Hello! I just registered and hope that someone can answer questions better than my PCP can.
I recently have had problems with severe joint pain (no swelling or warmth, or redness). It is worse when I wake in the morning and I have a hard time getting off the ground from sitting, climbing stairs etc. I went in and had labs drawn and this is what they were:
ANA 40 RA factor 7.7 Sed rate 4
They are all in the normal range, but I read that typically you don't have any RA factor if there isn't some type of issue? I currently don't have any joint stiffness or pain, it's weird it comes and goes. I just had a baby 6 months ago, could this be reason? I am not a sickly person, But since my little guy has been born I have been having strange symptoms. I also have my hands falling asleep, mostly at night and mostly my right hand,,,,I have to shake it or reposition it to get things flowing?? Could I have these symptoms and it be nothing? I was hoping you all could help, my doctor said it sounded like I could have some type of arthritis, but when the labs came back said they were all normal. Hope you can help.
I just noticed my profile said I was from afganistan, I am not,,I will go back and try to fix that LOL
Afganastan/America same thing....NOT!
Yes you can have -labs and still have RA, it is called serum negative and many of here have it. And yes, many of us had our first taste of RA following childbirth...except for the men of course...wonder what their excuse is??
What did the doctor attribute the numbness to then? Don't let them leave at this point. You might need to keep a little diary of your daily symptoms. And, if anything gets worse, get in to see that doctor again. Surely don't want you to have this. But, at the same time, if you do, it mustn't go untreated. I've never heard of having a baby causing numbness in the right hand. My thyroid was 1.086 Normal. I have not had aches/stiffness since July 6th...Only hand very stiff and hard to open close when I wake in the mornings but NOTHING like I did have after the baby. It lasted several months. So I should wait until it comes back and then go back to my pcp? How did it come and go after childbirth for many of you? What should I expect if anything? The strange thing to me was that when I was going through it Motrin didn't touch it?? Should Motrin help a little? Thanks!
It's interesting what was said about the thyroid thing. Since my flare in May, I am hypothyroid and had blood work done to see that the level of synthoid was right for it. I was wondering why my family doctor also re-tested me for all the abnormal blood work that came back that tested positive for arthritis. I went to see him yesterday for the results. My thyroid is perfect now, but my ANA, C-reactive protien, and Sed rate are all higher than they were in May! Go figure. One must effect the other. Hi SoozyQ. Here is one suggestion: ask your MD for an anti-CCP test. A positive anti-CCP correlates very highly with RA, even very early stage, or mild RA. Good luck to you. An off the wall idea ... I wonder if your pregnancy effected your spine somehow ... alignment etc? I know I have weird symptoms connected to my spine, like tingles, swellings etc. Just a thought, since you said this happens since giving birth. I'd ask doc about the possibility anyways. Pinched or aggravated nerves in the spine area can cause weird symptoms. Including tingles and inflammation in hands, fingers, feet etc. My cervical spine effects my hands especially. Physio helps me a lot when aggravated. I also wonder about things like carpal tunnel syndrome (wrists/hands) or Raynauds (wrists/hands) I had trouble with carpal tunnel in both hands, then raynauds, before I was diagnosed with the rheumatoid arthritis. Soozyq, Past experience with many thyroid issues.... you can't base thyroid disease just on a TSH level. Be sure that they draw a T3, T4, and (sorry) I can't remember the other off the top.. and a Anti-thyroid. You can't base all thyroid issues off a TSH level as many GP's believe. Thanks for all the input, I will ask the doc when I go back about the things you all have suggested. I know recenlty I had a problem with Mycoplasma infection that I couldn't clear and had to take biaxin for. I have been looking into that critter and am puzzled. I am just happy that the joint pain and stiffness that was affecting my life so much has been gone since July 6thish. I hope it wasn't just a flare that is going to come back because I am a non stop person and that really stopped me! Thanks! I am sure I will be back with more questions...
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