New to this board

[Guest guest]

Dear Terry:

Welcome to the group. It sounds like you are going through a real rough

time. It definitely sounds like something is up with your liver. All of the

symptoms that you mentioned are classic for hepatitis. Is there another

doctor you can see? Preferably a gastroenterologist, since you can't get

into a hepatologist until September. If you are seeing a GI now, it

definitely sounds like he doesn't know what he's doing. Don't be afraid to

get other help. Has your doctor even done a liver profile? It should show

if your enzymes are elevated or if your bilirubin is high (the itching is

usually an indication of high bilirubin). If not, he needs to do one right

away. If you can't get help from him, or a referral to someone else, you

might try the ER. They will at least do full blood work and might be able to

refer you to someone who can help, and even possibly get you into the

hepatologist sooner. Good luck to you. You're among friends here.

Kathy (AIH)

Seattle area

[Guest guest]

Terry,

Has your Doctor run a liver panel yet? September seems like a long time to

wait. Keep us posted.

Tami

[Guest guest]

Oh I hated the itching. My AIH was so bad before I knew what was going on

that my hair would fall out..

>From: zjm@...

>Reply- onelist

> onelist

>Subject: Re: [ ] new to this board

>Date: Mon, 10 May 1999 09:49:33 -0400 (EDT)

>

>From: zjm@...

>

>The only symptem I had was horrible itching on the trunk of my body.

>After several months of blood tests and high liver counts also my

>autoimmune no. keep rising they did a liver biop. and said I had AIH

>That was in May of last year.

>

> Pa.

>

>

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[Guest guest]

The only symptem I had was horrible itching on the trunk of my body.

After several months of blood tests and high liver counts also my

autoimmune no. keep rising they did a liver biop. and said I had AIH

That was in May of last year.

Pa.

[Guest guest]

Terry:

Welcome to the group!! Try and get into a doctor before September. That is a

long time to wait.

Sue AIH

Wisconsin

[Guest guest]

Hi Jenn, welcome to the group :-)

First, your weight. The numbers you have quoted are great, you're

doing really well! I find that I lose about half the amount of scale

weight doing BFL as I do on WW. But like everyone else, I've learned

that scale weight is the LEAST effective way of tracking your

progress when you're doing weight training. Considering you are not

very overweight (if at all?) to start with, I think you've done

really well to lose what you have done already. (weight comes off

slower when you don't have much to lose). The first week or so you

are bound to lose a bit more than the following weeks, so don't worry

if it slows down. Now on the weight gain issue, it is normal for you

to have put on weight after a free day, and it's very unlikely that

it's all fat. I had the same freakout a few weeks back, and learnt

that first of all it is VERY unlikely that the 2lbs I put on

overnight was all fat. Apparently it would be very difficult for

your body to accomplish such a feat. I also learned that when you

have freeday not only is it good for your mentally, and helps to keep

your body from going into famine (fat-storage) mode, but it loads

your muscles up with glycogen - what they use for energy. Now this

is a GOOD thing, because it will mean your workout the next day

should be great - you should feel a lot stronger. Now this glycogen

comes packaged in water. 3-4 times as much water as there is

glycogen. So if you had a pound of glycogen in your muscles from

free-day, you're also carrying maybe 3 pounds of water. Which will

all go when you start working out.

I have been defying all the rules and weighing myself every day for

the last couple of months and recording it. Every week the same

thing happens, I put on loads of weight after free day, it slowly

creeps off during the week, then on Friday and Saturday it takes

bigger drops. And when I finish my period it drops even more, last

month I lost 2.2lbs over night on Friday, and 1.75lbs overnight on

Saturday.

So what I'm trying to say is the scale is NOT the be all and end

all. I know that we are all trained to believe that it is, but it's

really not. Even measuring tapes aren't perfect. My measurements

haven't changed a HUGE amount, but I " ve gone down 1.5 dress sizes. I

can only assume that the bulk is coming off the places I don't

measure!

In regards to your supplement question, what do you need to know?

in NZ

C1W10D3

> Hi all, my name is Jenn, I am a 27 year old married woman in B.C.

