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rheumatoid arthritis or something else

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Rheumatoid Arthritis
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Posted 8/1/2014 7:17 PM (GMT 0)
im so confused and frustrated with these doctors. so far nobody has been able to help me or find anything to make me feel better.

i was looking at my test results and here they are

Rheumatoid Factor 15 iu/ml
HLA b 27 gene
ANA 1:16 nucleolar pattern

WBC 14.7
absolute netrophils was elevated by a little bit

here is my symptoms:

started with pain and stiffness in my upper back and rib cage, moved to my shoulders, pain and stiffness has now moved to my hips and all of my joints. i have inflamed tendons in all my joints elbows, ankles, wrists, and shoulders. they all make popping noise. im incredibly stiff. i have ear stuffiness, feeling of being ill, muscle spasms, dry eyes, headaches, shortness of breath, fascial pain, and twitching in my leg muscles

does this sound like rheumatoid ?! is a RA factor of 15 high or not?! im 28 and in agony here shakehead
Posted 8/1/2014 8:15 PM (GMT 0)
If you're positive for the HLA B27 gene your rheumy will probably talk to you about ankylosing spondylitis. Having the gene does not automatically mean you have AS, but it's more likely I think. Do you have digestive problems too? This gene and joint pain are often linked to UC as well.
Posted 8/2/2014 12:39 AM (GMT 0)
You need a really good RA Doctor, start your doctor search with that. Keep a copy of these results for your records.
If can be so very frustrating when your doctors do not communicate well with you, let alone each other. I have a endocrin doctor that doesn't agree with my RA doctor and I get caught up in between them sometimes and it is frustrating.

Many well wishes..keep us posted as to how things turn out.
Posted 8/2/2014 8:08 AM (GMT 0)
I have the HLA B27 gene, and I've got ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's Disease, and an aortic aneurysm.

One of the ways to tell if you have ankylosing spondylitis or another kind of arthritis is to look at when the pain worsens. With AS, the pain will be much worse after you've been resting or just keeping still. When I get out of bed in the morning, I have much worse pain than after I've been moving around for an hour or so. While you remain sitting or lying down there's usually no pain, but the longer you stay still, the worse the pain gets when you do finally get up and move around. I believe this is the opposite of the other types of arthritis.

Another thing with AS is that the pain usually starts in the sacroiliac joints. If you push a little bit on those joints and it hurts, I believe it's likely to be AS.

From your symptoms I'd have to say it doesn't sound to me like you have ankylosing spondylitis, which is good news. But I am not a doctor and I don't even play one on TV. :)

Good luck - I hope you find some relief soon!

Auntie Lili
Posted 8/2/2014 1:32 PM (GMT 0)
hi everyone

i do have a lot of pain in my spine it actually started in the neck and shoulders and went to my hips. but i also have joint pain as well. i did some research and the nucleolar pattern is suggestive of scleroderma so of course i was panicking. i have a lot of scar tissue build up and knots in my muscles i have no symptoms with my skin so far just a lot of moles and i burn easily. i read that normal RA factor is below 15 iu/ml and mine is right at 15.. i dont know if spondylitis can cause all these other issues. i wake up atleast every 2 hours due to pain sometimes more. i have jaw pain and headaches and i have severe joint and muscle pain. is it normal in ankylosing spondylitis to have muscle knots a lot of them and spasms in the muscles? im so confused.
Posted 8/2/2014 1:35 PM (GMT 0)
and my joint pain so far the swelling is tendonitis and bursitis but i dont do alot of moving around anymore and its in literally EVERY tendon that swelled. both elbows, ankles, knees, shoulders, etc. if u push the tendon its just big and lumpy and fibrotic. i had surgery on one shoulder after becoming ill and i developed frozen shoulder and severe tendonitis that took me one year to heal. so i dont know what is going on with me.
Posted 8/2/2014 8:07 PM (GMT 0)
Hi fnfiacco - I'm sorry you're in so much pain.

My experience with RA is that I'm stiff almost every morning when I first get out of bed. I'm also stiff if I sit for any amount of time, especially this time of year when everyone is running air conditioners. The owner of the building where I work actually moved an AC vent for me because I was having so much trouble. I'd have to run warm water over my hands every hour to relieve the stiffness and pain. Being able to work without the cold air blowing on me has made a huge difference.

By the way, I think being stiff in the morning is pretty common in RA; my rheumy asks about it at every visit.

I hope you get some answers and relief soon.
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