I think inflammatory arthritis can have a scope of many things including AS, scleraderma, etc.

And I thing Rheumatoid Arthritis, also falls under the inflammatory arthritis category, but there is specific criteria to meet to be diagnosed with it.

If the rheumatologist is board certified, then the diagnoses you got was pretty much correct, you can always get a second opinion.

A lot of doctors call themselves theumatologists, but in fact have an interest in rheumatology, and are plain medical doctors with no board certification. If this was the kind of doctor which diagnosed you, I would definitely get a second opinion. Most probably by a board certified rheumatologist.

Try messaging roseisrose360. She was diagnosed with that and also has medical knowledge. She has been a huge resource on here!

Wow, things can change on a dime!

Hey Tina,
That is my "official" diagnosis from my rheumy.
Inflammatory Arthritis (an undifferentiated term. PsA, RA, etc fall under it) is treated the same way as RA and PsA.

I have extraarticular symptoms as well. Including, but not limited to: Localized Scleroderma (no further progression once I started on MTX), an undifferentiated connective tissue component (causes muscles spasms in my intercostal muscles), weird toenail issues/"dyshidrosis" on one foot (I'm curious if it is actually Psoriasis) . . .
All of my research has basically led me to learn that the treatments are standard and very similar to RA.
When I have a flare I use a Medrol dose pack (Haven't had one since February. Yay!).
I take Sulfasalazine 2500mg daily (3 in the am 2 in the pm), MTX 6 tabs once a week, Meloxicam 7.5 mg daily. As needed: Flexeril (I take atl least once a day to keep muscle spasms at bay), Tramadol and I have a script from the ER for Percocet (from when the muscle spasms first showed up; it doesn't help for my "normal" joint pain. It does help if a spasm gets out of control.)
Please PM me if you have any questions.
I know that you have had a lot of complications from MTX. How are your lungs doing?

That's my diagnosis too.

The term inflammatory arthritis covers a number of conditions, typically autoimmune forms of arthritis like Lupus, Sjogren's, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Anykylosing Spondylitis.

My GP said it's when they know that you have a form of autoimmune arthritis but it's not exactly clear which one yet.

Usually it doesn't stop you from being treated, which is the most important thing.

Good luck.

This is nonsense. I had no blood markers for years. Everything negative and I could not dress myself or get out of bed. Finally found an old rheumy who told me I had severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. Even now, after 14 years, in a full blown flare 2 years ago after a med failure, my sed rate was barely raised. Over 100 joints involved.

I think they are just telling you that you have sero-negative arthritis. I just hope you demand treatment, and get it before you get irreversible deformities like me.

And Rheumatoid Lung Disease is part of RA. What is with these rheumies and all your people? It just angers me because of how badly I was treated the first 7 years of severe RA.

Angela,
Any time I get frustrated at how long it took me to get screened, diagnosed and treated, I remind myself that it wasn't nearly as long as some (like your case).
It helps me to be less frustrated.
It also makes me share my story so others, hopefully, don't have to go through it as bad.

Only my CRP and Sed rate were elevated. No specific antibodies have been elevated. At least not the ones that I have had run (Anti-ccp, Anti ENA, ANA, etc.).

I had horrible fatigue, was febrile, horrible morning stiffness, could barely walk, etc. I know I have irreversible joint damage, but I am lucky to not have deformities, etc. At some point I anticipate having something done to my thumb. Hopefully before I lose complete function . . . but I really hope I can hold out until a few years after I graduate.

Tina, before pred, etc. Do you know what your levels were?

I think I am with Angela on this. RA is different for everyone. The important thing is to get treatment. I am seronegative , but luckily got diagnosed quickly. I am seeing some deformities, pretty scary.
By the way, my stiffness has always been worse in the afternoon, wierd!
Lynne

Thank you everybody for your help with this, Anonyman...my old and new Rheumys are board certified. RoseisRose...I too have weird toe issues, sometimes their so numb and feel like their gonna fall off. not all the time but alot. and my old Rheumy said I had undifferenciated connective tissue disorder and Ra ?? my new Rheumy is keeping me on the plaquenel and waiting untill I get off prednisone for my lungs to put me on imuran( which I very much dislike)right now they are more concerned with the lung disease. were trying to keep it from turning into Pulmonary fibrosis. other than the sero-negative test..all other tests pointed at Ra, but the new tests changed and now she says negative everything... thats the part Im really confused about? also they determined that the mtx was not the problem with the lungs but certainly dident stop the inflammation. I too have alot of damage and deformaties to my hands and toes. even have nodules on my hands and wrists....and yes, my pulm. Dr says Ra related lung disease but new Rheumy says any of those autoimmune diseases can cause inflammation and lung disease. they call mine, " inflammatory Alveolitis" . Wabby..whats weird about all this is in the beginning they sais I had Lupus. but changed it when the MRIs showed erosions and deformaties, they wouldnt rule it out but never mentioned it again. Angela, that is my take on all this...and now Im wondering if I should go get another opinion from still another Rheumy, of course I would have to go through them getting old records and more tests. btw..new Rheumy says the old Rheumy wont send my records other than one MRI from January. what is up with these People?? is their something their hiding? I know I sound Paranoid but I dont know which of them to believe at this point.. according to new test results, all tests show between limits or negative. I asked if the 40 mgs of pred could have changed the tests and she said no. Thanks again everybody.this has helped me to understand alot more.

