notice my left side going through severe changes. I couldn't move my shoulder easily nor my elbow, the pain would often bring tears to my eyes. My right side was also hurting almost all the time in my ankle and my knee. I went to see a different Dr who basically told me the same thing, I was too young to have to worry about having anything as serious as Rhiematoid Arthrtis and for me to stop stressing myself into believing it was anything more than growing pains. For the next 11 years I worked and fought through the pain, living off over the counter pain pills and slowly getting worse and worse. By the time I was actually diagnosed with having jra, it was too late. I had been turned bent and twisted into something I didnt recognize. I cant say to this day that had either of those two Dr's listened to me that I would any better off, but I can tell you that I am a better person today than I was back then. Today I choose to educate myself on this illness. It has taken everything that I once was and turned me into who I am today, for that it has been a gift. Drugs like Methotrexate and Sulphasalazine may help some, but they have very nasty and often times serious side effects that hardly benefit the body. I have been given numerous drugs that simply toxify the body into doing what the doctors want them to do. I have finally chosen to do it a different way. The Natural way. Doctors (most of them...not all) will tell you that Holistic medicines are not the right way to go, to fight today's illnesses, you need to be aggressive. I choose to take it one day at a time, live with the pain as it comes and treat my illness the way I feel most comfortable with. People ask me when they see my hands, "Does that hurt?" It isn't exactly a dumb question, but it is a pretty obvious one. If you would like more information on JRA or any of the other types of Debilitating Arhtrtis's, you can contact your local chapter of the Arhtrtis Foundation. They are worldwide and they may be able to direct you in the help you seek. My advice is, if you experience pain, stiffness or swelling in two or more joints on your body, see your Dr. If you have questions or doubts after seeing him, there are other places you can go for answers. Any Herbal store can help you or direct you as well. If there is one I know, it's pain. I have the hands, knees, elbows, jaw and wrists to prove it. Some days I cannot type two lines at my computer, other days I can type all day. JRA effects everyone differently and no one person has the same symptoms. It is a scary illness, not contagious and not deadly, but very aggressive and very nasty. It has no boundaries of where it will attack next. I have been hit bi-laterally down both sides of my body with this illness and at one point it had even gone into remission. When it comes out of remission, that is when you wish to God you had never been born. So see a Doctor, See an herboligist, get yourself checked if you experience any of the above symptoms. This is an illness that has NO cure, dont let anyone tell differently. It wont go away. It's your life, and what you do with it is your choice, I had to make my own. I can tell you that since being treated with the natural remedies and herbs, I have had less pain, less swelling and NO side effects. I am NOT saying not to see a health care practioner first, I'm simply saying they are other ways, and that choice is yours to make. Good Luck. |
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