Hi I’m Mallorie, I’m 31 years old and this is My Arthritis Story. In the winter of 1995 at the age of 10 I came down with one of the many cases of strep throat. I started getting fevers and complaining of joint pain on a regular basis.
In the summer of 1995 I woke up in the middle of the night screaming in pain and holding my knee. My mom discovered a large lump bulging out the side of my right knee. The next morning my parents took me to the E.R. where they told us it was "growing pains" and thus sent us on our way with 200 mg of ibuprofen. That summer I was excited to join my first softball team. I soon found out I had to sit out on a lot of games because I was hurting. As a result my parents presumed I was making it up and thought I didn't want to play softball anymore.
…show more content…
The surgeon decided to remove the lump and have it biopsied. The lump turned out to be a benign tumor. At a follow -up visit with the orthopedic surgeon, the doctor asked me to make a closed fist with my hands. At that moment, my parents and I discovered I wasn't able to bend or move my fingers and we were told it could be arthritis. I was referred to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for testing. In August 1995, after 4 days of being poked and prodded at, I was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis with overlapping SLE (lupus). The doctors there put me on Plaquenil and referred me to Dr. Kiem a pediatric rheumatologist in Green Bay, WI. After my diagnosis at Mayo Clinic, my disease progression started to go down-hill very quickly. My dad would have to carry me on his back up and down the stairs and my mom would have to help me to the toilet in the middle of the night in the morning. My feet and ankles were too painful to put any weight on and I ached and had chills all over my
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory and an autoimmune disease that occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s tissue (Rheumatoid arthritis, 2017). This disease affects the entire body, which is called a systemic (means entire body) disease. Arthritis is derived from the word part arthr-, which means “joint,” and -itis, which means “inflammation,” so altogether it means “inflammation of the joints.” It creates inflammation that causes the tissue that lines the inside of joints (synovium) to thicken. About 1.5 million people in the U.S. are affected. It affects all races, but it affects three times as many women than men (What is Rheumatoid Arthritis, n.d.). Overtime, rheumatoid arthritis causes painful swelling that can potentially result in bone erosion or joint deformity, which leads up to physical disabilities. RA can affect more than just your joints, but can spread to body systems, skin, eyes, lungs, heart, blood vessels, e.t.c (Rheumatoid arthritis, 2017).
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting more than 27 million Americans (LeMone, Burke, Bauldoff, 2011). It is caused when the cartilage in the joints breaks down, causing the bones of the joint to rub against one another. This causes pain, stiffness, and loss of motion in the joint. Osteoarthritis is most prevalent in those 65 and older, but can affect those of any age. In addition, African Americans and Hispanics report a higher incidence of arthritis than Caucasians (LeMone, Burke, Bauldoff, 2011). Although the cause is unknown, it is believed that the increasing age of the population, prevalence of obesity and injuries add to the progression of the condition. Osteoarthritis can affect any joint in the body; however, those of the hand, hip, and knee are often the most common. This condition may be asymptomatic, or may present symptoms including soreness, stiffness and pain. The symptoms are more common in the older population, those with limited activity levels, and those who are obese. Joint cartilage thins over time, causing an increased risk for symptoms in the elderly, and obesity puts extra pressure on the joints during activity. Osteoarthritis is commonly diagnosed with the use of a physical assessment along with results of radiology testing such as X-Ray and MRI.
When I think about the moments leading up to my diagnosis I remember feeling weak, confused, shaky and sleepy. I did not notice that I had began sleeping throughout the day. My body was craving soft drinks like soda and juice but not food. Days would go by and I eventually fell into a deep slumber that I found myself only waking up from to use the bathroom. I knew something was wrong and that if I did not get to a hospital it would get worse. Nothing could have prepared me for the life changing diagnosis I would receive.
Every disease is known for having their own cycle or process; well as for Osteoarthritis its process is pretty complex. In osteoarthritis (OA), at the end of the bone where they meet to form a joint, allowing movement, the cartilage covering the bone begins something called breakdown. Cartilage is a tissue that cushions the joint when it moves. As the cartilage wears away, the bones are now exposed and they begin to rub against one another. The bone is no longer functioning smoothly, for the joints shape and makeup is affected due to cartilage deterioration. Due to the fact that your bones are being rubbed against one another it is highly possible that other problems can occur inside the joint.
Imagine being diagnosed with a condition that flares in and out of control repeatedly every year. Your doctor has told you that the cause could be genetic, or it could be directly related to previous toxins or illnesses you may have been exposed to, leaving you frustrated and looking for answers. None of your family members have ever had any trouble with their joints, but yours have been so painful and tender lately that even getting out of bed in the morning seems like a chore. Turns out, you have an autoimmune disease that affects about 1.3 million people in our country every year. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic rheumatic disease that directly attacks your body’s joints and their surrounding tissues, causing pain, inflammation, and damage.
