Hey there everyone! I'm 41 years old and have been having joint pain for many years. I've had blood tests done in the past and they have always come back negative for RA and Lupus. Just yesterday, the nurse at my doctors office called and told me one of my most recent tests came back positive for RA and I needed more blood work done. I admit my ignorance to all the terms you all are so familiar with, but I don't even know exactally what tests have been done and are being done now. Do any of you have any suggestions for questions I should be asking? Every web site I check with info on connective tissue diseases just leave me more confused....after reading the symptoms of some of them I feel like I've got them ALL!!
I would welcome any and all first-hand information ya'll have to offer.
Hi and welcome! First of all you should visit our RA section on this website/message board. It is busier than this section. Also I would recommend a book called Arthritis for Dummies. It is very basic, easy to read, full of info, and a really good resource. It can be confusing because many of the symptoms sort of overlap, yet they each also have specific 'classic' symptoms.HI I am Raina Snow and I am like you I look up things on the computer and find I have them all so I have learned to not look things up so much on the computer anymore. I have Fibro and osteoarthritis , stinosis in my spine and heart trouble and bad neck trouble and I have been tested for everything. when I get tests not to take to the lab for example I ask my dr what is this and what is that. I am not afraid to ask and I take pencil and paper with me. My son in law is a dr, and he told me say everything even if it sounds stupid you have the right to Its you that is being tested on and you need to know. So I do now I tell them all my meds. evendown to a tylenol. I have printed out all my meds and operations so when I go I don't have to fill out that paper work I just hand them a copy to put in their records of all that has happened to me and my meds. its easy that way. I now have a shaking inside my body mostly in the mornings and I don't know what it is. no one seems to know and sometimes I feel they don't care anymore. I have been battling stuff since 1972 and I am 60 years old . So I have to take one day at a time. Can't do much of anything anymore. Good luck to you .Welcome both of you to the forum. You can easily have a mixture of diseases, as is my case. In fact, it seems everyone has more than one immune disease.
Just because the blood work doesn't show it, doesn't mean you don't have it.
Tell the doctor that you don't understand. If you can, bring a family member or friend with you to your appointment. I do this often for my daughter because she doesn't understand what they are talking about. Plus, if you are sick enough, you are not going to get it. If you don't have someone that can go with you, then ask them to write down the instructions.
Ask lots of questions here (preferably in the RA section). Someone will have something similar that they are going through. We learn a lot by each other's experiences. Some people ask their questions here and then gather them up before their next appointment. Also, if there is something you don't understand, others might be able to explain it.