> Canada. I just started following the bfl program three weeks ago.

> today is the first day of my fourth week. I have a couple of

> questions and am hoping some of you may be able to help me with

your

> experiences etc. I am 5'11 " and currently weigh 164 lbs according

> to the scale at my gym. when i started this program my weight was

> 168 and last Wednesday it was 161. I know all about water

retention

> and muscle mass gain etc and i know that this is likely water

weight

> that has found its way back onto my body but i just need a little

> reassurance that it was not due to the binge of a free day that i

> had on Saturday.

>

> I also had a couple of questions with regards to supplements and

fat

> burners. I have decided to go this route and am wondering if i am

> all alone in this. i find they really curb my appetite and give me

> extra pep when i would otherwise be tired and munchy! I started

> weight watchers like many of you and managed to maintain my weight

> for 11 months. it creeped up 8 lbs after that and i decided to do

> something about it rather than just give up. I couldnt bear to

> count points again and am looking forward to becoming more fit so i

> decided to give bfl a try. Thanks for your feedback ladies. I

just

> came home from an awesome Upper body workout. i feel like my

> strength is already beginning to increase. I have a really lean

> upper body and a really lumpy bumpy lower body. im hoping to gain

> lots of muscle up top while i tone the bottom. THanks again, Jenn

[Guest guest]

The scale can fluctuate pretty wildly. If you want a more accurate idea of

what's happening only weigh yourself once a week, the morning of free day,

before you've had anything to eat or drink. That way when you get on the scale

you always have a full week of clean eating behind you.

It's normal for your weight to jump several pounds the day after free day

because you're eating more carbs and more sodium and not drinking as much water.

You don't suddenly put on 3-5 pounds of fat overnight but you can easily gain

that much water weight after a free day. It takes several days for your weight

to return to normal and continue dropping. By the morning of your next free day

it should be down again. If you're getting on the scale at all different times

and days then you're not getting a very accurate look at the changes.

Free days can slow your progress if they're really, really out of control but it

would take about 7,000 extra calories to wipe out a 2 pound deficit. Most people

can't casually eat that much in one day, but it's totally doable if somebody has

a free weekend, or a free day plus a few slip-ups during the week. Then it's

entirely possible for someone to be working really hard but not seeing any fat

loss.

New to this board

Hi all, my name is Jenn, I am a 27 year old married woman in B.C.

Canada. I just started following the bfl program three weeks ago.

today is the first day of my fourth week. I have a couple of

questions and am hoping some of you may be able to help me with your

experiences etc. I am 5'11 " and currently weigh 164 lbs according

to the scale at my gym. when i started this program my weight was

168 and last Wednesday it was 161. I know all about water retention

and muscle mass gain etc and i know that this is likely water weight

that has found its way back onto my body but i just need a little

reassurance that it was not due to the binge of a free day that i

had on Saturday.

I also had a couple of questions with regards to supplements and fat

burners. I have decided to go this route and am wondering if i am

all alone in this. i find they really curb my appetite and give me

extra pep when i would otherwise be tired and munchy! I started

weight watchers like many of you and managed to maintain my weight

for 11 months. it creeped up 8 lbs after that and i decided to do

something about it rather than just give up. I couldnt bear to

count points again and am looking forward to becoming more fit so i

decided to give bfl a try. Thanks for your feedback ladies. I just

came home from an awesome Upper body workout. i feel like my

strength is already beginning to increase. I have a really lean

upper body and a really lumpy bumpy lower body. im hoping to gain

lots of muscle up top while i tone the bottom. THanks again, Jenn

[Guest guest]

Hi Dom!

Welcome to our wonderful helpful group! Please get back to us with any

questions, or for some moral support, after you've had a chance to

absorb the information.

The best to you, Bee

Dom wrote:

> Hi Everyone I am a nurse assistant and am here to get myself

> educated. I have heard of candida many years ago but do not know

> enough about it. I will continue to search the board for infos.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/19/2006 9:55:10 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

CBBECB@... writes:

question is that can you have JRA and not have symptoms for 6 weeks

continuously. He has had flares for a year and a half so I can't see

how this is viral arthritis. What else could it be? If anyone has

been in this situation I would love to hear what your doctor's opinion

was.

