Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Dear Ann- Everyone is different. If you have having joint pain but not swelling yet, you may have Lupus instead. Before my RA factor became positive I had high sed rate and esr and swelling of joints and terrible pain. I was treated for lupus but didnt have that. There are so many connective tissue diseases that look like RA but can be a form of Lupus or Psoriatic, MS or a host of other things. I would inform yourself by searching on www.google.com or www.arthritisfoundation.org and reseach the different forms of connective tissue autoimmune diseases. Yours, Deborah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 RA and related diseases are sometimes hard to diagnose because symptoms are so variable. The American College of Rheumatology has developed seven criteria for diagnosing RA and swelling is only one of them. Any four qualify for a positive diagnosis so if you have four (or more) of the remaining six you should be diagnosed with RA. Fortunately the treatment for RA is generally very similar to the treatment for any of the other inflammatory arthrises so being treated as if it is RA while waiting for a positive diagnosis is not a bad idea. My short summary of the criteria is given below. 1. Morning stiffness, lasting for at least an hour, present daily for at least 6 weeks2. Arthritis of 3 or more joints, lasting for at least 6 weeks3. Arthritis of the hand joints, lasting for at least 6 weeks4. Symmetric arthritis, lasting for at least 6 weeks5. Rheumatoid nodules6. Positive rheumatoid factor (blood test)7. Joint changes on x-ray Not everyone gets all of the symptoms and I am not aware of any single symptom that everyone with RA gets. For example, I don't get morning stiffness but I do have all 6 of the others. Yet, for many people the morning stiffness is perhaps the most characteristic symptom of RA. I hope you get effective treatment and to a lesser extent I hope you get an accurate diagnosis. Being treated is more important than being diagnosed. God bless. ----- Original Message ----- From: dubliner_41 Rheumatoid Arthritis Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 12:01 PM Subject: New to site need help Hi everyone,I am new to the site. I live in Ireland and my Doctor diagnoised me with RA about a year ago. I seen a rhuematologist before christmas and he feels that I also have RA. I am going into hospital soon for 2 weeks to be assessed and to try new drug treatments.One thing that is confusing me is that I have no swelling or burning in any of my joints. I have a lot of pain and high esr and crp levels and most of my joints are effected on both sides. From what I have read on the site swelling and feeling burning or heat sensations is part of RA. So can anyone tell me why I do not have these symptoms or is it that I will get them but further down the road.Thank you,Ann. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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