My last post of 2014!

Hello!! Hope you're all okay and getting in the Christmas spirit!! I'm quite excited - got all my shopping done today at last!!

Thought I should probably post one last update before the end of the year!

So about 3 weeks ago I started on the Metaject (injections of methotrexate), and this is what they look like this...

I personally get quite tempted to paint them blue because in my opinion they could pass as a sonic screwdriver! >< that'd be awesome! Sonic Screwdriver injections would make them all the more joyful to have! :D

I'm not too bad at injecting them myself because they don't really hurt, they just sting a little afterwards - so that's all grand!

Today I was told I can now go back to one monthly bloodtests (yippee!!!) because my most recent bloods have all been good :D 

And also, tomorrow I finally finish this course of steroids!! Soo, it really is the season to be jolly! I look forward to enjoying my Christmas/New Year on slightly less tablets than I have been for the past 6 weeks! :)

I'll be sure to post again in the New Year! (until then - I am internetless anyway!)... So I'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!!!! :D

Clocking out for the last time in 2014!!! TTFN, ta ta for now! :D

I hate trying to think of a title...

Hello!

Gee, I'm no good at just regularly updating this am I? Sorry! ><

MOST RECENT UPDATES: I am now back off Sulfasalazine, as when I was about to move up to 4 tablets a day, I got taken off them (and my Methotrexate) as my liver functions were a bit off - So I had the delight of 2 weeks off nearly everything!! (it was seriously delightful), but now, since my most recent hospital appointment, I'm on Prednisolone (steroids) for 6 weeks, and Omeprazole for that time too (for my tummy), and in a couple of weeks I shall be starting the "METAJET!" (or whatever it's called) which is basically the injection form of methotrexate because, apparently it's more effective?

Omeprazole - lovely bright yellow capsules! Hard to lose!

Prednisolone (steroids) 

So yeah, we'll see how that goes, and hope for the best! - And the reason I'm on steroids for 6 weeks is because I very politely declined having a joint injection in my ankle... Basically, I'm a big pansy, and really don't want it unless they're gonna give me some pain relief! Sooo yeah, hopefully steroids might help that?

Still on with blood tests every 2 weeks, which is joyful, but I'm getting better at it.... (if you CAN get better at blood tests?) - then again, it's getting colder now, and I get worse at blood tests when it gets colder, so maybe I shouldn't brag, as it'll just get worse from now on :P

Well, the cold generally just makes everything kinda suck, you've gotta go out dressed as Mitchellen man (or whatever he's called) just in order to not get cold joints and get joint pain!! grr ><

Anyway! That's my update done!!

TTFN, Ta ta for now! :D

Update From the Hospital Appointment and Exciting News!!

So, I went to the hospital on Tuesday, and THANKFULLY didn't have to have a joint injection this time!! But there is a possibility I may end up having one next time I go in six weeks :(

In the meantime though, I'm back on my good ol' Sulfasalazine! (shown below)

At the moment, I'm on one a day, then after one week, it's 2 a day, then 3 a day & then 4 a day! I'm not looking forward to the 4 a day, because these are hugeee in comparison to my other tablets, so therefore, I do not enjoy taking them in the slightest! >.<

Maybe this time they will help? Maybe they won't... I suppose we'll see won't we!?

On another- quite exciting note... I've decided I'm going to climb Mt Kilimanjaro next year for a charity called Dig Deep!! Yes this could be a struggle with my ankle and knee as they are, but I'm willing (and excited) to take up the challenge! If anyone of you want to donate to help me fund raise, feel free!! At:  https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/mollyclimbskili I'm super duper excited for it, but have a very long way to go to get there and any help will be appreciated!! 

Thanks for reading!!

TTFN, ta ta for now!! :D

Sorry!

Hey hey readers!! Sorry my delay in posts, realised earlier I hadn't blogged for a while - my bad!