Hi! I'm new too! My daugther was diagnosed with pauciarticular JRA. And her

symptoms are the same as you described your son's.

They also discovered that she had Lyme's disease and " cured " that, thinking

that was the whole cause of the joint stiffness. But the flare ups kept coming

back, along with the knee drainings,

The pediatrician referred her to a rheumotologist and after reading her med

history, he told me that she was a " classic textbook case " of JRA..tiny,

blonde hair, blue eyes. After some more blood work, he discovered that

carried a genetic marker called HLA-B27 that predisposed her to the Anklosing

Spondylitis.

))

[Guest guest]

Wow, I have to tell you that sounds just like my son. Unfortunately

we don't really have a diagnosis, so I won't be much help. My son

is 4 also and he has been having problems since July of 2005.

He had strep throat in July and his knee pain started in August. The

first time it lasted almost an entire month. The second flare was

in November and lasted a week. The third time was in January and

also lasted a week. We went to an orthopedic doctor who did xrays

and said he thought it was JRA. We waited 2 months to see the

pediatric rheumy. Finally we went in March and he had no signs of

arthritis at that point. He had xrays, ultrasounds and tons of blood

tests and all were fine. We had a follow up in April and again no

signs of arthritis. 3 days after the appointment, while we were out

of town on vacation, his left knee again swelled up and he was in a

lot of pain. We took him to an urgent care center. After telling the

doctor there everything that had been going on, he ran a strep test

just on a hunch. Although he did not have a sore throat or any other

symptoms, the rapid strep test was positive. He went on an

antiobiotic and ibuprofen and his knee was ok in about 5 days. We

went back to his regular doctor after the vacation was over and she

said that he must just react to strep or virus' with arthritis.

Honestly we aren't entirely convinced. But the pediatric rheumy we

saw was not willing to call it JRA and from what I have read it

really doesn't sound like it anyway. So we are also in a limbo..

waiting for it to happen again and hoping it won't. I can't wait to

hear what you find out when you see the specialist. Good luck!

>

> My 4 year old son has been having swelling/pain in his knee every

2-4

> months since December of 2004. He flared again last week and we

were

> finally referred to see an orthopaedic doctor who did an MRI and

told

> us that he thinks it is JRA. We are going to see a pediatric

> rheumatologist next Tuesday. doesn't seem to fit all the

> criteria that I have read for a JRA diagnosis in that his flares

don't

> usually last for six weeks. His knee swells and he is unable to

walk

> in the mornings and then by the afternoon he is better. This can

go on

> for just a few days to a month. It is always his left knee. He

> responds very quickly to treatment with Ibuprophen. I guess my

> question is that can you have JRA and not have symptoms for 6

weeks

> continuously. He has had flares for a year and a half so I can't

see

> how this is viral arthritis. What else could it be? If anyone

has

> been in this situation I would love to hear what your doctor's

opinion

> was. We do have a lot of autoimmune diseases in both our

families - my

> MIL has lupus, daughter has a liver disease which is thought to be

> autoimmune, have relatives with RA, etc. I'm glad to find this

board!

>

> Carolyn

>

[Guest guest]

,

What made your dr. test your daughter for lyme disease? My daughter

was diagnosed with systemic jra recently, had the characteristic rash

and fevers, but she has a new rash now-somewhat circular with clear

centers. It comes and goes within the same day, wondering if it's

something totally different. Just curious what symptoms of the lyme

disease she had, or if they just happened to find it thru testing?

Thanks,

Tracey

Mom to Madi 14mo systemic

>

>

> >

>

> Hi! I'm new too! My daugther was diagnosed with pauciarticular JRA.

And her

> symptoms are the same as you described your son's.

