Negative Rheumatoid Factor Test

1. smarty 22 May 2012 at 16:43PM
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   Hi All recently had bloods done for Rheumatoid arthritis. Had Rheumatoid Factor test done and ecr test. Both have come back negative. Now waiting to hear from gp about transfering me to see a rheumatologist. Have Oa for about 10 years and also Fibromyaglia. My arthirits had become worse and several of my fingers have become deformed over a short space of time.

   Has anyone else have this test come back negative but yet diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

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2. smarty 26 May 2012 at 16:36PM

   Hi all still waiting to hear back from my doctor what to do next after getting my negative Rheumatoid Factor result. He did ring on Friday but was going to speak to another doctor at surgery who knows more about arthritis. He is going to ring me Monday. Still feel I have rheumatoid as have deformities on both little fingers. They looked bent on the second joint down before the knuckle where RA can develop. I know I also have osteoarthritis as I have some swellings on my wedding finger on first finger called Hebeden nodes. I do hope they will refer me to see a rheumatologist as I have arthritis in lots of joints. Can anyone tell me if they have been through the same and how long it was before you saw a Rheumatologist. Thanks and take care all!

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3. lancelot13 31 May 2012 at 17:50PM

   Hi smarty, if you haven't already, suggest you contact "Arthritis Care". Fantastic source of information &

   support for all types of Arthritis. You won't get treated with disbelief, sceptisism or be patronised over your

   concerns.

   Best of luck,

   Lizzie.

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4. smarty 31 May 2012 at 18:07PM

   Thanks Lizzie will have a look at Arthritis Care site. Went to see gp today and had a fight on my hands. Was not going to refer me at all. Said it was OA and Fibro causing me pain. Even though I have swelling in both ankles, knees etc one of the signs of Rheumatoid Arthritis. It could be that it isn't Rheumatoid but I wanted the referral to rule it out. Did get him to refer me in the end when I said I couldn't carry on with only four hours sleep and pain and nearly in tears. Got to be one of the worst drs appointments I have ever had apart from one other doctor who I had to complain about. Who didn't take me seriously and wrote in my notes I have an obsession with my joints. Now have to wait to see rheumatologist.

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5. Torag 31 May 2012 at 22:12PM

   Hi Smarty - This is my first visit to this site and your question intrigued me enough to register and reply. I was diagnosed in 2009 with RA, Fibromyalgia and OA the most difficult thing has been to determine what is RA and what is Fibro as I get swelling for both but the pain is very different. It has taken me 3 years to, I think, know the difference, such as now my hands, feet, ankles and knees look very swollen, they are very sore (on tramadol, naproxen and paracetamols for pain) but when you look at the actual joints they are not. So it could just be the OA that is causing the deformity you have spoken about but as you say better to get it checked out.

   I don't know if you have seen the physio's with your hands, I went to a group about 8 months ago as my fear is like you that my hands become deformed. They showed us some exercises which stops them deforming, turning inwards and retaining their flexibility, if you do them reguarly of course. I have made sure I have kept them up. I also see them for my knees which have RA and OA.

   So in for a penny in for a pound as for a referral to the physio as well - I am not sure where you live but our NHS trust have physio's who speciliase in arthritis physiotherapy which is extremely useful as they understand what you are going through and are very willing to tailor the sessions, including the groups sessions to your needs.

   By the way I it was 4 weeks between referral and my appointment to see my RA consultant after that things moved very fast.

   Good luck and I hope you get everything you need

   M

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6. smarty 1 June 2012 at 20:47PM

   Hi M thank you for your reply. It was very interesting what you have written will bear that in mind. Not sure if our trust have a special physio for athritis. I will be just be glad to find out what is going on. I do exercises for the osteoarthritis and try to do them everyday as they help with the pain and stiffness.

   Once again thank you for replying and hope all goes well with you.

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7. amber4 15 January 2013 at 15:47PM

   Hi,I'm 36 have 2 girls,11 & 15. I got ill after my 2nd daughters birth. I had sore arms legs & aching joints. I had blood test done but rheumo factor negative,so I was diagnosed with sero-negative RA, it's treated pretty much the same,I take an immunosurpressent called azathitprine (prob spelt wrong). Just after that I got diagnosed with Crohn's disease. 6yrs ago got diagnosed with fibromyalgia & last but not least 18 months ago lymphedema. Which I believe is down to scar tissue caused by RA.

   So the just because you have a neg factor doesn't mean RA should be ruled out,look up sero-negative RA or sero-negative artholopathy ( again spelling ???) Read up on it & tell you doctor or consultant,be clues up before you go,its your health if they won't help you ,I've found it best to help yourself.

   Good luck

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8. m67 25 March 2013 at 11:46AM

   Being professionally ill as I am amber4 makes a very good point, GP's are like a general garage not a main dealer, they know a bit about lots of things but usually not a lot about one thing. You have to help them to get what you need.

   So, you have to learn about your own illnesses, about the medications and the various ways to approach/control your condition or conditions.

   I have a severe case of RA but I am negative, all that means is that it is showing up differently.

   If for arguments sake you are having infusions then Rituximab is not very successful on sero-negative people, they'd probably try you on Toca-whateverit'scalled-amab.

   There are of course a plethora of autoimmune illnesses which all look pretty similar, mostly use the same drugs and have very similar effects. What you basically need is to be as comfortable as possible and not worry too much about what they call it imo... that's just my opinion and millions of others are available!

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