Question
Hi

my daughter is 14 years old and has a history of arthritis. she developed it when she was 8 years old.  she had no symptoms for a couple of years, and last year started to get severe back pain.  been to rheumatologist a few times, but keep saying there is no sign of arthritis. so have referred us to a pain clinic.  just last week my daughter was with her friends and she went to get up, as she had been sitting on grass.  she got stuck, her legs felt like weights, and she couldnt move from the waist down.  she was taken to hospital by ambulance and stayed in overnight.  she couldnt even move her toes.  hospital staff forced her on her feet, even though i told them her history. she was screaming in pain.  late next day with the help of painkillers, the physiotherapist helped her get up. she was crying in pain, but managed up. she says she felt when she was sitting that she would fall either frontwards or backwards.  the hospital did no tests, our gp is giving her a blood test next monday.  hospital just kept an eye on her.  all the time i was with her in a&e her legs didnt twitch once.  can anyone help me please, because i dont know what to do if this happens again. she was totally bed bound, was like she was paralysed. she had a swollen knee and wrist joints were a bit swollen too. if its not arthritis, what can it be?

Answer
Julie,

I am sure this was a scary event.

I am not sure how much help I can be. This event does not appear to be arthritis related.

That does not mean that she does not have arthritis, the joint swelling may very well indicate that.

This event does sound like it can be a spinal problem. This can account for both the pain and paralysis type symptoms.

As far as what to do, fight. It is sad, but sometimes you have to fight the medical system to get the answers you need. Tell your doctor you want to find out the cause of the event last week. Keep pushing and setting appointments until you get what you need. If you ever go back to the hospital, do not let them put her in a room until they have come up with a diagnosis of the problem or made a very good attempt at finding that out.

You daughter should have had Xrays of her back and if that was negative then she should have had an CAT Scan or MRI done of her spine. If those were negative then depending on where the pain was there are over a dozen different test that could have been run and probably should have.

I wish your daughter the best.

Rusty
http://arthritis-symptom.com/