I was also very worried about having RA when I was first diagnosed back in 2008. I have been on Methotrexate and Enbrel since 2009. I still work full time, and am a caregiver to my husband. My days are non stop. I also bowl once a week and do 3 mile walks. The RA (with the help of the medications) has not altered my life much. I think most of my tiredness is due to my age (60) more than the RA. Sometimes I swell a bit, but overall I am doing quite well for having RA. I hope with medication your wife will be as well as I am. Hang in there!

So basically she will have to take the meds for the rest of her life? We do have plans for future babies. Possibly thought about something for next year.

You mentioned your wife's liver. Based on that, several drugs would be pushed to the back...including methotrexate. That doesn't mean it would affect her liver but it's not worth it.
I happened to have a rare reaction to a biological drug, Enbrel, with my liver BUT it was super rare and even people with autoimmune hepatitis (liver attacking itself) use it to stop the progression. Don't worry, autoimmune hepatitis isn't connected to RA.

Your wife can use a biological (Enbrel - Phil Mickelson is the poster boy for this, Humira, Cimzia, Simponi, etc) or a traditional medication. The easiest on your liver (with basically no liver involvement) is plaquenil. It's for MILD RA or used in combination with one of the biologicals. Your wife can also take steroids. In fact, sometimes, a steroid shot (one that is given for a person with severe allergies to last the season) can make you forget you even have RA...but it doesn't halt the deterioration so the other drugs are needed. AND GET THIS...if she takes the drugs successfully for 6 mo-1yr, she can possibly achieve remission! It's called clinical remission. Then, when you want another child she can stop the drugs, fill in with prednisone or steroids...safe during pregnancy. And, LOTS of women go into full remission the whole pregnancy.

The outlook is not bleak. Hopefully your call of the results will be tomorrow. And you and your wife can know what you are handling. Don't let it dominate you. She's still the same person...honestly, I'd take RA anyday over cancer...even cancer that typically is cured after months of treatment.

I know. I've just been so stressed thinking about it.

i have a feeling you are just also busy with the BABY that wonderful 9 month old that owns the house now, right? ENJOY :)

don't give up your power to, too much, rumination and worry if you can, try research and talking to the OB and the Rheum if you want more babies. you have youth on your side now, grab it and run with it.

depot

Depot is totally right!
Don't let your plans be stopped by a sidelining disease. I was even thinking about the nursing part.
If you feel it is stripping too much from your life immediately and you and your wife had a goal of say, breastfeeding until 12mo, tell that to the rheumatologist. You can do it...it's a compromise but can be done.
It may mean that she takes prednisone in the morning and breast feeding is only done at night. Perhaps instead of your whole life being stripped, you make your own plan to accommodate your family choices with what RA (or whatever your wife is diagnosed with) needs.
There is comfort in knowing that while RA had to become part of the decision making, it didn't take away all power.

Hopefully we get some type of diagnoses by tomorrow.

The plan was for 12 months, but we think it's best for her if she starts the medication immediately and start transitioning the baby on to formula.

Spoke to a good friend today and he was actually diagnosed with RA 10 years ago at age 26. However his Rheumy said he had very low level RA and recommended medication. However after being told the side effects, my friend refused medication and instead did Physical Therapy. He said it helped a lot with the pain and swelling. PT included some type of activity where he would place his hands inside some container with some sort of wax I believe he said. After a few weeks he felt better. A few years later, blood works never showed any sign of RA. However he still feels his hands are stiff in the morning and minor swelling about 2 times a month.

Anyone recommend PT along with the medication? I assume he still has RA even though blood works say otherwise.

So Results are in.

The doctor says my wife's results were ALL negative. There is no sign of RA in her blood work. He says she clearly has some type of arthritis going on but "RA isn't one of them". He said to give her another 3 weeks to see how she feels and if she improves, that's a good sign. If symptoms remain the same or worse, we can talk medication in 3 weeks. He did mention that liver enzymes were elevated a tad bit (which is a usual for my wife).

I guess this is the best news I could get, we asked for the blood work results and we will get another opinion.

I clearly asked "Can she still have RA if blood work doesn't show it?" . He says the blood work has key factors that show she doesn't have any RA.

Is this considered seronegative RA? He didn't mention that word at all.

I have RA. Initially, my blood work showed that I was healthy. My bloodwork showed that there was nothing wrong. The bloodwork showed I was healthy. My Rheumatologist diagnosed me as seronegative RA. He started my treatment right away. He did not wait.

Please get a 2nd opinion. Bloodwork may be a key factor in diagnosing RA, but it is NOT the only factor.

He mentioned he didn't want to give medication if she improves on her own. I assume we will go back and discuss medication if she continues.

Do we ask for a 2nd opinion with the current blood work? They are mailing the results to us.

Two things come to mind. Has your wife been given prednisone or similar? If not, and symptoms persist, then that would be a great place to start. Prednisone makes RA feel MUCH BETTER. It's a test for those of us to understand we really do have something even when blood work says we don't.

Second thing - your wife is still nursing and many ppl with RA have their go into remission during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Keep an eye out for symptoms returning. I am sure that I had palindromic rheumatism until I had RA. (episodes of "RA"...that came/went). Again if prednisone helps well it may be this and eventually RA.

I hope she continues to improve and never has a recurrence!!! But as suggested, consider a second opinion if she continues to feel badly.

Will do. Thanks.

If the 2nd doctor says the same, then what to do? lol.

At what point can I say "Looks like she's good" ?

If symptoms completely go away, do we just keep on look out if it happens again in the future?

Also, if my wife was in remission, I figured she wouldn't have any symptoms at the moment? or is Remission just applies to bloodwork?

That's the thing about RA - it's tricky. One day great, one day miserable. There isn't a set pattern it follows. The palindromic rheumatism haunted me on and off for years. And, my RA still presents like that. So many people with RA have it BAD - to the point I often feel guilty when my symptoms are mild.

But, if your wife feels better and stays that way, then you can just leave this while autoimmune thing alone until if ever - it returns.