How do I ask for testing?
Hello everyone, firstly thank you for reading. I'm a 36 year old female and I've been suffering with horrible joint pain mostly in my heels and the smaller bones if my feet. I have a few good days here and there but I struggle on a daily basis so much so that my gait has changed and I'm much slower when moving. This all started a few years ago I had a CBC last year which showed my wbc was abnormally elevated along with my neutrophils but aside from that it seemed normal I tried talking to my PCP about it and she laughed at me and she completely blew me off (yes I've gotten a new PCP since) but if I am suspicious that RA might be the reason for my pain and other issues what tests do I ask for and how do I ask. Honestly I'm beyond ready to get some kind of diagnosis so that I can hopefully get treatment and get back to being myself again. Whatever this is its obviously not going away or getting any better on its own. How did your diagnosis go? Was it difficult? did it take a long time? Are there many test? I have a lot of questions. Thanks again for reading this and any advice is incredibly valuable to me.
Hi
. I am so glad to hear you ditched the doctor who laughed at you. How awful. I hope this new doctor is much better. Many people are quickly diagnosed with RA through a blood tests, but some people have seronegative RA, a type of RA in which the blood tests appear normal. Blood tests are also normal for about 50 percent of people who have psoriatic arthritis. That can make it much harder to get a diagnosis. For some people, it has taken decades. You have to find a rheumatologist who really understands autoimmune arthritis. I have a couple of articles to share with you. This one is about the diagnostic process for RA: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/diagnosis. This is about seronegative RA: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/seronegative-diagnosis. This is an article about diagnosis PsA from our sister community, Psoriatic-Arthritis.com: https://psoriatic-arthritis.com/how-doctor-diagnose. I would read through these before seeing your doctor again so you can better advocate for yourself. I hope this helps and that you finally get answers and relief. Thinking of you and wishing you the best. - Lori (Team Member) I feel for you, having sore feet is a real pain to the body as a whole. When seeing your new PCP maybe just explain what the problem is, how long it's been going on. What you have done to try to get relief, such as; over the counter pain killers and anti inflammatory, soaking the feet, massaging, elevating them, etc., mention you have made sure that you have sufficient arch support and that nothing has helped. Oh if you have any unusual wear patterns on the bottom soles of your shoes that you wear the most often. Ask PCP then "What can be going on?, "Is there any test that could be done to try to find out why they hurt so bad, x-rays, any scans, anything?" Try a tear or two if you feel it. Hopefully this will bring the PCP to examine the feet and ankles and do some much needed testing. See what the new PCP comes up with. Might want to write thing down and take with you, just to make sure you do not leave anything you have tried out. Do wish you the best, hoping you get some answers and relief soon! Thank you so much for the advice i actually thought that my symptoms were not visible when just looking but I actually just noticed the other day that my 3 smallest toes are res and swollen so there is something that can be physically seen
Consider asking for ultrasounds of your hands or feet. My Rheum wasn’t convinced I had RA until hand ultrasounds showed synovitis - a specific type of inflammation present in RA. With Hope and Best Wishes, Jo 
Hello and so sorry you are struggling to find help and answers. I too developed horrible foot pain first with my RA. I’m also seronegative. I managed to get a referral to a rheumatologist but unfortunately, she was similar in her approach as your pcp. She looked at my hands and quickly told me that I likely had OA. I was 47 with that first rheumatology visit. I was hobbling literally but she never asked to see my feet. I self referred to a podiatrist who did a very thorough foot exam. His next question was do you have any family history of RA? Well, that got the ball rolling since I had family members on both sides of my parents that had RA. So my advice is if you can’t get anywhere with a PCP or a rheumatologist see a really good podiatrist. The second Rheumatologist that the podiatrist referred me to did an extensive battery of lab work looking for a number of autoimmune diseases. I found out I had Hashimoto’s thyroiditis along with the RA. What clinched the RA diagnosis though was a 3-phase bone scan. Keep pushing for answers! Take care.
