So my rheumatoid factor, the first one ever measured, came back 18. I was told that "normal" is 1 to 13.9. Based on what you know, how bad is 18, and how does it compare to some of you?
Also, I've been browsing Amazon for books on RA, but wondered what you people have foud that's good?
Mine was over 400.Hi David, When I was first diagnosed I was hit with a severe onset of RA with a factor of 900, which is extremely high. I also had an emergency lum lam for a blown disk at the same time.
I'm not sure where you stand with an elevation of 18. That's a good question for your RD. Have you spoken to him, do you have a definitive diagnosis?
I really haven't found any books about RA that have helped me. Usually they are outdated, I've already been there and done that, or too esoteric. I find that the RA magazine is a help as are many of the RA network sites. The books that I've read to help me cope have helped far more than any book about arthritis.
Holy Crap! 18's miniscule compared to those numbers.
My regular doctor hadn't forwarded the results to my RD, as they said they would, when I saw him, so I was unable to ask what it meant. He's performed several other tests, the results of which I'm anxious to hear. Mind you, I've only got a differential diagnosis from him, which he'll either validate or not with the test results and x-rays.
mine was a 408 so as far as I know <20 is some what normal but could be wrong. u could be sero negativeMIne was 16 when I was DXed, which is "indeterminate", but you can have an acceptable RF and still have full blown RA, so I'm not sure how relevant it is.Mine was 658. Did they tell you what your sed rate and c-reactive protein were? Those are tests for inflammation, and are also used in determining severity.
However, numbers are not everything. As someone else said, some folks with flaring RA are sero-negative, which means their blood tests show up normal. There are so many variables with RA. Your RF alone is not always a true test of whether or not you have RA.
Also, no matter how all these tests turn out, they can also use a CCP test, which is newer and more definitive for RA.
Ask for a copy of all your blood work. They are good to have every time the tests are done.
Let us know how you are doing.
Be well,
Nini
Thanks for the info everyone. It gives a bit of perspective. Now if I could just fast forward in time about 8 days, I'd be happy, in an anxiety-driven kind of way.|
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This one is coming out in the next month or so. It was written by Carol Eustice who is the guide at the about.com arthritis site. Carol has had RA for over 30 years, her husband Rick has it as well. So you know she will have real life patient experience to draw upon. Scott Zashin one of the country's top rheumatologists is the medical advisor
also
The First Year: Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed (First Year, The) (Paperback)
by M.E.A. McNeil
The New Arthritis Breakthrough by Henry Scammell is the book that I really appreciated. He wrote it with Dr. Thomas MacPherson Brown and it details Dr. Browns belief the most chronic autoimmune diseases are infectious in nature.
Pip
I was 353 on diagnosis and 706 by the time I started AP.