An over reactive person meets an over reactive immune system
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This is my story about Polyarthritis Nodosa, sorry in advance for my poor english or grammar, it is not my first language.
When I was young, I was an active child that is into sports, biking, running, and overall playing. I was also the type of child that would constantly overreact over small things because I felt like it was funny lol. I loved playing with my peers - running to places, playing tag, being dramatic - I felt like nothing would stop my active, playful, and carefree youth.
It all changed when PAN (Polyarthritis Nodosa) started. I was 9 years old then when I first got experienced PAN, it was scary to say the least. It first appeared when I got a throat infection on December 2016 when we thought it was a simple disease. Then when I was discharged the same month, that's when it triggered. PAN attacked my body, creating red swellings that felt like extreme burns and attacked my legs (specifically calves), causing me to not be able to walk properly.
We had to go back to the hospital because it worsened way quickly than we ever thought - it felt like the worse pain I've ever felt. I was admitted again and we spent the Christmas there. I was discharged before new years but PAN didn't seem to go away that easily. I can't recall when it first started disappearing, but I'm guessing probably atleast 5 months or so.
For years, it kept re-occuring. I cant remember the exact dates or how old I was but I can only recall the major flares. I think it had a 2-4 year pattern but I really wouldn't count on that. It occured again when I was 11-12 years old, 13-14 years old, 16 years old, and my most recent at 19 years old (currently as of writing this). There were also mini flares between those ages that went away for some time. These was the hardest times I've ever gone through my life not because of the condition itself, but also the effect it had left me that was hard to recover from.
It left scars on my mental and physical health. For months I had to go through pain from my body and pain from my mental health. I couldn't go outside, heck I couldn't even go outside my bed. When extreme pains, even miniscule movement from my legs hurt. The inflammation occuring (especially from my hands) didn't help either as it hindered a lot of things in my daily life that I REALLY needed like studying. It is isolating and horrible, knowing you won't be able to do simple things that people can easily do. Seeing how people can move like nothing is hindering them.
At this point it feels like I'm just ranting lol, so I'll just cut the story from here.
Having this condition for several years of my life really makes it hard for me to function properly at crucial moments of my life. Just recently, I had to take my first semester exams at home since I couldn't even get to the exam rooms (there were no elevators). It takes a toll for me as I don't know (yet) how to stop it from reoccurring.
That's why I decided to reach out to this forum. I wanted to see what people's experiences are like and how they've overcome this even if it was only few people. As of Jan 20, 2026 I'm still recovering from PAN and couldn't walk for long, BUT I can stand for moderate periods of time.
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