Can a person have rheumatoid arthritis if they have a high rf factor but negative ccp?

06/02/08

dakota

I have been dealing with abnormal blood findings, joint fatigue, dry eyes, mouth and enlarged parotid gland and horrible fatigue and brain fog off and on since 2001. Sometimes ANA normal sometimes it is 1:320 usually homogenous first time speckled. C reactive protein always high sed rate always normal. Now my RF factor was 95 but jus found out my ccp is negative. I have been taking 5 mg of prednisone for about a week and has helped the brain fog and fatigue still having some joint pain especially in right pinky finger which has developed a little knot on it during the last week.

All my other tests came back normal this time around. Could I be dealing with Rheumatoid arthritis or should I just deal with it and give up on diagnosis?

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Answers (1)

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Hollybgroovin

Please don't ever consider giving up on a diagnosis, especially if you think you might have RA. Your blood tests show that you may have RA, what is your doctor saying? Has he explained to you what he is thinking? I went two years fighting for a diagnosis and in return had severe damage from not getting treatment. And unfortunately RA can cause joint damage even if you don't have any or much pain. Ask your doctor for a referral to a rheumatologist who can get this all straightened out for you whether you have rheumatoid arthritis or not. If you feel something is definitely going on, then you owe it to yourself to get a second opinion. Good luck and best wishes on you journey for a diagnosis!