Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
I was able to see the physician earlier, and when I sat down he says "well I can see from your hands that you dont have RA". already I am a little peeved and thinking how can he just asume, and this without even looking at my blood results or examaning me?. And naturally my hubby is going "see told you that you do not have it" I love my husband more than anything in this world and he will be there for me for any situation 100%, however he is very sceptical and needs the proof to be laid out infront of him in black and white. Now I am begining to feel really foolish and I catch myself thinking "is the pain real or am I imagining it". The doctor finally reads the report and says "ok well your RF result is really high (168), do you have any symptoms or pain?". So I tell him, also half shying away from hubby, becasue remember I innitially went to doc because of hormones and hot flushes. So the last thing I want is my husband thinking I am faking.
I explain that my heels ache and that 2 knuckles on both hands are sore, my elbow has given a bit of greef when carrying the grocery bag etc. He examines my hands and says he can definately see swelling, he then sends me for x-ray of hands and blood test (anti-ccp). My x-rays show nothing.
He orders me to stay on the Methotrexate. Today, I call him for the results, he says that my blood results are normal, however he is still concerned becasue of my high RF result, but he does not suspect it is RA, come back in 3 months.
Could it be that I have RA but it is in the very early stages,? why must I stay on meds if he is unsure? could the meds not do me more harm if I dont have RA, than assist in healing if I do (in 3 months), if he does not think it could be RA should he not be testing for other possibilities?? I dont want to go for a second opinion, what do I tell my husband who has already 99.9% made his mind up, now I want to do all the tests again and waste more money? I am not stiff in the mornings, my pain is a 3 out of 10, it is worse some days, yesterday my knees were sensitive and my hands were ok. I just want to know for sure so that we can tackle it sooner rather than later.
I also told the doctor about me having Kikuchi desease about 3 years ago, and due to that they wanted me tested for Lupus, which the doctor said I do not have, but he seemed more interested in reading up on this than helping me. Just irritated.........
I explain that my heels ache and that 2 knuckles on both hands are sore, my elbow has given a bit of greef when carrying the grocery bag etc. He examines my hands and says he can definately see swelling, he then sends me for x-ray of hands and blood test (anti-ccp). My x-rays show nothing.
He orders me to stay on the Methotrexate. Today, I call him for the results, he says that my blood results are normal, however he is still concerned becasue of my high RF result, but he does not suspect it is RA, come back in 3 months.
Could it be that I have RA but it is in the very early stages,? why must I stay on meds if he is unsure? could the meds not do me more harm if I dont have RA, than assist in healing if I do (in 3 months), if he does not think it could be RA should he not be testing for other possibilities?? I dont want to go for a second opinion, what do I tell my husband who has already 99.9% made his mind up, now I want to do all the tests again and waste more money? I am not stiff in the mornings, my pain is a 3 out of 10, it is worse some days, yesterday my knees were sensitive and my hands were ok. I just want to know for sure so that we can tackle it sooner rather than later.
I also told the doctor about me having Kikuchi desease about 3 years ago, and due to that they wanted me tested for Lupus, which the doctor said I do not have, but he seemed more interested in reading up on this than helping me. Just irritated.........
It took me over 6 years to get diagnosed. And many of us are right in that range of 4-10yrs.
As for the methotrexate - it helps suppress the immune system and takes 6months or so to work. Your doctor keeping you on it to see if it works is pretty typical.
I am sure you are very frustrated, but be patient as whatever is ailing you manifests enough to diagnose.
Did you go on prednisone with any effectiveness? That's pretty tell-tale for autoimmune. If it works, you are probably headed in the right direction. If not, well, there's a long road to diagnosis.
Your doing exactly as you should. Listen to your body & try to stay a head. Keep in mind your husband does not live in your body. He's not the one suffering. Perhaps you don't have RA but better safe then sorry. It's a sneaky bugger. Sure sounds like something may be going on & you want to catch it before that 3 turns into a 7.
So many test negative all along , so many suffer before testing positive.
Looking back I know I had it & tested negative.
Bcatz gave excellent advice. Prednisone can be a test, not for everyone but seems the majority.
My dr looks at the hands also. Mean while my shoulders killing me.
Very frustrating.
Perhaps look at some posts here & show your doubting Thomas husband. He's not the only one like that yet has to be frustrating.
Focus on you & never mind what your husband thinks.
Bottom line follow your instincts & listen to your body.
Sammy
Keep in mind that no blood test will give you definite answers for these autoimmune diseases. Combined with symptoms, a physical exam, and imaging a doctor can make an educated guess, but as bcatz and Sammy point out, diagnosis can be a long process.