Prednisone is a systemic anti-inflammatory; it effectively halts the inflammation response.

So, yes, it can cause your labs to be "normal" especially if you have been on it for a while at a high dose. 40mg is a "high" dose and rightly so for its indicated use (preventing Pulmonary Fibrosis; they want to stop your body from creating scar tissue, etc)

Your medical records are your property. Your former rheumatologist does not have the right to keep them from your current doctor. They are important in your treatment.
See: http://www.tmb.state.tx.us/consumers/faq/mrec.php

I'm very new to all of this, but my diagnosis, at least for the time being, is "unspecified inflammatory polyarthritis." I guess the definition of that is "she's got a bunch of messed-up, inflamed, joints, but we're not positive why!" All my labs were normal, too.

Looking at the "patient information" section of rheumatology.org, the website for the American College of Rheumatologists, there's a good explanation of lab tests. They say that RF is positive in only 30% of people with early disease, but climbs to 80% with time. I've heard people refer to anti-CCP as the gold standard, but they say it's positive in only 60 - 70% of RA patients. Seems to me that they would know if anyone would.

So, a positive test means you have it, but a negative doesn't mean you don't. I thought erosions were proof positive it IS RA, though. The big question is, is she willing to treat you? If not, move on. If so, I'd be less concerned if she is calling it "RA" or "Walter" as long as she's doing something about it!

I also have been diagnosed with inflammatory polyarthritis and doc says most likely (85%) it is RA caught very early. I am taking plaquenil, mtx, folic acid and vitamin D, with prednisone for the occasional flare. My rheummy said getting treatment, reducing inflammation, and preventing joint damage and other things is the most important thing to worry about.

I think autoimmune diseases just express themselves differently in different people, both in type and severity of symptoms. Think of seasonal allergies-- some get runny nose and sneezing, others just get itchy eyes. Caused by the same thing , but different symptoms, same treatments.

I also have a hunch that each autoimmune disease that has a name also has three or more evil cousins that aren't named, and that are just different enough to confuse small-minded, overly by-the-book doctors.

Basically in many cases things aren't clear and there is a lot of overlap. Many features of Lupus are found in Rheumatoid Arthritis, but typically joint narrowing is specific to RA. And RA arthritis is symmetrical, where are Lupus arthritis doesn't have to be. 10% of people with Lupus arthritis develop deformities.

I'd suspect that there are a few people out there (in the world, not necessarily this site) diagnosed with sero-negative (no Rheumatoid Factor or anti-CCP) Rheumatoid Arthritis, but actually have symmetrical Psoriatic Arthritis. You don't have to have Psoriasis to have Psoriatic Arthritis. My rheumatologist also said that 80% of people with PsA develop the P after the arthritis or never at all. Some people just have nail changes or even just a family relative with P. People with PsA typically have normal RF and anti-CCP. Some have elevated ESR and CRP, but usually doesn't cause deformities as bad as RA. Apparently that's what my 'inflammatory arthritis' is looking like at the moment, although I have no Psoriasis or family history, but have nail Psoriasis.

I think it seems sensible of your doctor to keep a vague, but solid diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis. It doesn't prevent you from getting appropriate treatment, but hopefully they'll wait to diagnose it as RA/Lupus/PsA/AS whatever when they're 100% sure. It's worse to have a diagnosis then have it taken away . I've heard in the USA once you have a diagnosis of Lupus or RA etc on your record, it can make it difficult to get insurance.

I know what it's like not having an actually diagnosis. But I've been on Plaquenil for 8 months now and for the past month I've seen 95% improvement in my joints from this time last year. From my joint point of view, I'd say I'm pretty close to being 'normal'! I'm happier to have the improvement in my symptoms than a solid diagnosis. So just try not stress too much!

I really want to trust this Rheumy since I have had such a hard time with the other. but I think I will give her a fair chance, the harest part I guess, back to the beginning again. I do believe your right RoseisRose...I do believe shes mistaken about the levels changing with high doses of prednisone.but I will be patient to see how this works. Thank you everybody for your support and help with trying to figure this out and give me a better perspective on things. Hugs Tina