Is it ra, lupus, or fibromyalgia?

I have been seeing a rhuematologist for 3 years I am 35 yrs old. She diagnosed me with ra strictly from symptoms and xray results. My blood test have all come back negative. She says that I am a sero-negative ra patient. My concern is that I am not totally convinced that I have ra. I know I have all the symptoms and do get worse when I am off of my Arava but I also wonder if I could have Lupus because I have a lot of the symptoms of it and my sister has it. My mother has fibro so I wonder if maybe that is what I have instead as well. Things are continuing to get get worse and my dr is wanting to start injection therapy for my symptoms. I just want to be sure I have ra before I begin these injections they really scare me!


This discussion is related to is this rhuematoid arthritis?.

[Cindee56]

I am currently trying to find out if I have RA.  Your doctor is correct, there is such a thing as sero-negative RA.  My sister has it, and I think I have it also.  My rheumy appt. is next week.   I know my sister said she did not want to start with injections or heavy-duty drugs.  She take some kind of sulfa drug and prednisone when she has a flare.  However, I am 51 and my sister is 49 but she got RA when she was about 32 I think.

Tell your doctor your concerns about these injections.  Maybe get a second opinion.

[lakemom4]

Thanks for your reply. I actually told my doctor that I did not believe that I had RA so she has decided to do an "experiment" on me. She has taken me off of my Arava and in two weeks she wanted me to start taking Lyrica which is a fibro med it has helped with my muscle pain but my bones are hurting like crazy!! So I go back to her in May to report to her on my "experiment" She told me "I believe you have RA but it is not possible for me to treat you until you accept that you have RA." Maybe I am just in denial I am too young and have four young children I don't want to have RA!!!!!!