> They also discovered that she had Lyme's disease and " cured " that,

thinking

> that was the whole cause of the joint stiffness. But the flare ups

kept coming

> back, along with the knee drainings,

> The pediatrician referred her to a rheumotologist and after reading

her med

> history, he told me that she was a " classic textbook case " of

JRA..tiny,

> blonde hair, blue eyes. After some more blood work, he discovered

that

> carried a genetic marker called HLA-B27 that predisposed her to

the Anklosing

> Spondylitis.

> ))

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

i have had jra all my life i am now 32 yrs old, i have always been triggered by

an infection of some kind . if i get a cold, sore throat, or strep throat , my

immune system goes on attack. that is what were dealing with an auto immune

disorder. also most jra patients do not have the ra factor in blood tests. a

good rheumy will tell you that. good luck and keep praying . lauri ann

aimeen1014 <aimee.norris@...> wrote: Wow, I have to tell you that

sounds just like my son. Unfortunately

we don't really have a diagnosis, so I won't be much help. My son

is 4 also and he has been having problems since July of 2005.

He had strep throat in July and his knee pain started in August. The

first time it lasted almost an entire month. The second flare was

in November and lasted a week. The third time was in January and

also lasted a week. We went to an orthopedic doctor who did xrays

and said he thought it was JRA. We waited 2 months to see the

pediatric rheumy. Finally we went in March and he had no signs of

arthritis at that point. He had xrays, ultrasounds and tons of blood

tests and all were fine. We had a follow up in April and again no

signs of arthritis. 3 days after the appointment, while we were out

of town on vacation, his left knee again swelled up and he was in a

lot of pain. We took him to an urgent care center. After telling the

doctor there everything that had been going on, he ran a strep test

just on a hunch. Although he did not have a sore throat or any other

symptoms, the rapid strep test was positive. He went on an

antiobiotic and ibuprofen and his knee was ok in about 5 days. We

went back to his regular doctor after the vacation was over and she

said that he must just react to strep or virus' with arthritis.

Honestly we aren't entirely convinced. But the pediatric rheumy we

saw was not willing to call it JRA and from what I have read it

really doesn't sound like it anyway. So we are also in a limbo..

waiting for it to happen again and hoping it won't. I can't wait to

hear what you find out when you see the specialist. Good luck!

>

> My 4 year old son has been having swelling/pain in his knee every

2-4

> months since December of 2004. He flared again last week and we

were

> finally referred to see an orthopaedic doctor who did an MRI and

told

> us that he thinks it is JRA. We are going to see a pediatric

> rheumatologist next Tuesday. doesn't seem to fit all the

> criteria that I have read for a JRA diagnosis in that his flares

don't

> usually last for six weeks. His knee swells and he is unable to

walk

> in the mornings and then by the afternoon he is better. This can

go on

> for just a few days to a month. It is always his left knee. He

> responds very quickly to treatment with Ibuprophen. I guess my

> question is that can you have JRA and not have symptoms for 6

weeks

> continuously. He has had flares for a year and a half so I can't

see

> how this is viral arthritis. What else could it be? If anyone

has

> been in this situation I would love to hear what your doctor's

opinion

> was. We do have a lot of autoimmune diseases in both our

families - my

> MIL has lupus, daughter has a liver disease which is thought to be

> autoimmune, have relatives with RA, etc. I'm glad to find this

board!

>

> Carolyn

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/20/2006 12:26:11 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

nsigns@... writes:

Just curious what symptoms of the lyme

disease she had, or if they just happened to find it thru testing?

Tracey,

The doctor was actually testing her for Lyme's to rule it out. He initially

suspected JRA, but just wanted to " double-check " because he said that Lyme's

will mimic a lot of the same symptoms as JRA and there fore can go

undiagnosed because dr's will just jump on the first obvious diagnoses.

He was actually surprised when she tested positive in 9 out of 12 bands. So

at first, he marked the pain, swelling, lethagy, etc up to the Lyme's and put

her on anti-biotic's for 30 days.

He decided that she had " Lyme's assisted arthritis " and let it go at that.

Until about 3-4 months later, her right knee swelled up again and she couldn't

walk.

That's when he sent her to the rheumotologist, and here I am now!