My knees feeling better, but it's still a little bit achey every now and  then, but it's fine, because at least it feels slightly better? That's something, which is better than nothing!!
I have an appointment on the 30th Sept to see a rheumatolagy nurse for my dreaded joint injection in my ankle! I really would rather the nurse slapped me or something, seriously don't want this joint injection right now >< but... that's life!! Soo.. I'm going to be on crutches on my 2nd week back at uni... which is great... in fact, I have lesson the same day... a few hours later than when I'm at the hospital (my teachers don't know yet, so let's hope they don't read my blog!!) - I am going to tell them, just when I actually have them for my first lesson :P

So yeah, I'm really not looking forward to that, but I am looking forward to enquiring about skydiving again, and also about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro next year for charity... It probably won't be the best time to ask... But it needs asking :P so fingers crossed, that the nurse I see can shed some light on that, and hopefully give me some high hopes!

Apart from that, there's not really much to say at the moment, except the physio was happy I got myself an exercise bike, there's already been some improvement in my leg muscles (probably because of it) which is good!

Try to actually keep updating this time!!

TTFN, ta ta for now!!

Time to Get Fit!

Hey there readers!

Today I finally received the exercise bike I ordered and it's all exciting!

This is the bike I'm going to use to hopefully improve my leg muscle strength, because with having arthritis in my ankle and knee, it causes limping, which means some muscles will be wasted and others will be relied on too much... So my aim is to try and even it out and make them all stronger and perhaps make walking easier.

It's also to keep fit in general (because I'm so lazy!) and don't want to be any more to be honest! I'm hoping to be more active in general in my second year in uni, hopefully starting climbing and I'm considering lots of other sports, so fingers crossed for my joints to keep all good for them!

On the note of my previous joint injection, I still haven't had much improvement in my knee, it's still swollen and a bit painful, so we'll see what the rheumatolagist nurse says about that when I go see her (I'm still waiting for that appointment), I hope they approve of this new activeness!

Cheers for reading!

TTFN, ta ta for now! :)

A Week and Two Days On...

Hey there!

It's been just over a week since my steroid injection in my knee, and unfortunately at the moment I appear to have no improvement... So this will probably mean when I go see the nurse for my next steroid injection, there'll be a change in  my medication.

At the moment, the options are either trying Sulfasalzine again (it previously hasn't done anything for me) or trying methotrexate injections again, obviously, anyone who knows me (or reads this blog) knows that I will pick the Sulfasalazine tablets because I HATE injections and will avoid them at all costs!

I'm already preparing myself for my next joint injection, planning on buying some new slippers, so I can put slippers on rather than shoes when I've been injected (because it makes your joint MORE swollen, so it's hard/painful to get on shoes) and I also plan on taking my crutches and a lollipop for after :P... I'm really quite scared, but I'm trying to keep myself positive and brave about it or I'll end up panicking about it, which I don't want to happen! 

I'm still waiting to receive my appointment, so there's no need to panic yet. Fingers crossed I get my appointment soon :)

TTFN, ta ta for now :)

Hey there!

Hey there! Sorry for the delay, I was internetless (that's not really a word, but heyho!) for a while, but now I'm back, in my new house for my second year of uni, and with internet again!

So, today has been a day of progress, because today I finally got to see a rheumatologist here in Lincoln, and, it was eventful to say the least... I just expected to discuss the options for the future of making my arthritis a bit better, but with that, I also got a steroid joint injection in my knee, followed by 10 minutes of being lightheaded and feeling very poorly (I do not deal well with injections!) especially seeing as this was the first time I'd had a joint injection with out pain relief such as laughing gas or general anaesthetic, but unfortunately, this is what 'adulthood' entails! And then to add to my sorrow of a joint injection, a nice trip to phlebotomy for a blood test! woohoo! But on the upper hand, the pain from my knee probably made me deal with this blood test the best I ever have!

So now I'm sitting on my bed feeling pretty sorry for myself as I can't bend my knee, and hobbling is no fun! Sad times, but on the happy side, this should hopefully generally bring the swelling and pain down in my knee, BUT on the unhappy side, I have to go back in a few weeks for another one in my ankle! :(

But apart from being a bit sore and achy at the moment, I've been having a good summer holiday, which is always good news and I'm hoping for the best from this hurty joint injection!!! Fingers crossed for a near future of not limping!

