Rheumatoid factor | Arthritis Information

I asked my rd at my appt what my rf actually was, tested positive, and he wouldn't tell me. He said testing positive for rf is like a positive pregnancy test. Is this true?Not the way I understand it.

My RF is 36, but I know some on this board have theirs up in the 100s. The higher the RF the more active the disease, or so I understand. And 5% of normal population (no RA) has a positive RF.

I have no idea why some doctors won't share test results. Seems weird. I always ask for paper copies of everything.I guess when your RD just meant that you had a pos reading . Not sure why he would compare it to a pregnancy test.........?!

I have no idea what my numbers are at this point...the only numbers I remember are my initial dx of sed rate at 125 and then another sed rate......geesh many years later at 2 I believe it was.....my last one here through my PCP was a 1.....I still have my "bad bone days" the air pressure still knocks me down at times and I still get that darned fatigue.......maybe it is the heart thing now...who knows. I just still rest and have to slow down a bit......... no mor eof the really good workouts in water aerobics, prob cannot ride my bike as far and so on......

It is all information. You take the info and do what the Dr. says, you take the meds prescribed, rest, eat right ..yadayadayada.

I personally think they need to throw the R Factor test right out the window. Being online through the past 3 years, I have met tons of people who had a factor and didn't have factors, some that had around 1,000 factor and were fine while then they would have a 250 factor and their bodies were falling apart.

The number can help them easily say you have it if you are positive, but the number itself no matter how high or low doesn't really mean much.

I had over 500 at my worst, 250 at my best and 114 almost my worst.

bubbagump2008-05-25 13:25:06Maybe they ....whoever "they" are need to recalculate it.......seems like I was at my worst when the numbers were low.

There is so much to learn about RA, and I am sure there have been changes made along the way as new meds are introduced. I guess they have to keep with a standard for DX and for the calculations of medicaiton dosage, then tweek it in for each individual. It always seemd to me it was mostly trial and error for dosage.

And yep, the pred does do damage but it is the chance you have to take sometimes.

jodejjr2008-05-25 13:44:01I was diagnosed with a severe onset of arthritis, was wheelchair bound and my RA factor was 972. I had symptoms 10 years prior but my RA factor was NORMAL, therefore I had no diagnosis of RA. This meant no treatment except for self treatment of approximately 12 Advil per day, until the severe onset. It took 11 years of treatment to achieve a normal RA factor. It's been normal for the last 4 months. I agree that you can have RA without an elevated RAF but once it's elevated and you have symptoms then it can be a good diagnstic tool along with other tests to determine if you're headed towards being controlled and/or remission.

Your lab tests results belong to you. Your medical records are not the private property of the doctor. Make sure you get a copy of each lab test. Lindy

thanks everyone!