You mentioned she has cysts...could she have an ovarian cyst that's causing some hormone issues resulting in the fatigue? What about her thyroid? She is on any meds that could be causing this?

With salivary gland problems, she should be screened for Sjogren's. I'm not sure what blood tests they use, and they are probably no better than the ones for RA- plenty of false negatives and false positives too. With her family history, a consult with a rheumatologist might not be a bad idea.

thank you guys very much! I know it sounds like I am grasping at straws here, but she is my kid(even if she is grown up!) Trish

Trish ..I cant recall teh name of this disease im trying to think of ..sorry ..but there is one not RA related that can casue the immune system to form cyst everywhere and anywhere ..i told you about teh two throat surgeries i had in a past post .. I dont have the disease but at first tehy did think so..then i had a cyst ona rib ..etc etc... i had a salivary glad removed because because a cust formed on it .. the only thing then is teh other salivary glands work over tme and a swell due to over work and then they too can have cysts form on them ..vicious cycle ..does she have a good E. N.T . dr ??? If she keeps going on like that .maybe a speciality clinic like Mayo . Clinic...hang in there .

P.s ohhh intresting what 51% said ...but still not teh disease i was thinking about...

No ent yet Tami, as I recall didn't you have pretty much the same surgery as my daughter did; she had a cyst removed that was enter twined between her lung, heart and esophagus. At the time they thought it was an undetected birth defect. Trish

Trish,

A full 30% to 40% of folks with RA are seronegative. This is an extremely large percentage of the total diagnosed population.

I do believe this is a major contributor to the reasons as to why it takes so long to actually be given this diagnosis.

TheWino

Trish,
If you really think she is experiencing immune disorders, send her to a Rheumatologist. Or better yet, you go with her. Negative RF factor is not enough to rule out disease. If she has a auto immune disorder, early treatment is always better. It is possible she has something else, so get to the bottom of this.
My thirty six year old daughter is ANA positive, but no sign of auto immune disorders. Any little thing she gets and my mind starts racing! I understand how you must feel.

yes trish ..i did have the same surgery as your daughter ...i had two throat surgeries . they were close together ..i must say a ENT is a good idea ...becasue the tumor didnt kill me ..but with the one , as you know,
was wraping it self around vital parts of the throat i was rushed into surgery two days after the office visit and a surgery that was supose to be a few hours turned into six hours ...it was strangling me on the inside ..sovery dangerous stuff if left untreated ...hope she will be ok and gets this taken care of ..do you ahve aMay clinic clost to you ??

oops meant mayo clinic close to you ??

I absolutely agree about us "seronegative" people, my diagnosis has been 20 years in the making! Just finally diagnosis and I feel believed after all of this time.

Did they do an Anti-CCP blood test? It is a more definitive test very specific for RA.