I'll keep you posted on the joint injection and my knee (I'm not leaving you this time!)

TTFN, ta ta for now!! :)

Oh it's a Jolly Holiday...

Hey there! Me again (obviously!)

I've finally had over 1,000 views! So thank you to everyone whose read the blog, it makes me real happy to know that after 12 blog posts of me blabbering on about stuff, people are still coming back and reading more :) so thanks! :D

So, at the moment, it's the Summer holidays for me because I've finished uni for the year, and, naturally, I'm trying to actually enjoy myself and do nice things. Which I have! Don't get me wrong, yesterday I went to Flamingo Land, a couple days ago, the beach, and just generally been spending time with friends and family.

Although I've been having a smashing time, it's hard to keep cheery when at the end of the day my joints are in SO MUCH PAIN! I hate that a normal days activity can cause me so much pain, I want to be able to hop, skip, jump around to my hearts content and I can barely walk around for a day without it giving me grief.

Nonetheless I just keep smiling (and maybe complain a little), because I can't let pain stop me from having fun (to an extent) and can't just give up because it hurts. I just want to have a jolly Summer without all the pain...  :(

Hopefully soon a doctor can help me, or my medication can start working again, fingers crossed!

Keep smiling!! (I do try to!) :)

TTFN, ta ta for now!

The ridiculous cost of prescriptions!

So, I've just forked out £104 for a years worth of prescriptions! Yippee, this is the delight of becoming an "adult" and having to pay for prescriptions from the age of 19. 

I'm not eligible for free prescriptions so, I've had to buy myself a PPC (Pre-Payment Certificate) to save myself a bit of money when buying prescriptions, because without this it's £8.05 per prescription, and at current I'm on 3 prescribed drugs every month. Overall that would be £24.15 a month, or around £289 for a year... Personally, I think it's completely ridiculous to have to pay for prescriptions that I don't voluntarily take... I don't want to take all my medication, I'd be a lot happier to not have to, and on top of that it costs so much? 

This probably stops a lot of people taking medication they should be taking, because why would anyone want to pay for something they don't really want? (even if it's for the best for them)... It just really annoys me, if I'm reading this correctly (from google), if I was a prisoner I'd have free hospital treatment and prescriptions? (correct me if I'm wrong) But things like this make you wonder why you bother trying to live life as a law abiding citizen when I could have such things for free? Most of the medication (in fact, probably all) I will be on for the rest of my life (unless a recovery is achieved) and I will end up dishing out thousands of pounds for medication for the rest of my life.

I'm gonna stop ranting for now, because no one wants to read rants. But naturally, this is annoying to me (and probably MANY others)... So yeah!

TTFN, ta ta for now! :)

So tired!

I've had such a good couple of days, but it's been so tiring! This time it's not my sleep that's made me tired (I've actually slept quite normally recently, yey!) This time the thing that's making me tired is having a life.

Yesterday and today, I spent the day just out and about, pretty averagely really, not doing anything too tiring, and I'm absolutely shattered! This is another side effect of juvenile arthritis, fatigue! And its a really annoying thing to have as a child/teenager, because we just want to be able run around and play, and keep going without getting ridiculously tired.

Personally it just makes me feel lazy, because I feel tired from doing anything, whether it be nothing or a day full of everything. It's also not great because, just because you're tired out, it doesn't mean you necessarily sleep well, and it also usually includes achey joints, which is never fun.

So, basically, make sure you know your limits, if you're tired or achey don't push yourself too much, and take things at your own pace. It's always best to look after yourself and know what you should or shouldn't do. (even if it sucks, because you want to do everything, like me!) Time for me to sit and chill for a bit I think!

Thanks for reading :)


TTFN, Tata for now!

