Kathy - welcome aboard!!

I was diagnosed with seronegative RA years ago. They put me on Plaquenil first, then they added methotrexate and folic acid to the mix. A good rheumy will treat seronegative RA aggressively right from the beginning. Find yourself a good rheumatologist who will treat you and not just your lab results. Sometimes this takes a while to find the right doctor.

Good luck and keep us posted!
Linda

I agree with what Linda has said, a good Rheum. will treat seronegative the same as seropositive.

I was diagnosed with seronegative and was prescribed methotrexate, folic acid right away. I was also offered prednasone, but was trying to avoid it. So far, I have not taken it. 3 months later, there was zero change in how I felt, so a biologic was added, Humera. Good luck and hopefully you can find some relief soon.

I was diagnosed as sero negative, too. My rheumy put me first on prednisone, which helped so much, then he added MTX and folic acid. I'm better, but not where I want to be.

MKP, how did you respond to the humira? I think my doctor will probably add something else when I finally get back in to see him. My appointment was postponed for two more months.

I was diagnosed years ago and I started out with Methotrexate and sulfasalazine. This never worked for me so I went to Enbrel, and went off methotrexate because we were trying to get pregnant and I couldn't have the metho in my system. Soon the chrnoic pain kicked in and I had to add ibuprofen 800 mg 3 x's a day. I was about 65% of who I used to before the disease.
After about two years of Enbrel, it wore off and I was moved to Humira. This worked so so for about 2 years with the same results and added methotrexate back which helped with the chronic pain. Once Humira wore off, I was moved to Remicade which honestly was my miracle drug for about 1 1/2 years. I'm still on it but the effectiveness is really wearing down and I'm finding myself in a big flare all over my body. I've been moved from 8 weeks to 6 weeks and now to 4 weeks. My hands ache and are swollen. My Knees and ankles are having issues periodically. The most noticeable that seems to really be getting me this time is my jaw joints are in the worse dull pain that it feels every tooth in my mouth are having toothaches.

I wish you luck in finding what the great fit for you will be. For me, it seems everything wears off in a couple of years and I am having to switch to something different. I hope it's not the same with you.

Fibro - I responded well to Humira, but my Rhuem felt I needed to get swelling more under control, was prescribed other biologics.

depends on who you go to and what they believe about sero-negative RA

Where do folks with sero-negative arthritis live in the country...just state? I believe Rheumys on the East Coast won't diagnose sero-neg. arthritis but I went to the Mayo Clinic and they wouldn't even consider anything but RA.

It has been over 30 years now that I've been trying to get help. My feet and ankles swell. My fingers swell and have nodes, along with weakness. My knees, hips, swell along with problem with inner ear swelling.

i live in Minnesota

Kathy, I can't get over your doctor not treating your negative RA! I live in Alabama, and my doctor looked at all my symptoms and noted how well I responded to the prednisone. He said he knew I had some type of autoimmune disease and other tests ruled out lupus and other things. So he's treating me for RA. But I'm rapidly developing nodules and swelling in many other places. Also the pains I attributed to my fibromyalgia, I'm now thinking may be RA.

I would keep calling around and looking for another doctor. Maybe when you call them up, ask specifically if they diagnose and treat negative RA. Good luck!

Kathy,

I live in North Carolina. I am also seronegative. My rheumy started me on meds almost immediately. You may want a second opinion.

Linda

I live in Minnesota and was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic 2 years ago this week and I am seronegative. I started on Prednisone for 2 months, as the doctor said that would help make his diagnosis definitive, although he never seemed to question the RA. Two months later I was started on MTX and Folic Acid. After a year, Plaquenil and Sulfasalazine were added. MTX was causing some issues so I was taken off of that in April and Leflunomide was added. I go in for more scans in August and then they will decide if they need to do something else. They are not happy that I am still quite "boggy"; his words! Too much swelling and inflammation in the hands and feet. When I was diagnosed my doctor looked me in the eye, told me "You have RA, don't let any other doctor ever tell you differently" and then talked about what percent of patients with RA are seronegative. They did a very thorough history, blood tests and scanned what felt like every joint in my body. I sat there and cried, and he asked me if I was crying because I was sad, or scared or what. I told him I was relieved that someone was taking me seriously.

Peggy

My wife is also seronegative. She has been taking Plaquenil for a month now and Prednisone was used for 2 weeks only. Our followup is in 2 weeks. Her bloodwork showed :

SED was at 65(normal - 0-20 mm/hr)
C-Reactive Protein was at 1.5(normal -

C-Reactive Protein was at 1.5(normal -

I live in VA. My new rheumatologist was mad about the previous treatment I had (almost none) and remarked "haven't they heard of sero-negative RA? You have it bad and we have some work to do together". I now have about 20 years with this disease and have never been on MTX or a biologic until now. Even with more than 4 bouts of serious uveitis.

I must admit, after the 4th nutty rheumatologist, I gave up and decided to live with the pain. I cannot wait to see my x-rays. I bet they are really pretty!

I have some experience with being judged an "over-worked, stressed out, female, complaining, exaggerator" because I happen to be a woman and an RN. The proof is in the erosions, nodules and deformities folks; and the patient's report of how bad their pain and stiffness are. Gender and occupation have nothing to do with it, right? Right?

Midwest. Maybe I need to go to to the Mayo clinic after all. The rheumies here seem uneducated about seroneg too. And I'm in a major metropolitan area.

I am being treated with the same meds as the seropositive types, I just feel there is underlying skepticism all the time. Well, from my rheumy anyway. My PCP needed no further proof when I described months of joint pain starting with my feet. He looked very sad and said "You have RA." No blood tests, no nuke scans. But 3 rheumies, one nuke scan, months of untreated agony, and a bazillion blood tests later I was finally treated around this time last year. Like I said though, he gives me that skeptical "I don't know" grimace wayyyyy too often.