i'm so wanting to hear yes or no on my diagnosis. jason, you sound worse than me!! And believe me, that is saying something. What's happening with you?
I know how you're feeling, waiting is horrible, it drives me mad especially when I'm in pain.
Yes they will likely take blood from you but what I've learned is that
often it doesn't come back positive which can be annoying if you have
pain and no one can tell you why, or your bloods might be through the
roof.
They should do at least -
A full blood count to check for abnormalities like high white cell count or anemia and liver function etc
Rheumatoid Factor - this can be elevated from other things such as
infection etc so it won't diagnose you but in conjunction with a
physical examination and details of your symptoms it can be diagnositic.
ESR and or CRP - these are both tests that measure the level of
inflammation in your body - they are normally raised during periods of
active inflammation - CRP is more sensitive - however sometimes they
are normal, especially at the start of RA
Anti CCP - some places do this test - it is more sensitive to early RA
and more specific for RA than the Rheumatoid Factor 90/95% specific for
RA.
Hope this helps - remember you will have to wait a while for the
results to come back. I'm feeling it for you just now- I truly
understand the frustration and panic you feel just now. Try and
hang in there, you will get to the bottom of this and hopefully it is
nothing to worry about, however if it RA, you are in the right place
because although it is scary and painful, this group will really help
you get through it because we are all fighting it together.
I hope you get on OK Jason, keep us posted.
thanks so much julie. i'll let you know after my doctors visit.I agree with Julie except one thing--it may not take that long to get the results. My doc's lab sucks my blood on Mondays, and I have the results the same week, usually by Wednesday. So maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones, depending on where you are. When they take the blood, just ask, so you won't be in limbo at least.All my years having RA, I've never had to wait long for tests to
return. Guess it is where you are. Now my RD 's office is above the
lab.
I think it depends on what you are expecting. Some people think
that they'll find out then and there or the next day when things like
anti ccp can take a couple of weeks. Not long, as such, but not
over night either. I know a lot of folk think that they'll walk into
the Rheumy and they'll do the tests and be able to tell them right then
what's wrong with them and it's upsetting if you think you'll find out
the next day and then find it its a week or two, because even though
this isn't long - it is if your expectations where different. The
UK is murder sometimes for bloods coming back - its not so much the
testing but the admin in letting people know the results that takes the
time here.
Keep in mind you can be sero negative and certainly have RA. The ONLY thing that shows up in my blood work is the sed rate is elevated SOMETIMES, and even then not much.
RA is diagnosed when you have 5 of the 7 criteria
In my case I have the first 5 and the definitive diagnosis wasn't made until the MRI results were in. However my RD began treating me with DMARDs before the MRI was taken.
You should get your blood results within a week. They most likely won't draw the blood there, but will send you to a lab.