P.S. I'm writing blogs from my mobile now for a while so sorry if layout/font is bad, I'll edit it all to be nice when I'm on a computer with internet!

SLEEEEEP!!

So recently, I've had the worst sleeping "pattern" EVER.

Basically, initially, due to my joints being bad (especially at night time/ morning time) it made me manage to get to sleep later and later gradually as I found it difficult to sleep because of the amount of pain it was causing me. Now all of that aside, I can't sleep until silly times no matter what. For instance, today I finally managed to get some kip at about 12pm until about 3pm. But normally recently it's about 7am that I sleep and 2pm that I'll finally arise.

In my opinion, this is ridiculous, but this is just another side effect of having arthritis unfortunately. I like to sleep on my sides, but because of the pain it causes I have to choose whether I'd rather my ankle, hip and jaw hurt or my knee, hip and shoulder. It's a difficult decision that generally leaves me tossing and turning constantly to make myself comfy.

I hope this gradually gets better, as I really don't like being so tired all the time, and also spending most of my day time asleep, it just leaves me with no motivation to do anything. So I just end up sitting there, not doing much for the day (and also not eating properly as I'm not awake for breakfast/lunch so I just skip to dinner... which is also pretty bad.)

So, please please, start feeling better joints! I really don't like being a lazy person (believe it or not) and would like to be remotely active this summer, no just bed-bound. So if anyone has any suggestions to help my sleeping pattern get back to normal, that would be great! Because I'm clueless...

TTFN! Ta ta for now from a tired Molly!

Missing Opportunities

Missing opportunities sucks! But unfortunately it's sometimes something you have to deal with with arthritis.

My first unfortunate miss of an opportunity was when I first got arthritis, I was supposed to be going on a trip with school to Austria for skiing, we'd paid the deposit and everything, and then I found out I had arthritis, and that going to Austria was a massive no go, no matter about skiing! Because, as most arthritis sufferers (and most other people really) would know is that arthritis + snow/cold/wet = painnnnn. plus at the time it was first discovered my arthritis was so bad I couldn't walk well, so skiing was definitely off the cards.

Another more recent one is sky diving, and I tell you something, I have always REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to go sky diving!! So this year at uni, I decided to join the sky diving society, in the very high hopes I'd be able to do it... And then I couldn't get a doctor to sign my health form for me because of them not really knowing the effects that the pressure would have on my joints, and then my arthritis got worse again anyway... *sigh* But, I intend on joining sky diving again next year, and even the year after (if we still have the society anyway) in the dire HOPE that some day it'll be me jumping out a helicopter!!

Basically, some times you've got to miss opportunities, it's the same with every condition really, but never give up on them! But it is best to put your health and safety first and always consider it. Which, I know feels rubbish, before I got arthritis, I just wanted to do anything and everything!! But I still hope that I do get to do what ever I want at some point, it just might take a while until I can. But I'm willing to wait, and I will, most definitely sky dive at some point (sorry doctors, this isn't optional... ) I will at some point, even if it's not yet... Just watch this space...

Keep smiling :)

TTFN, Ta ta for now!!

Methotrexate Begins!

So, the weather's been horrible recently, therefore I've stayed inside avoiding the weather as much as I can recently! Haha, but on the upside (and downside) I've started taking my methotrexate again...

and that's my weekly dose of methotrexate... I have this weird problem with methotrexate because taking it makes me feel ill, and it always has, so just thinking about it makes me feel ill too unfortunately. :( But yeah, hopefully soon it will start working and I'll be working normally again!

On another note though, I was finally at physio yesterday for the first time here in Lincoln! It was nice to finally see one again after a while! She was really nice and she gave me some exercises for my legs for now, (as at current, my bad joints are: L ankle, R knee, L hip, L elbow, R shoulder, neck & jaw) i think that's all... And gradually we'll hopefully work through them, or they'll get better in time with my medication. 

