Chronic Joint Pain in youth/teenager

[Sue56]

My 17 year old daughter has had chronic joint pain for about 7 years.  It began in her hips, (we thought it was growing pains)...moved to knees, ankles...now to all joints..even her jaw.  It is getting more severe.  Rheumatology test show hypermobility but no arthritis or autoimmune issues.  X-rays show the joints to be in correct position.  Naturalpathic shows mild food allergies to eggs, blueberries and dairy..not enough to cause anything more than her stomach discomfort.  Her GP doesn't take it seriously and we are at a loss of what to do.  She is physically active (horseriding nearly every day) as that is the only thing that can bring her some relief and help her focus her mind on other physical things to help her cope.  It has progressed to more significant pain even in this last year.  Riding her horse is like physical therapy and relieves a lot of the hip pain while riding and will lesson pain for a while afterwards.   Sitting for any length of time increases the pain (school, car rides etc).  She also has what she feels is secondary chronic back and neck muscle pain as a stress response to the joint pain throughout her body.  She is having more and more difficulty coping with the pain (we start accupuncture next week), but most of all we seek advise as to how to proceed to find a cause so we can treat the actual problem not just attempt to mask it.  We'd appreciate any advise or suggestions you might have.  Does a neurological evaluation make sense?  Internist?  Second Rheumatological Opinion? Hormonal?

[Oofie]

Wow!  So glad I found this. I am dealing with the same thing in my daughter. She is very active. Tumbling and in 2 cheer teams, track. She is 14 and it started about a year and a half ago. Pain in her ankles and then her wrists.  She is thin and I thought she just needed to build up some muscle. It has progressed to pain in her shoulders and even in her fingers. Blood tests came back negative for arthritis, lupus, Lyme disease etc...  only thing was low vitamin D and indications she was recovering from mono which, to my knowledge she never had. She does feel fatigued all the time but, this has been going on for a few years. The pedi I took her to was useless. Sat at her computer with her back to me the whole time. Decided it was psychological based on a questionnaire my daughter filled out indicating she has symptoms of depression. Of course she does!  She is in constant pain. My daughter has a good friend group and is socially active. She frequently initiates their social activities. So, she is not socially withdrawn. I am trying to decide where to go next since the pedi is essentially ignoring the issue. I have thought it may be a connective tissue issue since she does seem to be able to move her joints in unusual ways. Her Dad also had a condition growing up where he had no cartilage in one knee. I am working on improving her diet and adding vitamin supplements. Thank you all for posting. And for the person who was desperately begging for help I am adding the suicide  hotline number. Remember an answer can be just around the corner. Never give up. 800-273-8255.

[dcleidy]

Could be as simple as a gluten intolerance or she could have a tic born illness other her then Lyme. You can treat her for a tic born illnesses safely using essential oils, but use good ones like doterra. I had Lyme and was cured using essential oils. There’s lots of info online. It took about a week of using the oils before the pain started to go away but you need to continue with the oils for months to make sure it all goes away. Definitely worth a try.

[ciiera1]

I am 14 as well, and this sounds so much like what I have been experiencing.  Last year, I had severe fatigue for months that doctors thought was caused by mono, which I tested positive for.  Now I have pain in my knees, back, wrists, and sometimes my fingers and toes.  If you figure out what is going on, please let me know.  Best wishes!

[Nicola321]

My daughter is in exactly the same position now.  She is 17.  She has suffered exacty all symptoms your daughter has.   Can you tell me the outcome as we are now ten years since this was posted.  Regards.  Nicola

[niknaz]

Ask about Ehler Danlos Syndrome!! I have it and have horrible hip pain!!

[Bamagal35]

My 14girls y/o daughter is very active. She plays golf, softball and is a varsity cheerleader for football, basketball and competition. I'm desperate to get her some relief. She initially started with leg, foot and hip pains around 12 and had surgery for hyperpronating feet. But now the past year has had increasing joint pain that started in her knees and is now in her shoulder blades and lower back. She hurts all the time and pushes through the pain but it rips me apart to see how bad she hurts. She was off sports for a week and is taking naproxen twice a day but it only provides temporary relief and when she rested for that week she felt like she was starting to freeze up. She had a blood test, hla-b27, come back positive but I really don't know what that means, even as a nurse since I don't specialize in rheumatology. She was also diagnosed as having cataracts at age 12 but they aren't affecting her vision as of now. We have to go to a rheumatoligist at children's on the 29th of March but I would love to get her some relief. Any one have any clue what could be wrong with my daughter???

[karenee]

I'm so sorry...have you had every blood test, xray, mri available?  If not, I'm not sure about your hip-but terrible knee pain and trouble bending your knee past 90º without pain could be a torn meniscus-very intense pain!  You'd need an MRI to confirm, but there are some very typical symptoms an orthopedist would recognize.

Don't give up-with the right dr and diagnosis, help could be around the corner.

Good luck and don't give up!

[sid86]

i've been suffering for 7 years from an unknown chronic pain, my right knee and hip joint tend to swell up in damp and cold weather (not that it does not happen in summers), i cannot sit with my knees folded, i cannot bend down to  pick up something, NOTHING SEEMS TO WORK FOR ME, I HAVE THOUGHT OF COMMITTING SUICIDE!!! HELP ME!!

[htlee]

My 15 year-old daughter has similar pain for more than one year, we though it was an injury from the track running. At the end, we found she got the Lyme disease. She is on medication now, and the pain is getting better. Please note, her first blood screen came back negative, the doctor ordered a more detailed one and it was positive. Hope this will help. God bless.

[Mbd60]

Could you possibly elaborate on the "more detailed" Lyme test?

[MelPijoan]

I have a very similar condition but it started in my knees for me.  I have had chronic joint pain for most of my life and I'm 20.  I have also been looked at recently for arthritis and possibly have it in my shoulder(s) but other than that, I have no clue why it's in the majority of my joints and is also getting worse.  Whatever you find out, please post a response with the results.  

Another thing is, my joints have never swollen up (except for a dislocation in my knee a few years ago.)  A doctor I've seen recommended Yoga which I will be starting soon, in the mean time I'd tell your daughter to try and strengthen all of her muscles by swimming and Yoga. It won't completely get rid of the pain but it will help with muscular support. Horseback riding is good for her hips but only works on the joints in the legs.  

[Caliber2005]

Hi Sue,
I can understand your daughter’s condition.
Chronic joint pain which is progressing and involving all joints with no other symptoms suggests Rheumatoid arthritis.
You need to review with Rheumatologist again.
Is she on any drugs? Has disease modifying drugs been started?
Anti-inflammatory drugs with steroids, sometime anti-malarial’s are also helpful.