Confused about testing for Rheumatoid Arthritis blood results?
My father has RA, and so does my dad’s sister. My sister has osteoarthritis.
I am 23 years old. For the last few years, I have been having what I thought was "normal" pain. I hurt so bad after work (I groomed dogs… can no longer do this physical work due to pain), that I would have to just lay in bed for the rest of the day with hot towels wrapped around my wrists and legs. I would have "flare ups" every month or so, and I would feel very "feverish" and "growing-pain-like" aches in my wrists, ankles, and calves.
This has increased a TON over the last year. I had my daughter in October 2009 (3 months ago), and it has just completely increased in frequency. I have pain ALL DAY EVERY DAY, ranging from dull to extreme. I feel every single bone in my hand is aching, my wrists crack constantly, my ankles pop, and I just want my feet constantly squeezed. My knees have been feeling like my knee caps are going to just explode off. My elbows having been starting to hurt.
I finally went in to the doc, had xrays and blood work done.
I just got a call back today, and was just a little confused. I hate when they give you info over the phone because I don’t know what the heck they are talking about and they use these outrageous terms. Xrays came back NORMAL. The blood results that show white blood cell count and inflammation in the body came back NORMAL. But she said the test that determines RA was at a 21 for me… she said the cut-off is a 20 for whether they refer you to a Rheumatologist or not. Then, she also said some other mumbo-jumbo was high and I had no idea what she was talking about, but that it was in relation to RA. Then, my thyroid is low which probably has nothing to do with RA at all…
can someone explain what these blood results really mean? Do my symptoms make any sense? i was surprised the xrays came back normal.
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Maalru3 March 4th
I have had degenerative arthritis since I was 22. well that was when I found out I had it. I don’t know all about the blood etc..but no matter what you do with all of this, you have to not let it get you down, YOu are young and need to find things in life that you can do. I had to give up my career and education to start all over for another one that works better for me. I still hurt every day, but I have learned how to accept it and deal with it. Good luck to you
Jacob March 4th
Without knowing exactly what tests they preformed or what they said to you exactly, it is hard to say, so I would recommend calling back and asking for clarification or going in and speaking with the doctor directly.
With that said, one thing to keep in mind is that blood tests and x-rays are not very reliable when it comes to diagnosing arthritis, so there are many things that can present false positives and it is also not uncommon for blood test to be negative, even in those with arthritis.
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