But yeah, this was just another quick update thing, if anyone has anything they want me to talk about or whatever in the blog, leave me a comment, or a message on Google + or a tweet, or facebook if you know me, or basically, however you like. It's always good to have feedback & inspiration for new blogs to write, thanks guys :)

TTFN, ta ta for now!! :)

Sorry for the delay!

Hello my wonderful blog readers!! As the title says, sorry for the delay! I've been internetless from Monday - Today so there wasn't much I could do unfortunately.

So, I'm finally back on all my medication! woo! It feels good, in an odd way. I saw my Rheumatologist doctor back home on Tuesday, and now I'm sorta discharged from him, and seeing him again in a year (so, not fully discharged), ready to start seeing a rheumatologist and physiotherapist here in Lincoln at last!! I have a physio appointment booked for Wednesday, and believe it or not, I'm excited to start cracking on with walking properly again!

So yeah, all is good in those departments at the minute! Got to start having weekly blood tests for a while though unfortunately :( which, I don't look forward to, at all, especially seeing as I still have a bruise from one I had about 11 days ago! But I'll deal with that when it gets to it.

Sorry this blogs a bit short and blah today, I'm just tired from my journey back to Lincoln today, and decided I should probably give a quick update so you don't think I've just vanished! I haven't... I'm here!! :)

TTFN, ta ta for now! :)

"Possible Side Effects"



So, today I'm starting taking my meloxicam again today, here's a picture of my lovely little anti-inflammatory for you...

 

My Iddy Biddy Licukl Meloxicam
 

They're really not much, as you can see, they're clearly quite small, my main problem with these is forgetting to take them, as they're a daily tablet, and I just have awful memory to be honest! But size is deceiving, it may be small, but we can't forget the fact it's also packed of weird ingredients that no one can pronounce such as... "anhydrous colloidal silica"... Yep, I definitely know what THAT is...

But along with the weird ingredients, there's the inevitable reading of the "possible side effects" section, which for some people probably causes great worry and concern, and sometimes it even worries me, but if anything it actually makes me laugh more so... (I suppose I wouldn't laugh if I did get any of the side effects...) But, of course all medications have a large list of possible side effects, it's just thinking about them being caused by such a small thing that makes me laugh. Now I shall share a joke I made up with you... I was very proud when I made this up, so, at least pretend you found it funny?

"So I'm reading the 'possible side effects' for my meloxicam tablets... and it says it can cause confusion.... but, that's nothing new, I'm already constantly confused.... so, how will I know if it's causing confusion?... I'M SO CONFUSED... "

Yes, that really did just happen... Anyway! My point here, is reading the 'possible side effects' section, is never fun, but try not to get too worried about them, they're simply a warning it MIGHT happen, not WILL happen. Because I'm one of those people that if I start getting worried about things like that, I then start to 'experience' them, and I'm then like "THIS HEADACHE IS BECAUSE OF THOSE TABLETS, THIS STOMACHE PAIN IS BECAUSE OF THOSE TABLETS, I FEEL TIRED BECAUSE OF THOSE TABLETS!!!!"... And I get very melodramatic over nothing, so let's try not let that happen!

Keep positive! :)

TTFN, Ta ta for now!!

Blood tests :(

Blood tests... WILL I EVER GET USED TO YOU? (warning: if you're very squeamish about thinking about blood tests, maybe you should give this blog a miss...)

So I finally had that blood test yesterday, and as expected I didn't react well to it, initially I was nervous because I hadn't had chance to eat anything, and my rule before blood tests has always been to eat and drink plenty, so that I don't feel hungry or thirsty... so, good start there. Then the nurse didn't warn me it was going to be more blood taken than what I'm used to, so I started worrying part way through that it was taking longer than usual so I thought she was struggling to get it, so then I got all light headed while she was still doing it, (which is never fun). And then she finally took the needle out and I was just very light headed and feeling very queasy... (I'm a massive wuss when I have blood tests!) Now I have a little bruise :( at least it's only little though.

I'm still looking for any blood test advice you can give me, at current my way about blood tests is: make sure you've eaten and drank beforehand, make sure you keep steady breathing throughout, read any posters that they have on the wall in the doctors while they're doing it... look anywhere but the needle! and then take a lollipop for afterwards!

