My tests always show normal. My Rheumatologist said that in up to 15-20% of the time, in some people, it could show nothing. My Dr also goes by symptoms - and I have pain, stiffness, fatigue, and puffyness. He put me on MTX, when that didn't help, he added Humira.

Maybe a different Dr would be a better fit for you?

I hope the meds out there will help you with the pain and fatigue! I am on several and they help but I wake up and go to sleep usually hurting somewhere! Hugs to you:)

MKP, did your Dr explain why tests are negative in those perentage of people? I am currently taking Enbrel and mtx. My Rheumy in the USA, where I've had elevated SED rates and CRP, listened carefully to my symptoms as well, and provided me Hydrocodone when Tramadol didn't do anything. This Dr said I shouldn't need anything, as the Enbrel should take care of it! I may ask the clinic if there is another Rheumy when I go this week for a neuro appt. let's hope this week is less pain &fatigue than the last. Thanks for the hugs!

Meli - my Dr just said that for some people, nothing shows up in the blood work. He also said that I might have Psoriatic Arthritis, which is treated in a similar manner.

What ever the reason, I am grateful that he decided to be aggressive in treatment. Because of treatment, at least for now, I am feeling sooooooo much better. Not great. Not wonderful, but I feel better than I have felt in a very long time.

MKP, that is so validating that your Dr listens to how you are feeling and takes things seriously with aggressive treatment, with an improvement in how you feel as a result. This Dr didn't examine any joint, or anything else, besides look at the blood and X-rays. I deserve better and need more. Despite what the X-ray says, I am feeling a loss of dexterity in my hands, and they are vital for my job. Not so much yet that I can't do normal things, but I don't want it to get that far,

51percent, yes I am curious to see what the neurologist says on Wed. I am having some nerve symptoms, but this definitely is not the whole story. I had carpal tunnel and ulnar nerve surgery done on both hands/elbows my first year of teaching. Exploring other explanations is important, but he could have presented things in a way that was not dismissive.

Your meds may be suppressing your inflammation on bloodtests, but not your physical symptoms. Just a thought.

I went to my rheumy last month in the worst pain ever. She said my hands & feet weren't swollen so therefore I have no evidence of disease. No joint exam given. She said my back pain is fibromyalgia, saying RA doesnt affect the spine, although she didn't test me. No discussion of symptoms. All bloodtests were in ok range.

I fired her. Was able to get a cancellation the same week with another rheumy. That rheumy saw my swollen hands & feet as soon as I walked in. She even found my neck & SI joints were swollen. She also listened to my symptoms! Said she could see my pain on my face. Rx'd prednisone & mtx injections & Lortab. Also xrays of my spine & neck. I love my new rheumy!! Humira starts next week.

Within 24hrs of prednisone I felt like a new person! The xrays show RA is now in neck & spine is eat up with OA from neck to SI joints +3 bulging discs in neck. I see a spine specialist next week.

For 2yrs that rheumy dismissed every symptom I had leading me to think it was all just in my head. To the point I questioned even being sick at all. Voila I'm cured!

If something doesn't seem right find a new Dr. It may be difficult sorting thru the layers of pain to find the source but you know your body better than anyone else-negative bloodtests or not.

Personally, I think they should burn the "textbook "and deal with us on a case-by -case basis.

Good luck! (Sorry for the book :-))

Thanks, Emerald. I'm glad to hear that you finally found a Dr that listened to you, performed needed exama & tests, and found a medicine regime that is providing relief. Having the Dr acknowledge you and your symptoms makes such a difference in one's emotional well-being.
I had taken prednisone low dose for 7days the week before- perhaps it was enough to affect the tests.

my tests also sometimes come up negative. i forget what exactly came up abnormal the first time i got bloodwork, but it was very textbook ra the first time, and luckily even though i've switched doctors since i've moved since then, my new doctor has those results and has not questioned my diagnosis even though my bloodwork came back normal when he ordered it. i'm with everyone who says you should perhaps seek another doctor. i'm assuming this doctor has your previous lab results and knows that your labs did come back abnormal before, but just thinks that you shouldn't need pain meds or anything besides the enbrel because nothing is out of the ordinary right now, which is incorrect. i hope that the neurologist gives you some answers and that you find a more understanding rheumatologist who gets that normal labs don't necessarily mean no symptoms.

I didnt get to see my rheumy for a couple of years because in spite of flares and pains the bloodwork was normal. Only just done so because bi annual appointment with rheumy nurse
coincided with really bad flare and she had bloods done immediately at hospital which showed significant inflammation elevation. ("everything else is all right" said the rheumy when I saw him....as an aside dont you feel sorry for the OA and ME sufferers who dont present evidential bloods??)

Reading through, see you had taken prednisone and that does cut the inflammation level results. Are you able to ask for medication there? Maybe ask them to try different drugs?

I remember where you were going to work earlier this year and maybe in that culture medicos trained to focus on "evidence" although that does surprise me a little.

I also show no evidence of arthritis in blood work or x-rays. Honestly, I think that if I didn't have Ulcerative Colitis my rheumy doctor would also have dismissed me. But because UC is also an autoimmune disorder and is know to cause arthritis she is treating me. The funny thing is, if you look up the arthritis symptoms caused by UC, I don't have them. Instead, I have all the symptoms of RA. She will not call it RA though, she calls it enteropathic arthritis. Which, in the end is fine, because it's treated exactly like RA. But, I think you should look into a new doctor, one who is more sympathetic to the disease.
(Honestly, why are some of these doctors in practice at all?)

It's definitely a mixed bag how people are treated when tests and symptoms don't match. Yes, I did take prednisone for a week and stopped about 5 days before the appt. The symptoms were getting to me and I didn't think it was all that good to be taking Hydrocodone every day. He never even asked me...
I don't want to judge the medical training practice of my new host county after such a brief experience. Hope my neuro appt will be better.

I can attest to #9. after having "neg." blood tests, & basically told to live with it, there was nothing in the labwork.
It occured to me if I didn't take any anti-inflamatory meds prior to having blood drawn that may make a diference & it did.
Not suggesting this is the thing to do, but I needed it to prove to myself that I wasn't a "nut job".

Going off meds just to be taken seriously should not have to happen. I did ask the clinic if there was another rheumy I could see and I was honest when the nurse asked why. I saw the neurologist yesterday who after examination said I did have some nerve damage but that it may be difficult to determine whether it was from the damage caused prior to my carpal tunnel and ulnar nerve surgeries a number of years ago, or something recent. He did seem to listen to my concerns and my need to have functional hands, scheduling some tests. We'll see what happens after that. I may ask if an MRI on my hands would yield useful data on why I'm experiencing loss of function of the hands, despite nothing really showing up on the x-rays.

I am on remicade now and my blood tests are coming back normal. It took a lot of trial and error and lousy rheumatologists to get to this place. I have joint damage. That is going to hurt, whether my RA is active or beaten back with drugs. It's just a fact. That's how she explained my pain issue with a Sed rate of 14.

I wish you could all go to my rheumatologist. She's so compassionate and so SMART.