Hello, I was diagnosed with RA two years ago at the age of 17, hoping to know if anyone has had this since a young age or is a similar age

[B2403]

and living with this? I have been on all sorts of different medication for this with not much luck and now worried about the long term side effects of all these drugs!

[earthwitch]

My mum got diagnosed with RA at 13 or 14, and it was the adult form, not juvenile RA. She is now in her 80's and still going strong. She did have her ups and downs at several points, either when trying to find meds that worked, or when she had to change meds for some reason, but on the whole she managed to keep on going without most folk really even noticing she had RA. Its only in very recent years that she has got any deformity, and thats because she had to go off the last DMARD before biologics or many other DMARDs were widely available. - if it had been now she would have had more choice.

Do a bit of a search for "young people" and "arthritis" - there are some really great support groups out there - in person and online. Only someone your age can really understand what its like, but you'd be surprised how many folk are in your situation and coping well, and having that sharing network will really help.

[Victoria-NRAS Partner Moderator NRAS]

Hi

Pleased to see you on our forum. We don't have many users as young as you, but one forum member who hasn't posted on here in a little while has just turned 20, so you could always send her a message on here (click on the name and select the option to send a private message) and see if she'd like to keep in contact. She hasn't posted on here for a little while, but here is a link to one of her recent posts:

healthunlocked.com/!/#nras/...

She also has a blog site that you can leave comments on:

emmadoree.wordpress.com

Kind regards

Victoria

(NRAS Helpline)

[SianLouise]

Hey

Im 19 and ive had RA since the age of 6, It sucks to be so young and be so ill! I feel your pain on the medication front, I seem to go through them like nothing with no pleasing results- what are you taking now? Hope things aren't too bad for you!

[Hidden]

Hi, I'm 22 and was diagnosed two years ago whilst in the middle of my university degree. I finished it on time this year, but that's not to say I didn't struggle at times. I thought the diagnosis was the end for a while but hings really do feel a bit better once you have got more used to taking your time with activities and the medication has settled down. Good luck and get in touch if you want to talk more about things. iona x

[Kittykatxxxxx]

Hello Im 23 and started with this at 20!Hope you get something that works for you! pm me if you want to chat x

[VictoriaAnn]

Hi i'm 21nearly 22 and got diagnosed at 20 - i'm here to talk if you want to, just pm me!