))

( , 5 ,JRA, AkSp)

[Guest guest]

Thanks for all your replies! Aimee - it sounds like we are in exactly the

same situation. How long do your son's flare ups last? also gets

rashes and has gotten them since he was a baby but I'm not sure if they are

related since they don't usually occur when his knee is flaring. He gets what

I

call " heat rash " when it is hot and eczema when it is cold. I hope we can get

some answers when we see the rheumatologist next week. The orthopaedic

doctor was pretty sure he would be diagnosed with JRA but the more I read about

it

I am not sure. I can't relate any of 's knee flare ups to a virus,

etc. He has been healthier this winter than he has ever been - I don't think he

has even run a fever or had much of a cold even since last September and his

knee has flared at least four times since last fall. It seems to happen

about every 3 months or so and it has gone on for a year and a half. Are your

son's flares always in the same knee?

Carolyn

[Guest guest]

Aimee,

Does the rheumatologist want to continue following your son even though he

doesn't want to call it JRA? Did he ever say whether the continued flare ups

can cause long term damage to the knee even though it isn't JRA? I just

wonder whether the diagnosis could change if the flare ups continue for a long

period of time.

Thanks!

Carolyn

Mom to , age 4, no diagnosis yet!

[Guest guest]

and do sound a lot alike! 's gets two different types of

rashes. He either gets these dry, red scaly patches - which he mostly gets in

the winter. He can also get these all over rashes that are little red

splotchy dots and those will be all over his chest, back arms and legs. He

gets

those more when it is hot but I think in December he had one like that at the

time his knee was flaring. definitely gets swelling and he gets what

the orthapaedic doctor called a contracture where he can't straighten out his

leg at all. He can bend it fine but can't fully straighten it out. The MRI

and his x-rays have shown fluid on his knee. His sed rate has been normal

which is why his pediatrician doesn't think it is JRA but the orthopaedic

doctor

said that having a normal sed rate doesn't mean much. I can't relate any of

the flares to a viral illness but I know you can have viruses without

symptoms (my daughter had a virus once that made her liver enzymes go extremely

high but she seemed perfectly healthy - no symptoms - not related to her liver

disease). I just find everything very confusing so I can't wait to hear what

the doctor says this Tuesday. What kind of tests did they do on when he

went to see the Rheumatologist the first time? I know it will involve a lot

of blood tests but is there anything else?

Carolyn

[Guest guest]

That's good that they don't think that the flares are causing any damage but

what happens if it keeps happening for years? I just worry about the long

term damage the inflammation is causing to 's knee. 's first flare

also lasted about the same amount of time as 's - about 4 weeks. The

others have been shorter thank goodness. The orthopaedic doctor was actually

pretty alarmed about how 's knee looked when we took him in - he thought

the knee looked bad. Oh I forgot to mention also has congenital

cataracts but they are stable right now and not affecting his vision.

Carolyn

[Guest guest]

The first time complained, he said both legs hurt. He actually

never said his knee.. he pointed to his whole leg and said all up

and down it. That time lasted almost a month. The second time it was

his left knee. It didn't swell, but he complained every day and

wouldn't walk without a hard limp or play with his friends for about

a week. The third time was also his left knee. This time it actually

did swell up and was hot and puffy feeling. This was when we visited

the orthopedic doctor who also said he thought it was JRA. It lasted

5 days or so. He had blood tests during all 3 episodes and he had

slightly elevated sed rate and a few other values were somewhat

high, but nothing they felt was alarming. He had what we call a mini

flare that lasted just 2 days and didn't seem to bother him as much

in March in his right knee. Then right around Easter he had another

episode also in his left knee. It came out of the blue and lasted 5

days also. The first one was about 2 weeks after he had confirmed

strep throat. The 2nd and 3rd we didn't think/realize he had been

sick. The last one in April, he had had a cold for a couple of days,

but nothing too bad. The doctor tested him for strep just in case,

and he tested positive. But he had no syptoms of strep, no sore

throat or fever or anything. We were really suprised the test was

positive.

sounds a lot like . In addition to the recent knee pain,

he has always had a lot of other somewhat unexplained health issues.

