Seems as though this was one of the 'trash diagnoses/catch phrases' of our baby boom generation. Many times unseen pain seemed to be nailed down to something like this that we would assuredly grow out of, but have we?
Any of the people I know that would be in their 80's or 90's who were diagnosed with something like juvenille RA, had to have been in bad shape to get that kind of diagnosis then!
My Rheumatologist is asking this on the questionnaire we fill out with each visit, he has even gone as far as asking if my mother had them!
My answer is yes, I was told I had them, so was my mother. I was also diagnosed with Rheumatic Fever at 5, but it seems as though I may have out grown that, but not all rheumatic disease!
I had "growing pains" as a child, was hospitalized for them. They weren't sure if I had rheumatic fever or not. All of my childhood records were lost in the 1972 Agnes Hurricane. Since both of my parents are deceased, I am not sure what all was going on when I was around ten yrs old.
My breasts had sharp pains a lot when they were growing. I did get breast cancer 18 years ago. Not sure if that's related! My feet also hurt a lot as a child as they grew (before I grew to the right height for them).
I had horrible growing pains as a child. I would just cry because it hurt so much. Then when I started getting my period the pain was so intense it would curl me up in the fetal position. No one ever believed me and thought I was overreacting. They would always tease me about how sensitive I was. Now at 46, my mom has gone with me to the rheumatologist and she totally believes me now after all these years. She didn’t even believe me or maybe didn’t understand it when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia several years ago. I think it actually took her going to the doctor with me to understand this is serious. Kinda got off topic, sorry.
Although I don't remember having "growing pains" as a child, my daughter used to suffer quite often with them when she was young. This particular daughter is the one who now has lupus. Her rheumatologist, Dr. Thomas J. Lehman (she still sees her pediatric rheumatologist at 24) authored a booked entitled "It's Not Just Growing Pains" and is a guide to childhood pain and rheumatic diseases. I have used this book as my go-to book since it was published ten years ago. Although she did not develop rheumatic fever, she did have scarlet fever with one strep infection as a young child. It was subsequent recurring strep infections (7 within 3 months) which I'm convinced triggered her lupus at such a young age.
So I have often thought that perhaps what her pediatrician diagnosed as mere "growing pains" way back when were much more than that after all.
Unfortunately there are still “doctors” who use this crap diagnosis. Due to my grandson’s pediatrician repeatedly giving this as a reason for his pain, his JRA was not diagnosed until much damage was done. He lost sight in one eye, jaw and ankle damage. It took a screaming fit to get referred to a rheumatologist. He is no longer the kids doctor and we warn everyone about him.
I had growing pains as a child and my mom was told i would out grow them Im still waiting for that to happen. I also had calcium deposit on both knees.
Kaz, I experience the same thing -- the "whole bone pain" in the hip. Thanks for bringing it up because I didn't know anyone else who had that. I have this Amino Activ cream which helps but I'm like "where the heck do I put it when the whole hip bone hurts and there is muscle tissue all around it"?
Kaz said:
I had what was dubbed 'growing pains' since around 9 or 10 and still have them... They come in bouts and I remember saying to my GP in my early 20's how on earth can I still be experiencing growing pain. He said he didn't know and obviously there has to be another reason for this.
With me, it affects my legs mostly, and the whole bone pains like mad. It is absolute torture. I also get similar pain in the hip bone.
I get the bone pain in the hip too. I never even mentioned it to the doctors. They are even more overwhelmed by our situations than we are sometimes. It seems if you don't fit the "most people" or "text book" symptoms, they either think we are imagining things or just a complainer. Wish we could find a doctor with SS that would really "get it"!
I agree, Poet. It could be great to find a doctor who is sick like we are because then we would really get the help we need. My hip bone pain hasn't returned since I started drinking only mineral water so I'm hoping it doesn't return again.
The Poet said:
I get the bone pain in the hip too. I never even mentioned it to the doctors. They are even more overwhelmed by our situations than we are sometimes. It seems if you don't fit the "most people" or "text book" symptoms, they either think we are imagining things or just a complainer. Wish we could find a doctor with SS that would really "get it"!
I never had aches or pains that much at all I was extremely fit, and would be on the school teams for athletics, and gymnastics and netball when I was at high school I was running five miles a day to school and back, But I became extremely ill when I was 14 I had glandula fever.