Re: about monoarthritis... a question...

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Here we call it pauciarticular JRA,meaning fewer than 5 joints.My son is

systemic so this is not really my area of expertise,but I know some

basics.First most kids with JRA do not have a positive rheumatoid factor,that

is a good thing.Nobody knows if your son will only have the one ankle

affected,more joints could become active,but then again they might not.The

steroid injection could work from a few weeks to 6-12 months mayby

longer.Your childs type of arthritis has the best remission rate of all the

subtypes.Unfortunatelly with the injections you never know when it will wear

off,and the ankle is back to the way it was.

My son has many many joints involved,but due to all the meds hes on,all is

under control except his left ankle.My son had his ankle drained and injected

back in July.It worked for about 3-4 weeks,he played to hard to fast for it

to take good,so last Thursday he had it done again.Only this time he is in a

cast for two weeks to give the steroids time to work without him being able

to overdo it.We are hoping to get results that last the 6-12 months this

time.JRA is a big guessing game for parants and the doctors.No one knows what

will happen or when, so you just have to take it day by day and enjoy the

good days to the fullest and deal with the bad when they happen.Does your son

get regular eye exams by an Opthomoligist every 3 months?Your son runs a risk

of eye inflimation even if his ankle is fine.Sorry I could not give you a

definate answer,I wish the doctors had a magic ball they could look into and

tell you exactly what is going to happen and when.

Becki and 4systemic

[Guest guest]

Janne's mom-

My daughter 's arthritis started in just her right knee when she was 17 mos. She started off on Naprosyn. It helped a little, but the swelling stayed. She then had a joint injection. She had no symptoms at all for a year after that. It then came back in her knee, ankle, wrist and elbow. She also developed iritis at that time (she's ANA positive). Everything is now well under control. She's on methotrexate, folic acid and Relafen. It's impossible to predict whether Janne's arthritis will stay confined to one joint. I hope so. Keep your fingers crossed and stay on top of it.

Diane (, 3, pauci)

[Guest guest]

Hi. My son's jra started in just his left ankle. He had pain there only for awhile (about one year) then he began to have involvement in other areas. Primarily in his feet, toes,achilles tendons, and pelvic rim (lower back). He was then diagnosed as having spondyloarthropy also. His ankles continue to be the most painful. He takes Celebrex and Methotrexate for his arthritis. These are working the best out of all the meds he has tried. He began to have pain in March of 2000 and was finally diagnosed in October 2000. I can't believe we are almost two years into diagnosis. Anyway, he has lately begun to have more problems and I think the mtx will need to be upped. He goes to the rhuemy on Tues so we shall see. As to your son, some kids do well for quite awhile after getting injections. Hopefully, your son will. Also not all kids develop arthritis in more joints than what they start with. This disease is so different for everyone. If your son is ANA positive he should also have his eyes checked as that can indicate a tendency towards a disease called uveitis. My son is ANA pos. so he gets checked every six months. So far, his eyes are perfect. I am sure that others here can also help to answer your questions. Michele (mom to 15, pauci jra and spondy)

-----Original Message-----From: majkki58 [mailto:majkki@...] Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 1:08 PM Subject: about monoarthritis... a question...My 6 yr son was diagnosed jra this summer. He has it just in one ankle. The status is pretty good now, he takes just Naxopren daily and was given a cortisone injection to the ankle some weeks ago. The blood tests showed that the injection helped and how we have the next check ups only after 3-4 months. Just wanted to know if someone else's jra has started this way. Has it stayed like monoarthritis for a longer time or has there been something soon in the other bigger joints? The rheuma factor was not found in the blood tests but the mri showed it is jra.You know this is terrible time, he can walk and run normally after the difficult times he had a couple of weeks ago. But how long will it stay like this??Janne's mother

[Guest guest]

thanks! sorry haven't now time to write more as need to get kids to

bed and first of all the teeth of our youngest brushed...

Janne's mother

> Hi. My son's jra started in just his left ankle. He had pain there

only for

> awhile (about one year) then he began to have involvement in other

areas.

> Primarily in his feet, toes,achilles tendons, and pelvic rim (lower

back).

> He was then diagnosed as having spondyloarthropy also. His ankles

continue

> to be the most painful. He takes Celebrex and Methotrexate for his

> arthritis. These are working the best out of all the meds he has

tried. He

> began to have pain in March of 2000 and was finally diagnosed in

October

> 2000. I can't believe we are almost two years into diagnosis.

Anyway, he has

> lately begun to have more problems and I think the mtx will need to

be

> upped. He goes to the rhuemy on Tues so we shall see. As to your

son, some

> kids do well for quite awhile after getting injections. Hopefully,

your son

> will. Also not all kids develop arthritis in more joints than what

they

> start with. This disease is so different for everyone. If your son

is ANA

> positive he should also have his eyes checked as that can indicate a

> tendency towards a disease called uveitis. My son is ANA pos. so he

gets

> checked every six months. So far, his eyes are perfect. I am sure

that

> others here can also help to answer your questions. Michele (mom

to

> 15, pauci jra and spondy)

>

> about monoarthritis... a question...

