RA or NOT..... What Now

[Guest guest]

I had my first appt with a Rheumy late last week and I don't know whether to

rejoice, cry or just give up. I took the labs that my Internists had

ordered, which prompted the Rheumy visit. Everything was elevated with the

CCP antibodies at 31 (0-19), Anti-DNA at 41 (0-9),and the CRP at almost

10(0.0-4.9), and she did not seem concerned at all. She looked at the CBC

with Differentials and said all the organs looked good so there was

definitely no Lupus.. yeah... dancing for joy here! She also said that the

other numbers were not high enough to indicate RA...yeah... dancing with joy

here! BUT, why then do I have symptoms... why is my inflammation level so

high, why do I have pain, why am I so tired, why is it that the pain is

accompanied by swelling, redness and cannot be touched? Questions,

questions, questions and no answers.

SO.. she is repeating mostly all of the same tests and adding Uric acid.

She is leaning towards either Pseudo Gout, Polyarthritis, Arthraliga,

Fatigue/Malise or Nonspecific Immunalogical Findings ...WHAT? Nowhere with

Gout can I locate information on the entire joint structure being in pain

most of the time, nor can I locate information that says its accompanied by

severe fatigue. What I can find is reference to diet. Diet does not cause

gout, but when eating foods high in purine, it certainly adds to the

problem. Well, here I have another problem because what they recommend

eating is..are you ready... carbonated drinks, coffee, milk & milk products,

tomatoes and some types of greens non specific. Also you are to eat,

cereals, chocolate, fruits, breads, grains, pasta, rice, sugar, olives,

cheese and eggs.

I am on a gluten free diet (celiac) no sugars of any type including fruits

(yeast), allergic to rice, eggs and lactose intolerant. Tomatoes are off the

table due to GERD. So pretty much what is left is water... which I drink

tons of anyway, and " Some types of green vegetables " . If I follow this

protocol, my ears will start to grow and I'll start hopping around,

especially at Easter. It will be interesting to see what happens in three

weeks with the new lab numbers.

Abundant Blessings,