RA or Fibro or Both
Hello, I have been diagnosed with Fibro for about 7 years. Recently, I have experienced my hands swollen in the morning. Furthermore, I also noticed that my palms are red, as well as my knuckles. I've had a few blood tests, at the beginning and a few years ago, but nothing showed up. My mom was diagnosed with RA after hand surgery a few years ago, so it is in my family. I've had all the associated symptoms with fibro, sleep issues, joint pain, and everything that goes with it, but my hands never swelled and I never had red palms, fingers, or knuckles. I am getting a script for blood work tomorrow, but figured I'd reach out here and see if anyone has similar symptoms, before an official diagnosis. I also have cervical, facet joint inflammation, which I just had cervical ablation done. It stopped the pain for 1 month, but back to pain again. I am going crazy here, could it have been RA all along, both RA and Fibro, and could I have RA, without it showing in my blood results. I've read here, that is a possibility and is called seronegative, I believe. Any advice would be great, since we are all stuck in this same boat together.
sberndt:
Here is a nice article about Seronegative RA. It might answer some of your questions.
Is it possible that you have had Seronegative RA, but i would not immediately jump to that conclusion. There are over 100 different types of arthritis not all of them are reflected in the same way using the same blood work. It is possible that you have a different type of arthritis or no classic arthritis at all.
As you are doing, seeing a rheumatologist usually over a period of time is the best way to determine if you have arthritis, and if not they can direct you to a different specialist.
Many forms of arthritis are extremely difficult to diagnose and they definitely require a rheumatologist to make those diagnosis.
I wish you the very best. Please let us know what you find out.
Rick - moderator.
Hey there, that’s a great question. There are actually many ways on how to live with RA and Fibro. I found a Video on Youtube that explains a few simple ways of making life a little easier.
Here’s a link to that video that gives some great tips.Click on that link above and once you land on that page , click where it says “I am not a robot” and then you will be redirected to the Youtube Video that is rather useful to watch.
