Aa
please can anyone help my son
on 22nd july my son awoke with chronic knee pain.the next day he was admitted to hospital and ove 7 days had it drained of fluid 5 times.no infection found,released from hospital and sent to a rummy..we are now on number 2. today they have decided he needs an mri and x ray of his back and wants him to start on dmard..no one has mentioned ra they have mentioned gout..reactive arthritis..sexually trans disease..but all are negative..we went to an alternative therapist who is sure it is a back injury as he had been laying floor boards for 2 weeks and is usually on wall sheeting.this is getting him so down ..he has had no sick pay from work nd has no other income..awaiting ssp. he was a very healthy 26yr old who goes to the gym daily............he is now on crutched and hobles everywhere. the pain is knee calf back and soetimes foot.........any help or advice greatly appreciated.........are the chinese therapist able to deal with this.........whatever it is..
I know you are worried and I do not blame you at all. Please let us know what you learn. We will be here to help you through this.
thank you very much for your reply.......i really really appreciate it.....i have phoned his gp this morning for an appointment togo over this.........i am appearing positive to my son but inside i am so worried.no matter what age he is still my son and i want to do all i can to support him.thank you once again
I am so sorry your son is suffering. I can only imagine how helpless feel and desperate you must be to find something or someone to help. I will try my best to address your concerns and help you in the ways that I can.
1. An MRI and x-rays are good news. Those test results plus symptoms plus lab results are how they diagnose a problem. Lab results are not enough to diagnose a patient. You can have a condition and have the lab come back negative for it. It is called Sero negative xxxx. You can also test positive for something in labs and not have it. The symptoms, x-rays and MRIs are crucial pieces of the puzzle.
2. Alternative medicine, in my experience, can help relieve symptoms. I went to an accupuncturist, a muscle release therapist (specialized form of massage)and an iridologist/herbalist (diagnosis by looking at the eye) while waiting for a diagnosis and treatment that would help me (I have RA, Sjogren's and Ankylosing Spondylitis.) For me, the combination approach helped but western medicine was critical to returning a large degree of my quality of life.
Because of the additional tests the 2nd rheummy is ordering, I think your son is on a good course to getting diagnosed and treated. The worst part is having to be patient. It takes time to get a diagnosis and sometimes you have to change doctors more than once. Once diagnosed and depending on the diagnosis, it can also take time to get the treatment right. Various drugs may be tried in various combinations and dosages. For some the process is fast, for me it took 2 years and for others it takes much longer. I believe the keys are being your own advocate, being willing to change doctors and educating yourself on the conditions the doctors are investigating BUT you have to be careful with that as you can scare yourself horribly. (I read too much on a condition for which my labs were positive though I had no symptoms and it turned out I did not have that disease.)
Things that will help the doctor include a family medical history (include aunts, uncles and cousins IF they have rare or autoimmune diseases.) A detailed medical history for your son. A log of all symptoms and pain, even those that seem unrelated, when they occurred, how long they lasted, what made them better (if anything), etc.
Something that will help your son is to take pen and paper to the doctor appts and maybe take another person, too. It is hard to absorb all that the doc says and writing it down may capture something important that may otherwise be forgotten.
Try to stay positive, be supportive and let us know how you are both doing.
1. An MRI and x-rays are good news. Those test results plus symptoms plus lab results are how they diagnose a problem. Lab results are not enough to diagnose a patient. You can have a condition and have the lab come back negative for it. It is called Sero negative xxxx. You can also test positive for something in labs and not have it. The symptoms, x-rays and MRIs are crucial pieces of the puzzle.
2. Alternative medicine, in my experience, can help relieve symptoms. I went to an accupuncturist, a muscle release therapist (specialized form of massage)and an iridologist/herbalist (diagnosis by looking at the eye) while waiting for a diagnosis and treatment that would help me (I have RA, Sjogren's and Ankylosing Spondylitis.) For me, the combination approach helped but western medicine was critical to returning a large degree of my quality of life.
Because of the additional tests the 2nd rheummy is ordering, I think your son is on a good course to getting diagnosed and treated. The worst part is having to be patient. It takes time to get a diagnosis and sometimes you have to change doctors more than once. Once diagnosed and depending on the diagnosis, it can also take time to get the treatment right. Various drugs may be tried in various combinations and dosages. For some the process is fast, for me it took 2 years and for others it takes much longer. I believe the keys are being your own advocate, being willing to change doctors and educating yourself on the conditions the doctors are investigating BUT you have to be careful with that as you can scare yourself horribly. (I read too much on a condition for which my labs were positive though I had no symptoms and it turned out I did not have that disease.)
Things that will help the doctor include a family medical history (include aunts, uncles and cousins IF they have rare or autoimmune diseases.) A detailed medical history for your son. A log of all symptoms and pain, even those that seem unrelated, when they occurred, how long they lasted, what made them better (if anything), etc.
Something that will help your son is to take pen and paper to the doctor appts and maybe take another person, too. It is hard to absorb all that the doc says and writing it down may capture something important that may otherwise be forgotten.
Try to stay positive, be supportive and let us know how you are both doing.
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