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Rheumatoid Arthritis
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Posted 6/25/2011 12:07 PM (GMT 0)
I'm waiting to see a rheumatologist, my appointment is next week (finally!).

So far my blood tests haven't shown much. An elevated Sed Rate and ANA. Normal/negative CBC, CRP, rheumatoid factor, anti-CCP.

I've done a fair amount of research and feel that my symptoms fit in with RA (sero-negative) but also with Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease.

What would be the deciding factor between UCTD and seronegative RA?

Thanks.
Posted 6/25/2011 3:04 PM (GMT 0)
That will be up to your rhematologist. They often use the UCTD diagnosis until one of the diseases that overs shows itself. I am sero-negative, and I had a hard time getting a diagnosis until I changed rheumy's. My new one diagnosed RA on the spot, even with negative blood work. She also spent an hour with me. The xrays she ordered confirmed her diagnosis, as I have had it so long I now have erosions in my MCP joints. Best wishes for an accurate diagnosis. If you don't feel you are getting the best treamment, I would recommend a new doc.
Posted 6/25/2011 11:24 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your reply. Lucky you, I hope I get a good rheumatologist. I've had x-rays of my knees and fingers and they came back normal. I do have erosion in my ankles from spraining it a million times. Thank you for your reply.
Posted 6/29/2011 1:15 AM (GMT 0)

You need an MRI of joints to see erosions......xrays do not always work......really high percentage of patients are serum neg......I was for the most part serum neg....but clinically I had RA.......It really makes a difference what Dr. you have and if he is agressive in treating.....you can never get back what you lose from joint errosion. So don't mess around if you do not like what your doctor tells you find another if you can.

Posted 6/29/2011 1:34 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks. I'm coping they'll order an MRI to look at my joints. Thanks, I'm glad you're getting treatment.
Posted 6/29/2011 1:05 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, paperbag princess! I am sero-negative and all my blood work is normal. I had a tough time getting a Dx, until I saw my new rheumy. She spent an hour w/me on the first visit. I have swollen, tender elbows, hands, wrists, knees and ankles. She dx on clinical symptoms and then ordered hand xrays which show RA joint erosions, so I have had RA for a while, but was undiagnosed. An MRI will show RA damage much earlier in the disease process. Please find a rheumy you can work with who is not afraid to Dx w/o a postitive blood tests. Best wishes to you, sweetie!
Posted 6/29/2011 1:51 PM (GMT 0)
Keep us posted as to what your mri shows...my mri showed the bone erosions and I was dx
with RA, after the mri...all my bloodwork came up normal except one...my RA doc said that bloodwork
can change from day to day...bloodwork is not always reliable....well wishes and again keep us posted...
Posted 6/29/2011 2:27 PM (GMT 0)
I am another RA sufferer whose blood work was all normal. I was lucky enough to have a doc who DX'd me on the spot based on observation, physical exam, family history, and just spending a whole lot of time with me. She put me on MTX that day! THEN I had tests! Tests were normal except for SED rate, but she was always fine with that.

~the "RA" part of the house~
Posted 6/29/2011 4:45 PM (GMT 0)
for me the hand mri was very sore and one of the most painful mri's i've had done...
left me sore for a week afterwards...but well wishes on yours...
Posted 6/29/2011 6:46 PM (GMT 0)
Paper, I hope your visit goes well. I have seen 4 Rheumatologists since 2004. My internist sent me to the first one who said nothing was wrong with me even though my FR and ANA were elevated and my c-Reactive protein was elevated. I spent the next couple of years seeing the internist and him sending me to the RA doc and the RA doc sending me back to the internist saying I do not have auto-immune disease.

Since that time my FR and ANA have always been high, but not real high. My C-Reactive protein varies. I believe it varies depending on my pain at the time of the test. Every doctor but my RA doctors say I have RA. I have been diagnosed with undifferentiated and connective tissue disease and I do have osteoarthritis.

I have posted elsewhere about all my health issues. I have thought from the get-go that I had RA. An internist last week told me the lump under my skin along the base of my index finger is a Rheumatoid nodule. A member here recommended a RA doc she sees and I have an appointment in a month. It is going to take me 3 hours to get there, but if he can help me and diagnose me properly I will be a happy camper.

The diagnostic process seems to take years.

Best of luck with you doctors visit.
Posted 6/30/2011 7:36 AM (GMT 0)
I had my appointment today and lets just say the rheumatologist was very unsympathetic. I'm mostly annoyed with my body. My joints looked normal today, not swollen like usual. So the rheumatologist couldn't see anything abnormal.

She was pretty rude, she didn't seem overly interested, she was arrogant, blunt, and she answered her cellphone and pager all throughout the appointment.

I've had heaps of new blood tests done and I'm having a chest xray. I just wish my joints had been like they usually were. The said that I shouldn't have been on Prednisone because it's probably masked the inflammation.

It's just so frustrating..

Thanks for all your posts.
Posted 6/30/2011 12:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Paper,

I am so sorry your appointment went like it did. I cannot tell you how many times I have had the exact same appointment. At times I am grateful I did not live during the days of the Salem Witch Trials as I am sure I would have been burned at the stake.

I certainly do not want a diagnoses of RA, but after all these years running in circles and seeing so many doctors, I am actually sort of glad I have presented with a rheumatoid nodule. We know our bodies and what they are telling us. I hate nothing more than finally getting my appointment and feeling fairly good when I go in. This is why I go into appointments with notes in hand. Yet, it seems like doctors don't believe me if they cannot see for themselves.

Best I can tell is that I have been thrown in the undifferentiated connective tissue disease and fibromyalgia pool because my labs and clinic visits never point to anything specific according to the RA doctors.
Posted 7/1/2011 3:13 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Bumpercar. It's relief to know I'm not the only one. You're 'lucky' that you have a rheumatoid nodule, then they're more likely to take you seriously! I went in with my notes but I was feeling quite good unfortunately. I wouldn't mind a diagnosis of undifferentiated connective tissue disease as long as it was a correct diagnosis.

I went to my GP today, she's honestly the loveliest doctor I have ever seen. She knows the rheumatologist personally and agreed with everything I said about the appointment yesterday. She said that it happens, some days you're good and others you're not and it was just unlucky (if you want to put it like that) that I wasn't swollen yesterday. She said that she's thought for years that the rheumatologist I saw doesn't enjoy her job. My GP said that if I still get the same reception at my next appointment she will write them a letter and ask for me to be seen by someone else.

Thanks everyone!
Posted 7/1/2011 3:00 PM (GMT 0)
That was a rude doctor, sorry you had to go thru that...I hope
your next appointment is better and if not then get another rheumy...
I don't know why a doctor would stay with his/her career if he/she didn't
like it...somethings wrong there....
well wishes to you
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