So yeah, basically I'm not looking forward to these becoming a regular thing again, still hate blood tests after 6 years!!! :(

Todays blog is short but sweet. TTFN, Ta ta for now! :)

Just one of those days...

So, today I'm just feeling a bit run down and bleugh... It's dull and rainy, my knee's being so bad it's making my muscle hurt in my leg and i'm just TIRED.

I've been to the doctors again today, and have a blood test booked for Monday (So I really need peoples blood test advice!!) They're sorting out me seeing a rheumatologist and also a physiotherapist in Lincoln! (woohoo!) On the downside, this means taking all my medication and everything all over again... On the upside it hopefully means a gradual recovery again!

When my arthritis is bad, it really makes me appreciate the people around me a lot more, just little things like, people holding doors and waiting for you to take the stairs before they come down the opposite way because they can see you're clearly struggling, it just makes you feel a bit better. Also, my boyfriend, Simon (pictured here with me :D)

 

has practically been my babysitter over the past couple of months, I honestly don't know what I'd be doing without him, (I'd probably still be stuck on the floor somewhere!) I'm thankful for this, as I know it can be a pain having to walk slow for someone and do lots for them, I mean, sometimes he even helps me get my shoes on! (as I struggle to reach my foot due to my bad hips and knee).  

 

It upsets me knowing that I need help like that, but sometimes you've just got to accept that you can't do everything. It's always best not to turn people away when they offer to help you, no matter how much you want to be able to do everything yourself. I've learnt this over the 6 years of having arthritis, but initially it's hard to accept.

 

So thanks to everyone that's ever helped me hobble along, or stand up or sit down or anything! Haha! And I hope that I get the chance to return the favour to you all because it really sucks being a bit of a burden!

 

Just remember that, although it can stop/hinder you doing the little things, never give up on the bigger things in life that are important to you. Arthritis can't stop you doing what you love, so for me, the show must go on! (I have a performance tomorrow, wish me luck!)

 

TTFN, ta ta for now :)

 

 



Steroid Joint Injections

"You got injected with steroids, so you gonna be dead muscly now?".... I wish! haha

(I'm going to keep this blog short, because I've been told I write too much in one blog! sorry!) :D

This isn't the prettiest of pictures, but this is my ankle after my 35th & 36th joint injection (one at the front and one at the side of my ankle). Lovely, swollen and.... yellow. :D This is the first I've had done with a x-ray going on at the same time so they could see precisely where the needle was going.

I had my first 16 joint injections under a general anaesthetic, and then also the next 14 under a general anaesthetic, but since then, the last 6 have only been with 'laughing gas'. Having the actual joint injection hasn't been bad in either situation, as I haven't really felt it (much), it's the aftermath that's bad, it's quite painful and takes a few days to rest off. But they can be certainly very helpful, they pretty much made the majority of my joints pain free (with the obvious help of medication) and they've been alright since, with others such as my ankle (pictured) and my knee, it's not worked quite so well!

Joint injections really aren't worth worrying about, when I first got told about them when I was 13, I panicked a lot! "NEEDLE'S IN MY JOINTS!?! WHAT???!!" but after having them I realised they're certainly not as bad as they sound! (they're still not very jolly though) just make sure you have someone to look after you for a few days after! :)

(I'm still waiting for some replies on blood test advice from the last blog!! c'mon guys, I really need some! haha! thanks!) :)

TTFN, ta ta for now!! :)

A little bit of progress...?

Hey there!
So... Yesterday I finally got myself to the doctors after a while of limping around and what not, and now we might have some progress!? (Huzzah!) So I've nearly finished my first year of uni, and NOW i'm sorting out having a doctor here in Lincoln! (silly me...)

