I have a ? about rheumatoid factor. I recently recd my blood work results from my rheumy. My RF factor is at 160 though the rest of my blood work looked pretty good. Note I had been taking Prednisone about a week before this blood test. When I was first referred to a rheumatologist by my regular md my RF was at 28. So, I guess my question is should I be concerned that my RF factor is increasing and what does it mean...if anything? I currently am not taking anything to really control my RA besides meds for inflammation and pain. I dont know if this is of any significance but I also have been dxs with Fybromyalgia and just recently asmtha. I question also if the asmtha has been caused by the RA? Any advice or comments would be much appreciated. Thanks! 
The people best qualified to interpret blood test results are doctors and the people, here are. However, we do have a terrific post about lab results and what they mean that may give you the information you're looking for.
I'm concerned that you are only on anti-inflammatories for your RA. It is a very important to treat RA early and aggressively to minimize the kind of damage to joints that will affect your ability in the future. I would recommend that you go back to your rheumatologists to talk about treatment options with one of the DMARDs (disease modifying antirheumatic drugs like methotrexate, Paquinil, Arava and the Biologics). If you have a mild case of RA, the prednisone may be enough to keep your RA controlled and protect your joints - I'm not sure if you just took prednisone once or if you're taking it on a regular basis? Do you still have symptoms like swelling, morning stiffness, pain? If so, talk to your dermatologist about adding other forms of treatment
I don't know whether RA and asthma are related, but as they are both inflammatory diseases, common sense seems to indicate that they may both be indicators of your immune system being unhappy. It's very common to have other conditions in addition to RA - to learn more about fibromyalgia, check out Lisa Emrich's recent post on RA and fibro. As well, the fibromyalgia area of our Chronic Pain site has lots of information about the condition, as well as tips for living well with it.
Thanks Lene.
I do have pain,swelling and stiffness. I have been using Prednisone since my scare with Arava back in Feb/March to help control my symptoms...I kinda just use it off and on at my own discretion.(even though I probably shouldnt) I know that it would be best to find a medicine that works for me and would help control not only my ra but maybe even my asmtha. I have been doing alot of reading on Enbrel. Im thinking I need to take that next step of treatment so things dont get any worse now or in the future. It concerns me that my rf factor has increased (which I guess without treatment might be expected) but it worries me that my ra is becoming more dominant in my system. The asmtha worries me as well...because I too believe they are related since they are both caused by inflammation. Sadly ...Im in the middle of trying to find a new rheumy since my insurance just changed..so I suppose Im looking for support and info by those with more experience as to what they might recommend and what the thoughts are about rf factor and ra and asmtha. I keep questioning myself as to where to go from here.
It sounds as if you do know where to go from here - to a new rheumatologist and consistent treatment of your RA and I would suggest that you do your best to make that happen soon (would pushing your insurance company help? sorry, I'm Canadian and don't know the more detailed ins and outs of getting a new doctor in the US). You may also want to ask your family doctor for a referral to an asthma specialist so or you can get that under control.
In the meantime, I'd recommend you look into stress management - both RA and asthma can get worse under stress, so if you can find a way to keep that down to a dull roar, maybe it would help - yes, I do know how insane that sounds. You're stressed out because you don't have a doctor and the thing that will help the most to deal your stress is finding a doctor. Anyway, look into yoga or tai chi - both are forms of gentle exercise that are a sort of meditation in motion and can be very helpful not just in terms of getting your body moving a bit, but also in terms of dealing with stress. Be sure to adapt the poses to accommodate your arthritis so you don't hurt yourself.
Good luck! Please let us know how it goes?