Q: If my blood work has never shown ra then does this mean I may not have it?
Sadie Mae, I was recently diagnosed with RA and my blood work was normal. My rheumatologist told me he was 90% sure I had RA. I also came across this info online.
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“It is important to remember that while blood tests are helpful in confirming a diagnosis and assessment of disease activity, it is more important to diagnose and treat based on the patient's clinical presentation.” http://arthritis.about.com/od/diagnostic/f/normalbloodtest.htm
and
“Of interest is that if your rheumatoid factor is negative, you are less likely to have a positive CCP. On the other hand, occasionally a patient with RA may have active disease and all these tests are normal. In general, those patients without these abnormalities in the blood are less likely to develop joint damage.” http://arthritis.about.com/od/diagnostic/f/normalbloodtest.htm
For me there's that other "10%" but my doctor was very patient in answering all of my questions, I've been doing a lot of research (as you can see from above) and I am trusting his experience for now.
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