One of them is rashes. This past year has actually been a lot

better. But prior to that, it wasn't normal for him not to have a

rash somewhere. He was diagnosed with eczema back when he was an

infant and we think the doctor kind of fell back on that when she

didn't know what else it was. It never looked that much like eczema

to me. He also used to get whole body rashes whenever he got sick..

viral rashes I guess. What do 's rashes look like?

will also frequently get these pimple like things on his face

that are red and kind of hard, but I don't think they are pimples.

He also has contact allergies to nickel and is allergic to cats and

dogs. He also gets cold sores and, recently, canker sores a lot when

he is sick. Does get anything like that? Our regular doctor

just says that the rashes, cold sores, arthritis, etc are all just

ways his body reacts to being sick..

We've been really frustrated the past year with trying to get

answers. But I haven't really been able to relate to anyone else

here that has JRA. It just doesn't seem like the same thing to me.

In between episodes, is completely fine. The rheumy did say

that next time it happens and we are in town, to see if we can bring

him during a flare so he can examine him. But the 2 times he has

seen him, there is just nothing at all about him to indicate he has

any arthritis at all, so that makes it really hard to diagnose him.

I really hope you get some answers for and am curious to hear

what the experts say. When is the appointment? Good luck!

>

> Thanks for all your replies! Aimee - it sounds like we are in

exactly the

> same situation. How long do your son's flare ups last?

also gets

> rashes and has gotten them since he was a baby but I'm not sure

if they are

> related since they don't usually occur when his knee is flaring.

He gets what I

> call " heat rash " when it is hot and eczema when it is cold. I

hope we can get

> some answers when we see the rheumatologist next week. The

orthopaedic

> doctor was pretty sure he would be diagnosed with JRA but the

more I read about it

> I am not sure. I can't relate any of 's knee flare ups to a

virus,

> etc. He has been healthier this winter than he has ever been - I

don't think he

> has even run a fever or had much of a cold even since last

September and his

> knee has flared at least four times since last fall. It seems to

happen

> about every 3 months or so and it has gone on for a year and a

half. Are your

> son's flares always in the same knee?

>

> Carolyn

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Oops, just saw this one. We do have another appointment scheduled in

August as a follow up (3 months after the last one). He also said to

try and bring him during an active flare if possible so he can

actually see it, so if/when it happens again we will do that. He was

feeling that what he has isn't causing any damage..

>

> Aimee,

>

> Does the rheumatologist want to continue following your son even

though he

> doesn't want to call it JRA? Did he ever say whether the

continued flare ups

> can cause long term damage to the knee even though it isn't JRA?

I just

> wonder whether the diagnosis could change if the flare ups

continue for a long

> period of time.

>

> Thanks!

>

> Carolyn

> Mom to , age 4, no diagnosis yet!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/19/2006 10:31:22 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

naturesnotionsnj@... writes:

question is that can you have JRA and not have symptoms for 6 weeks

continuously.

most definitely. I can go months and have even gone years flare free then

with a revenge arthur is back, may be for one day, one week or longer...good

luck!

Donna

[Guest guest]

I read your emails about lyme and wanted to mention that a minority medical

opinion is that some kids/adults need long term (even years) of antibiotics to

get over lyme and related infections. I have personally spoken to some that

were cured of their arthritis that way, and did not respond to the traditional

30 day antibiotic treatment. If you are interested, I have names of such

doctors that know more than me. FYI, we are treating our son who has systemic

JRA on the long term antibiotic approach ( 1 year now) along with trying

arthritis medications. He tested positive on the western blot last year for

lyme. His condition improved this last year while on that treatment, but he has

suffered a set back. Feel free to email me directly at jatwill@.... Good

luck! Jan

Re: Re: New to this board

In a message dated 5/20/2006 12:26:11 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

nsigns@... writes:

Just curious what symptoms of the lyme

disease she had, or if they just happened to find it thru testing?

Tracey,

The doctor was actually testing her for Lyme's to rule it out. He initially

suspected JRA, but just wanted to " double-check " because he said that Lyme's

will mimic a lot of the same symptoms as JRA and there fore can go

undiagnosed because dr's will just jump on the first obvious diagnoses.

