How Many Of You Are Diagnosed With Sero Negative RA?
PS @A myRAteam Member. ...and I should have added that being Sero Neg. is why so many of us who "are" SNeg, have had such a struggle finding a Doctor who connects the dots and refers us to a Rheumatologist for diagnosis. About 30% of RA patients are "SeroNegative"!!
Sero Negative RA IS regular RA, but you are diagnosed clinically, because the sed rate, RA factor and other "markers" in your bloodwork are not there for the lab to count. That's why it's called negative. You still have it, your bloodwork just doesn't have the positive markers to count. Hope this helps. 🌹@ Lin
I'm sero negative as well. But also have Sjorgrens and vasculitis associated with connective tissue disease and lung involvement... crazy sometimes we just don't fit into the norms.
do you have other things going on as well as the RA?
I was diagnosed in 2002 and knew it was coming as my mother has/had it and as it is hereditary.........anyway when I got pneumonia in 2010 and was basically dead, or was having the plug pulled except my husband would not give up thank GOD, on life support 3 weeks and a long time to even begin what would be considered a recovery. But never the same, and since then I get pneumonia at the drop of a hat, on oxygen for sleep, with Cpap. Anyway since then I have not been able to go back onto Remecade which I was on at the time of the first pneumonia. Probably lawsuits but they say it could kill me now if I took again.
All the RA blood levels are the highest they can go, and never come down no matter what medications have been tried. The only time my sed rate comes down is when I get a nice big IV of Sol U Medrol (steroids). I went without any RA meds for 9 months after that first pneumonia and during that time the RA ate up my knees, my feet, ankles, what was left of my spine and it has just continued to deteriorate with the use of steroids that seem to be the only dang thing to provide any relief to me. I have tried around 15 medications and I do not know how many combinations of those same medications. :/ I am now on Xeljanx that seemed to work, but then I had to get off of it as I got Cellulitis for the first time and because its infection (paper cut gets me a sausage finger with infection over night). I went back on it over a month ago and I am hoping I start to feel better cause I just had to start a steroid pack a week ago and just finished it and it was useless which means now I would need more and more steroids to relieve any of this pain or inflammation.
I also have psoriatic RA, fibro, obviously lung involvement with nodules on right side I need to have biopsied now, blood clots, high blood pressure, the cellulitis with some other vascular thing going on now from the calf down, nerve pain is not unbearable from spine deterioration, fractures, spurs, stenosis etc, thyroid, anemia, very low Vita D which I take a supplement that also makes me sick and get dehydrated. I dont know what all else but my RA doctor and Prmary Internal Specialist believe Lupus for years because I have all symptoms but it does not show up in my blood. I even have the butterfly, and by history RA and Lupus go hand and hand often times. Just recently one of the Lupus panels came back positive, but the others are all still negative. So, I just say I am a MESS! I cannot even remember everything to put it on here. We all have the same things and we all feel the same and its good we have each other here because we validate us when others do not because they cannot see what is wrong with us so they will never understand it. We at least understand each other thank GOD and know what we are talking about. Hugs!
I am.
How Many Folks Were Diagnosed By Symptoms And Xrays Instead Of Labs? My Ra Is Not Showing Up In My Lab Work But Inflammation Is.
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