I've been put back on my meloxicam and my folic acid (because, silly Molly stopped taking it as I thought it felt better without it....) So yeah, piece of advice, even if you don't like your medication, don't stop taking it on your own accord, because now I've just ended up worse from it... yey! But I'm also seeing a doctor next week about getting back on methotrexate, as I'm going to need some blood tests to get started on that again (Boooooooo!). And they're also seeing about referring me to a rheumatologist in Lincoln! So, a little bit of progress now, and hopefully not too much joint pain for much longer!

The unfortunate thing about it, is obviously having my medication again and having to have blood tests again... I really hate both to be honest! Moving doctors was really hard, as back at home I got used to having the same nurse taking my bloods, and also, she would use a smaller needle etc. to try and make the experience less poo for me. And then I came here, and I saw someone I'd never seen before, and different size needles don't exist here! So... I really don't like it, still. If anyone has any blood test advice for me, that'd be great! I know it's not something you get 'used to' per-say, but I would like to get more comfortable/less nervous with it! So any advice is greatly appreciated! My only blood test 'thing' I do to help me, is take a lollipop for afterwards (1, for a reward, obviously and 2, to stop me feeling sick).

So, yeah, if anyone has any tips/tricks for blood tests, leave a comment, or tweet me, or whatever! I'll mention any good ones I get in my next blog (if I get any... obviously, haha!)

TTFN, Tata for now! :)

My little introduction :)

Hi there! I'm Molly, I'm 19 years old, currently studying drama at university and I love Doctor Who, Disney, Torchwood & Sherlock! (a lot) :)

When I was 13 I got diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) after a few months of vigorous testing (blood tests, medication, x-rays etc.) and since then I have had a grand total of 36 steroid joint injections, gone through the majority of the medications in the book for arthritis sufferers ( methotrexate, ibuprofen, cocodamol, etanercept, meloxicam, steroids, and more that I probably can't remember ), countless blood tests (the bane of my life), had physiotherapy, and been for about 4 MRI scans. Which, doesn't really sound a lot, but until you're living through it, it's not.

People have this misconception of arthritis as 'an old people's illness', when really it's completely different. Hundreds of thousands of children are diagnosed with some form of arthritis every year, and a lot of the population still don't know anything about it.

Due to the fact I'm no younger classed as 'a child' my arthritis is now known as rheumatoid arthritis (but it varies between different doctors what they decide to call it). When I first got arthritis (when it was undiagnosed) I simply had a bad ankle, my Mum thought I'd simply twisted it in PE or something ( we had quite vigorous PE at that time ) so we left it, for about 2 weeks until I finally went to go see a doctor, and by the time it was getting checked and researched about it had spread to my knee and hip and finally I got diagnosed with JIA! By the point I was finally seeing a doctor who was qualified in children with arthritis, it had spread to about 1 of every joint in my body ( so approx. 17 ) and that's when I had my first round of joint injections, I had to go under anaesthetic and have 16 joint injections (not the last one because it was in my neck, and they can't inject there). After that I had very little recovery from them, and had to go for 14 more which finally gave me some relief from the constant joint pain. Since then I've had lots of yo-yo'ing in my arthritis, constantly switching between being good and bad.

Anyway, enough about me. I've decided to start this blog, because as a teenager (and also now) diagnosed with arthritis, I never knew who to talk to, who would understand. Who could tell me about how a certain medication worked for them, or how joint injections felt. Yes, I could always ask a nurse or a doctor, but that's not the same as talking to someone in the same boat as you. People don't understand that illnesses that effect you physically can also cause effect on you emotionally/mentally. And leave you feeling clueless, and a bit lost really. So, I begin this blog with the offer for you to talk to me, about anything. Anyone really (I'm not saying "oh you have to have arthritis to talk to me!") so if you're curious about arthritis, or have it yourself... or you just want to talk to me, you're welcome! :)

Now I'm not entirely sure how this blog thing works, if you can leave me a message or whatever (but if you can, do!) I will work it out over time, but in the meantime, have my Twitter...: @time_lordess95 
Feel free to Tweet me or drop my a message or whatever! :)

TTFN, Tata for now!