He was actually surprised when she tested positive in 9 out of 12 bands. So

at first, he marked the pain, swelling, lethagy, etc up to the Lyme's and put

her on anti-biotic's for 30 days.

He decided that she had " Lyme's assisted arthritis " and let it go at that.

Until about 3-4 months later, her right knee swelled up again and she couldn't

walk.

That's when he sent her to the rheumotologist, and here I am now!

))

( , 5 ,JRA, AkSp)

[Guest guest]

Is currently having a flare? Does he have any symptoms in

between flares? Do you have any pictures of the knee when it is

swollen or the rashes if you think they are relevant. I think

pictures help a lot if you do have any.

's first appointment was really long. I think we were at the

hospital from about 9:00am to 4:00pm. We met with the pediatric

rheumy first and explained everything that had happened in the past

year. He asked a million questions about his history. Then he talked

to and checked his body for any signs of arthritis. Then he

sent us for x-rays and blood work. We had to wait for the x-rays and

then wait for the blood draw. Then we had to wait for him to come in

and talk to us again. The xray techs thought they might have

detected some slight swelling so he examined him again and then

decided to send him for an ultrasound of the knees. We did that

(waited a while of course) and then waited again to see him. This

time he told us that he didn't see any sign of swelling in the

ultrasound. He also did a urine test and a throat culture (to check

for strep).

We had a follow up appointment a month later where he examined him

again. We repeated the ultrasound and went over the blood test

results. He told us that everything looked fine at that point.

Good luck tomorrow at the appointment! I hope you can find some

answers.

>

> and do sound a lot alike! 's gets two different

types of

> rashes. He either gets these dry, red scaly patches - which he

mostly gets in

> the winter. He can also get these all over rashes that are

little red

> splotchy dots and those will be all over his chest, back arms and

legs. He gets

> those more when it is hot but I think in December he had one like

that at the

> time his knee was flaring. definitely gets swelling and he

gets what

> the orthapaedic doctor called a contracture where he can't

straighten out his

> leg at all. He can bend it fine but can't fully straighten it

out. The MRI

> and his x-rays have shown fluid on his knee. His sed rate has

been normal

> which is why his pediatrician doesn't think it is JRA but the

orthopaedic doctor

> said that having a normal sed rate doesn't mean much. I can't

relate any of

> the flares to a viral illness but I know you can have viruses

without

> symptoms (my daughter had a virus once that made her liver

enzymes go extremely

> high but she seemed perfectly healthy - no symptoms - not related

to her liver

> disease). I just find everything very confusing so I can't wait

to hear what

> the doctor says this Tuesday. What kind of tests did they do on

when he

> went to see the Rheumatologist the first time? I know it will

involve a lot

> of blood tests but is there anything else?

>

> Carolyn

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

With the rashes has any dr mentioned psoriasis? There is a disease

called psoriatic arthritis that has the joint symptoms with rash

(different rash from systemic). Sorry if someone already mentioned this,

I am just checking my emails now! LOL Just a thought, Michele

(19,spondy)

Re: Re: New to this board

and do sound a lot alike! 's gets two different types

of

rashes. He either gets these dry, red scaly patches - which he mostly

gets in

the winter. He can also get these all over rashes that are little red

splotchy dots and those will be all over his chest, back arms and legs.

He gets

those more when it is hot but I think in December he had one like that

at the

time his knee was flaring. definitely gets swelling and he gets

what

the orthapaedic doctor called a contracture where he can't straighten

out his

leg at all. He can bend it fine but can't fully straighten it out.

The MRI

and his x-rays have shown fluid on his knee. His sed rate has been

normal

which is why his pediatrician doesn't think it is JRA but the

orthopaedic doctor

said that having a normal sed rate doesn't mean much. I can't relate

any of

the flares to a viral illness but I know you can have viruses without

symptoms (my daughter had a virus once that made her liver enzymes go

extremely

high but she seemed perfectly healthy - no symptoms - not related to

her liver

disease). I just find everything very confusing so I can't wait to

hear what

the doctor says this Tuesday. What kind of tests did they do on

when he

went to see the Rheumatologist the first time? I know it will involve

a lot

of blood tests but is there anything else?

