No firm diagnosis | Arthritis Information

Hi, I was wondering if any others here are in limbo for a firm diagnosis.

For 2 yrs I have had joint pain, swelling and redness in my hands, wrists, knees, and ankles symmetrically and shoulder and hip pain asymmetrically. All labs and x-rays are neg. I also have EBV.

Doc cannot firmly diagnose due to neg tests but can see my symptoms which get quite severe. He is thinking RA/PA and agressively treating me. MTX 20mg is helping just a little and will start a biologic soon.

I have firm FMS/OA/PN diagnosis but those do not cause a lot of my symptoms.

Doc has listed RA as without a written diagnosis insurance won't pay for the meds.

Anyone else out there frustrated wanting to know what is causing life changing symptoms?

Thanks and take care,

I believe a lot of people have a problem getting a diagnosis initially. This is especially true if you have symptoms of multiple autoimmune diseases. Hang in there and learn as much as you can.

However, it is a misconception that your doctor cannot diagnosis RA just because of labs. A lot of people have seronegative RA which means their labs are always negative. You certainly seem to have the symptoms, but PA also had similar joint systoms. They treat RA and PA with similar medicines. Enbrel is one that is definitely used for both.

For instance, my blood work came back all normal in June except for the sed rate which was bit high. I definitely got RA. They can see it on the MRIs.

Maybe he is just being careful to get the right thing identitified. But I believe you can have both.

Bonny,
I think many of us on here have gone through much of what
you are taking about. I have NEVER shown RA in my blood
tests, but my x-rays and symtoms definitely show it. As long as
your doc is treating it like RA, that is a step in the right direction.
Hang in there and I hope you get some relief soon!

I know how you feel! I have high inflammation mainly on my left side (foot, hand and sometimes neck), but in both knees, and some days it just knocks me out. All my tests come back negative and my x-rays don't show anything either. I don't have any skin problems or family history of it, but my rd has diagnosed me with PA. I have been on MTX for almost 4 months, and am up to 25mg per day, with no real pain reduction yet. I did all the natural stuff this summer before giving in to the meds, and I am extremely bummed that they don't seem to be working. I have heard the biologics are effective, but my insurance doesn't cover them.

Sometimes I question my diagnosis and feel like my rd is not really working to help me get the pain under control.

platym - I am so sorry about your insurance not covering biologics. Not too many with RA/PA get unlimited relief from MTX only. Have you contacted the manufacturer's as I have known some who get them free if they qualify.

The MTX has helped ease my swelling but not the pain level. Did it lower the swelling for you?