>

>

> My 6 yr son was diagnosed jra this summer. He has it just in one

> ankle. The status is pretty good now, he takes just Naxopren daily

> and was given a cortisone injection to the ankle some weeks ago.

The

> blood tests showed that the injection helped and how we have the

next

> check ups only after 3-4 months.

> Just wanted to know if someone else's jra has started this way. Has

> it stayed like monoarthritis for a longer time or has there been

> something soon in the other bigger joints?

> The rheuma factor was not found in the blood tests but the mri

showed

> it is jra.

> You know this is terrible time, he can walk and run normally after

> the difficult times he had a couple of weeks ago. But how long will

> it stay like this??

> Janne's mother

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Janne's mom,

just one comment about monoarthritis. Usually jra is called

oligoarthritis (=pauciarthritis)even though it is in one joint only.

The term " monoarthritis " is usually used when there's a suspicion

that the cause is a bacterial infection, or the joint inflammated is

the knee. Meaning that it is quite rare to have a " real "

monoarthritis in the ankle, but it can also happen, and as some

people here already said, it can be a year or two before there's

anything else. This disease is so tricky...

Soili & Juho 7 pauci

[Guest guest]

thanks for telling how it started with your .

We will sure try to see if Janne gets more symptoms. Luckily he is

already a big boy (6 yrs) and so can tell if some other joint starts

hurting or if he gets some difficulties in moving.

We already were afraid his wrist was also affected, when he one

morning complained about pain in his wrist, but luckily he had just

been sleeping with his hand under himself in a wrong position. So

that uneasiness in his wrist was only one morning mid June and when

we told about that to the doctor she could see nothing there.

Janne's mom

> Janne's mom-

>

> My daughter 's arthritis started in just her right knee when

she was 17

> mos. She started off on Naprosyn. It helped a little, but the

swelling

> stayed. She then had a joint injection. She had no symptoms at

all for a

> year after that. It then came back in her knee, ankle, wrist and

elbow. She

> also developed iritis at that time (she's ANA positive).

Everything is now

> well under control. She's on methotrexate, folic acid and

Relafen. It's

> impossible to predict whether Janne's arthritis will stay confined

to one

> joint. I hope so. Keep your fingers crossed and stay on top of it.

>

> Diane (, 3, pauci)

[Guest guest]

Hi, Janne's Mom,

My 13 year old son was diagnosed with JRA shortly after his 6th birthday. He has the systemic type but there are quite a few other parents in this group whose children have pauciarticular JRA. A few have already responded, I see, and if you stick around you'll probably meet many more. My son has never had joint injections done. He takes quite a few meds each day, which help to control the symptoms. Prednisone, Plaquinel, Indomethacin, Cytotec, folic acid, and a weekly dose of Methotrexate, etc. Because of the Prednisone and Plaquinel he's been continually needing to take for all these years, he too has to be monitored by the eye doctor regularly. Though his arthritis has not caused eye inflammation (rare, in the systemic form of JRA) the meds (steroids) have caused small cataracts to form and the Plaquinel is also known, in rare cases, to cause some reversible-if-caught-soon-enough retinal damage. Even though our children may have different forms of arthritis, much of our experience tends to be similar. Feel free to ask any questions you may have and usually, there will be at least a couple parents who may be able to share something from their experience that you will find helpful or reassuring.

Aloha, Georgina

----- Original Message -----

From: majkki58

My 6 yr son was diagnosed jra this summer. He has it just in one ankle. The status is pretty good now, he takes just Naxopren daily and was given a cortisone injection to the ankle some weeks ago. The blood tests showed that the injection helped and how we have the next check ups only after 3-4 months. Just wanted to know if someone else's jra has started this way. Has it stayed like monoarthritis for a longer time or has there been something soon in the other bigger joints? The rheuma factor was not found in the blood tests but the mri showed it is jra.You know this is terrible time, he can walk and run normally after the difficult times he had a couple of weeks ago. But how long will it stay like this??Janne's mother

[Guest guest]

Hi Diane,

I'm so glad to hear that is continuing to do well. Just out of curiosity .... how much does she weigh now and what is her current dose of MTX?

Aloha, Georgina

----- Original Message -----

From: dbornscheu@...

Janne's mom- My daughter 's arthritis started in just her right knee when she was 17 mos. She started off on Naprosyn. It helped a little, but the swelling stayed. She then had a joint injection. She had no symptoms at all for a year after that. It then came back in her knee, ankle, wrist and elbow. She also developed iritis at that time (she's ANA positive). Everything is now well under control. She's on methotrexate, folic acid and Relafen. It's impossible to predict whether Janne's arthritis will stay confined to one joint. I hope so. Keep your fingers crossed and stay on top of it. Diane (, 3, pauci)