Carolyn

[Guest guest]

Hi Carolyn. I was just wondering how the appointment went? Did you

get any answers? I hope it went well.

>

> and do sound a lot alike! 's gets two different

types of

> rashes. He either gets these dry, red scaly patches - which he

mostly gets in

> the winter. He can also get these all over rashes that are

little red

> splotchy dots and those will be all over his chest, back arms and

legs. He gets

> those more when it is hot but I think in December he had one like

that at the

> time his knee was flaring. definitely gets swelling and he

gets what

> the orthapaedic doctor called a contracture where he can't

straighten out his

> leg at all. He can bend it fine but can't fully straighten it

out. The MRI

> and his x-rays have shown fluid on his knee. His sed rate has

been normal

> which is why his pediatrician doesn't think it is JRA but the

orthopaedic doctor

> said that having a normal sed rate doesn't mean much. I can't

relate any of

> the flares to a viral illness but I know you can have viruses

without

> symptoms (my daughter had a virus once that made her liver

enzymes go extremely

> high but she seemed perfectly healthy - no symptoms - not related

to her liver

> disease). I just find everything very confusing so I can't wait

to hear what

> the doctor says this Tuesday. What kind of tests did they do on

when he

> went to see the Rheumatologist the first time? I know it will

involve a lot

> of blood tests but is there anything else?

>

> Carolyn

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Well we didn't get any answers on Tuesday. The Rheumy doesn't think

it is JRA because the symptoms do not last at least six weeks. He

said that by definition JRA is chronic and if the symptoms go away in

a week that is not chronic. didn't have any swelling/pain on

Tuesday so I guess it was a pretty unimpressive exam. He did draw a

lot of blood but we don't have results from that back yet. He wants

to tap the knee the next time it swells and said that is really the

only way he can figure out what is causing this. He didn't give us

any ideas about what it might be. Anyway the one thing he did

diagnose with is a heart murmur and said we needed to take him

to see a cardiologist - I think we spent as much time talking about

his heart as we did his knee! That was a total surprise and

something totally new to worry about. This will be 8th specialist

one of my kids has been referred to - with three of them being 2

hours from home. So I am a little down about all of that! I know it

could be much worse and I am happy that they don't think has

JRA but what else could it be? The one good thing he said was that

he didn't think that the intermittent swelling was causing any

permanent damage to the knee which is one thing I was really worried

about. Maybe between Alx and we will figure all this out!

Carolyn

Mom to , age 4, no diagnosis!

> >

> > and do sound a lot alike! 's gets two different

> types of

> > rashes. He either gets these dry, red scaly patches - which he

> mostly gets in

> > the winter. He can also get these all over rashes that are

> little red

> > splotchy dots and those will be all over his chest, back arms

and

> legs. He gets

> > those more when it is hot but I think in December he had one

like

> that at the

> > time his knee was flaring. definitely gets swelling and

he

> gets what

> > the orthapaedic doctor called a contracture where he can't

> straighten out his

> > leg at all. He can bend it fine but can't fully straighten it

> out. The MRI

> > and his x-rays have shown fluid on his knee. His sed rate has

> been normal

> > which is why his pediatrician doesn't think it is JRA but the

> orthopaedic doctor

> > said that having a normal sed rate doesn't mean much. I can't

> relate any of

> > the flares to a viral illness but I know you can have viruses

> without

> > symptoms (my daughter had a virus once that made her liver

> enzymes go extremely

> > high but she seemed perfectly healthy - no symptoms - not

related

> to her liver

> > disease). I just find everything very confusing so I can't wait

> to hear what

> > the doctor says this Tuesday. What kind of tests did they do on

> when he

> > went to see the Rheumatologist the first time? I know it will

> involve a lot

> > of blood tests but is there anything else?

> >

> > Carolyn

> >

> >

> >