Hi all..
My 4yr old daughter has just being diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis..
I feel very alone in regards to talking to people about it, as I haven't yet being able to find other parents with children in the same situation as me..

If anyone has any information on this & would like to talk, please let me know..

Thankyou,
Mon..

Can anybody help me out or am I better off going elsewhere? :confused:

TIA & apologies if I sound impatient.

Just today, there was an article in USA Today, about how arthritis isn't just an old person's disease. It said 300,000 kids in the US alone have it. It also said that a lot of kids are misdiagnosed, so you're fortunate to at least have an accurate diagnosis. Did you see a pediatric rheumatologist? If not, that would be a good thing. Early treatment will prevent joint damage. The article also mentioned a drug called Methotrexate and told how it, along with an anti-inflammatory, really helped one little girl. I'm sure some time spent searching the internet will give you a lot of information. Hope this helps a bit. Best of luck to your little girl. Hope she feels better soon.

Thanks so much for your reply, I really do appreciate it..

We have seen a paediatric rheumatologist, he is the one who diagnosed her last week, as the many doctors & specialists we seen, didn't have a clue..

As we do not have any private cover, the wait to get any treatment done to it is 3 months.. The treatment procedure he is saying she needs is draining of the fluid in her knee & a steroid injection put in.. To help her abit now with the inflammation & pain etc, he prescribed her Nurofen which has the drug ibuprofen in it, not sure if you know of Nurofen over there, as we are in Australia..

She has to also see a amphatologist (not sure of correct spelling) to have her eyes tested, as inflammation can affect their sight..

I have tried using ******.com to find parents here in Australia, but keep pulling blank straws..

Once again thankyou for your help..

Let's see, there is an organization called Arthritis Australia. They might have a support group in your area.

The medicine sounds like a good start, just make sure she always eats before she takes it.

My 4 yr old son was diagnosed with Linear Scleroderma.

The only advice I have for you is to find as much information about the disease and treatment options as possible. There is very limited clinical information about treatments in children for these auto-immune diseases. I am in the USA so I rely on our National Library of Medicine for the most current information. You can check that out. I give my son weekly injections of methotrexate. It's very hard with the young children. My best to you and please feel free to post here with questions.....!

Allison
Pennsylvania, USA