3 Millennials On Growing Up With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis: 3 Millennials On Growing Up With Chronic Pain

"Be mindful of judging people when you can’t see anything going on."

By Natasha Hinde HUFFPOST

During his worst flare-ups, Daniel Morley lies in bed wondering if he should just go thirsty. He desperately wants a glass of water, but his body is in so much pain, he can’t bear to move the five metres to the sink. His joints are on fire.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which Morley was diagnosed with at the age of 19, is a long-term condition that causes swelling and stiffness in the joints – usually the hands, feet and wrists. The immune system mistakenly attacks cells lining the joints, causing intense pain that makes it hard for some sufferers to leave the house.

He first noticed something was wrong as a teenager when his knees swelled up and his ankles started causing him pain. During this time he took almost nine months off work. Morley was eventually referred to a specialist consultant, who drained fluid from his joints and gave him steroid injections.

Debbie Griffin, 32, from north Wales, was diagnosed at just two years old. She recalls realising something wasn’t quite right when she was five. “I was making friends in school and noticed I couldn’t do the things everyone else could do, like sports day,” she says.

Griffin experienced problems with her hips and knees during her early teens, to the point where she struggled to move even a few feet without being in pain. At 13 she had to have a knee replacement, followed by a hip replacement at 17.

“It impacts my life daily,” says the 32-year-old. Some days, she will wake up without any issues; other days she will be in so much pain she can’t leave the house. “Making sure I’m fit for work every day is a struggle,” says the service manager, who works for a national charity.

Louisa Flannery, from Leeds, was diagnosed with RA in the run-up to her GCSEs. Initially, she experienced a pain in her feet, and was told to wear insoles, but when it began to continue up her body to her knees, she was referred to a specialist. She was diagnosed at 15, after a year and a half.

As a teenager, Flannery found it hard being heard by the adults around her. She recalls having to miss PE lessons because of the pain. “I didn’t know what was wrong with me, so it was difficult to communicate with the teachers – I think they thought I was just using it as an excuse,” she says. “The invisible part of it is quite difficult. People forget because they can’t see anything’s wrong with you.”

Now studying for a Masters degree, Flannery, 25, struggles with constant pain in her ankles and shoulders, as well as her back and knees from time to time. “My hands are swollen and a bit disfigured,” she says, noting that it’s quite hard to write. ”I usually do computer work which is fine.”

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