Hello to a fellow aussie, I have psoriatic arthritis and the pain and swelling can jump from daily to hourly to different parts of the body. But I have heard of those with RA being very similar. The blood tests I have check for inflamation levels by the sed rate and crp levels. they also use those tests for RA. Many have seronegative RA which means it doesnt show a rheumatoid factor in the blood . RA , PA and all the other arthritis's arent the same in every patient and nor are the medications that help. What helps one may not help another.Its good to have you join us, there are a few of us on here as you will find out. What's SA?
Pip, it should have read A.S.
I've had RA for twenty years but have never taken the time to do much learning/reading about it as I lived in hope of it disappearingAbout 20% of RA is sero-negative, so you are not alone there. There are the other tests like ESR and CRP that will show inflammation. Your doc should have those. It will all help with a diagnosis. Welcome to the board. Researching on line is a great way to get yourself som information and insight into RA, It will help to get informed on as much as you can. You can ask any questions you might have and there is bound to be someone on the board who can answer or at least set you in the right direction.
Welcome from another Aussie
Hello and Welcome
It is very frustrating when all x-rays and blood works turn out normal with negative RF. I am the same.... dx PR/then IA /then Sero-neg RA/now back to IA. I don't think my rheumy knows for sure what type it is, even after 7 years.
My symptoms (hands, wrists, feet ,ankles, knees, hips) started off Intermittant and are now more progressive & symmetrical but have recently started getting alot of lower back stiffness and coccyx pain. Have had stiffness in my neck/shoulders for many years but blamed that on a 16 year old Whiplash injury. I haven't, as yet, had my back x-rayed and my neck was last done 16 years ago. I have 6 members of my family with Psoriasis but not me so my Rheumy says it's not Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA), even though you can get PsA without the Psoriasis rash. AS hasn't been discussed at present.
I take Plaquenil (Hydroxychloroquine) and have recently enjoyed 2 months remission but...no peace for the wicked!....it's back again. I take Co-dydramol for pain.
I guess there are so many questions we'd love the answer to!
What are we dealing with?/Will it cause damage to the joints?/Do we need to look after the joints whilst in a flare?/Are we on the correct meds?...the list goes on.
I guess we just have to be patient and hope that one day we will get to know.
I found these links on AS & RA.
Elaine x
elaine50002008-06-30 03:34:59Thanks everyone for the replies. I'll need to do a little more research before I ask to many quesitons. I guess I too thought if I put it out of mind maybe one day it'll just go. Not so, it's actually getting worse which is rather depressing. I'm on MTX and sulfasalizine (spelling) and the current doc wants to stop the sulfasalizine, reduce the MTX and start me on plaquenil. Guess I might as well give it a go.
Thanks again.
Welcome to the board, Aus-T!
Have you had your Vitamin D level checked? Low Vitamin D can cause similar symptoms.
AS=Ankylosing Spondylitis
AS involves the spine whereas RA doesn't. AS is far more common in men than in woman. The hips are often as is the sacroiliac joints. Normally there is no rheumatoid factor but someone with AS will have positive inflammation markers. Someone with As will test positive for the HLA-B27 gene
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