Yesterday my son was diagnosed with a mild form of Polyarticular (the poly refers to in more than 5 joints) Juvenile Arthritis and I'm looking for some other parents who've dealt with this before?
My son's symptoms started 3 years ago when he was about 10 months old. He would be sitting with us and then we would put him down to walk and he would start limping. Then every few months he would have a similar episode, not always in the same leg. This has continued for the past 3 years. We have seen pediatrician after pediatrician who have blown the issue off as being growth pains and it's been so sporadic that we didn't insist on further testing. Then last month he had two major episodes of pain and a pediatrician who took the time to go ahead and do some blood work and X-rays. The blood work showed a slight amount of inflamation however the doctor said she still didn't think it was arthritis but she would refer us to a Rheumatologist just to be sure. Sure enough yesterday the Rheumatologist was able to identify arthritis in his knees, ankles, elbows and hands. I must admit I was shocked. I knew that there was something going on in his legs but nothing in the upper part of his body. The Rheumatologist started him on a regimen of Naproxen twice a day for 3 months, however I'm not comfortable with the side effects so I'm trying ibuprofen instead because it seems to have the same effect with less risk of damage.
Have any of you dealt with this before, or given your child Naproxen? FYI Naproxen is the adult equivalent of Aleve.