The summer before my fourth grade year I was attending a basketball camp at Davidson College, when in the final seconds of a scrimmage game, my ankle was kicked out from under me. I immediately fell to the ground in pain as my ankle rolled over on itself. Coaches aided me in limping off of the court and to the training room
Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory arthritis. It is second only to osteoarthritis in the number of its victims. It affects primarily the small joints in the hands and feet and the synovium, causing crippling deformities. This is an arthritis that usually starts in middle age or earlier. Estimates of the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis run as high as one person in every hundred, and females are two to three times as likely to suffer from it. It seems to start more in the winter and after some siege of sickness, but it is not considered an infective arthritis. Nobody knows what causes rheumatoid arthritis. There may be some hereditary trait, and there seems to be some connection to viral infections like German measles and serum hepatitis, the liver disease brought on by an injection of one kind or another. Because of this, scientists theorize that rheumatoid arthritis may be an autoimmune disease, one in which the body acts as though it were allergic to itself. The immune system gets mixed up and attacks normal joint tissue instead of the stuff it is supposed to attack.
Chiropracting was introduced into my life during a soccer practice when I took an incorrect step. All the weight of my body when straight to my lower back. I heard a single pop then an excruciating pain pulsed through my body. The pain was so intense it caused me to have to stop practice and sit on the sidelines for the rest of the night. Throughout the rest of that week the pain would go on and off, even sitting down for dinner I could feel the pain going up my spine. It was so strong that, I couldn’t do anything that I wanted to with my friends because of the pain even a small jump would send a jolt of pain, crippling me. Finally I decided to go to a doctor to find out what was wrong with me and when the doctor started to feel my lower back and whenever he got near it I would try to run away so he wouldn’t touch my lower back because it was so sensitive. Final towards the end of the doctor appointment the doctor had a brief idea about what is was that was killing me, he believed that I had a muscle spasm. Now that he narrowed it down he told me that the spasm would move
This topic came up recently to me because my grandmother was diagnosed with it. She could barely walk and could not do many little things like get out of bed, and tie her shoes. Since my mom is a physical therapist she knew what to do, but I didn’t really know what it was or how to help her. Most of the things I knew about “arthritis” was that it affects your bones, but this was much more than that. I also didn’t realize that it was Rheumatoid Arthritis not just normal arthritis,they are different because Rheumatoid Arthritis has to do with your joints unlike regular arthritis that has to do with the wear and tear of your bones. I wish I had known if I could prevent it or even if it is genetic and if I could develop it too. I also wanted to know what the symptoms were because all I knew about it was that she was in pain. I was scared she wasn’t going to live as long because she got this, so that is why I decided to write this paper.
During the ninth grade, I injured my knee playing soccer. The initial MRI did not show any tears, but the orthapedic surgeon did notice I was weak medially and that my patella was tracking laterally. He sent me to therapy to strengthen the inside of my leg and hopefully pull my kneecap medially. I started going to therapy and I adored my therapist, Kelley. Even though the exercises weren’t always fun or pain free I looked forward to therapy. She made things fun, and since I was interested in the field, would explain why I was doing certain exercises compared to others. The pain didn’t go away and she worked to help figure ...
Rheumatoid arthritis affects around 400,000 individuals within the UK, it is the most relentless chronic form of arthritis, and for adults it is the second most common form in patients (1). “RA is more prevalent among women than men, and usually develops in the fourth to fifth decades of life” (A). Rheumatoid arthritis is severe as it is a form of autoimmune disease, this is where the body’s immune system attacks and damages working tissue, due to the failure to recognise the difference between foreign cell and normal cells. For example it damages the synovial membrane surrounding the knee, and bone erosion begins. This damage to the working tissue triggers an inflammatory response causing fluid to build around the knee (2). However it can happen in any joint, this is why it’s such a large problem as you simply can’t inhibit the effects of the immune system, as it would leave you extremely vulnerable to more life threatening diseases. If effective treatment isn’t applied it could be disabling to patients, the inflammation causes pain, stiffness, muscle ache, rheumatoid nodules (lumps of tissue) and tiredness (3).
I was always an active person from being in sports to hanging out with friends. I always had something planned, or came up with something on the fly. My junior year in high school was a very tough time for me. I was involved in a lot of activities, organizations, and clubs. I was very active in one organization where I had to be up at school every morning at 7:15 for that meeting. Meaning I would not leave school sometimes until 6:45 to 7:00 in the evening. On the weekends I would have something to do either with friends or family. I would never go a weekend with nothing to do. Either I was out running errands or at the mall buying some new clothes.
Wake up. Get dressed. Eat breakfast (maybe). Take my medications. Watch some television show. Take a nap. Wake up. Eat lunch (only if it’s something I like). Watch more television. Search for holes in my eyelids. Wake up from searching for holes. Eat dinner (again, maybe). Take a bath. Possibly go to bed for the night. Exciting, isn’t it? This was a day in the life of myself before we found “Memory.”
Systemic arthritis: It usually causes high fever and a rash. Boys and girls are equally affected.
In middle school I was diagnosed with a disability with the way I expressed myself through writing. Ever since, I have gained multiple values and learned several lessons about self confidence. I was taught to push past my limits, in order to be successful in reaching my goals along with my dreams. Today I am a senior in high school who was once thought to struggle, but was able to succeed beyond expectations. To some, a disability may seem like a setback from achieving goals, but to me I used it as a challenge for myself. I accepted myself for who I was and looked at my disability as a unique trait of mine. I was able to provide a message to others that anything you set your mind to is possible with dedication and hard work. It might take