My RF is 128, my ESR is 16 1st hr and 37 2nd hr. My CRP is negative. I do have pain and stiffness in fingers, hands, arms, shoulders, knees and left ankle in the morning and it can last for 2 or 3 hrs till it losses again.
I'm taking MTX and Plaquenil,
what do you think, is my RA mild, moderate or sever?
Don't always go on your blood results - mine are always negative! However most of my joints are affected. I'm on MTX, Hydroxy & Sulfa but about to go on to a biologic. I'm still in a lot of pain with a lot of stiffness, I'm also struggling with walking due to my feet & ankles.
You don't say how long you've been diagnosed for, and what effect the drugs have had on reducing your inflammation, and whether x-rays have shown any signs of erosion. Unless you have the awful, aggressive RA that completely wipes you out straight away, is agonisingly painful and is resistant to drugs (and you'd know if you did!) then it usually takes about 2 years to really work out what your RA is going to be like,especially if you were diagnosed early in the process.
As Pauline says, blood results don't tell you that much. However, it really doesn't matter whether it's mild or moderate as the important thing is how you feel, and whether you are able to manage and whether the treatment you're getting is the right one for you and is working. If you've been on the drugs for a long time, and aren't seeing any improvement then talk to your rheumy about reviewing your treatment.
I think Pauline and Helix have given you good answers but I will just add that one had this is the hundred dollar question many of us ask ourselves and at the same time a hopeless question because none of us can answer it because none of us know what awaits us round the corner with our RA journey.
For myself I think I have mild RA but I have a whole host of other autoimmune rubbish that probably gives me as much grief as someone with quite aggressive RA on it's own. Some are young and seem to me to have a terribly bad time with loads of different types of autoimmunity and arthritis compared to me so even then I take the view that I'm relatively lucky much of the time - at others, when self pity creeps in, I feel very unlucky because I don't tolerate drugs at all well so am presently off them all. If I did have a very aggressive RA then I'd be so sick I don't think I'd be up to much at all because of my drug intolerences so thankful that so far the arthritic side of things has been chased off by MTX and a very healthy lifestyle.
Twitchy
I'd say that you can only judge that on how it affects you. If your pain levels are relatively low and confined to a bit of stiffness, then you'd present as mild, however, if the disease is doing long term damage to your joints and is aggressive in that respect, then it isn't really mild at all!
I personally don't really care what my bloods say. If I am in too much pain to live a relatively normal life then to me the disease is moderate and if i'm in too much pain to do anything but lie on the sofa then i'd call it severe regardless of scans or blood results.
So in answer to your question, i'd base it on how big an impact it is having on my life.
-mild RD usually involves joint pain and swelling, but no evidence of bone erosion in an x-ray.
-moderate RD involves joint pain and swelling, with evidence of bone erosion shown on x ray, with no significant deformities.
-severe RD involves bone erosion that have caused deformities and disability.
blood tests can be useful to an extent, but they are only a small part of the picture. Some people are Sero Negative and they show no elevated bloods or very little elevations, yet still have all the other signs of RD.
Your RD severity can not be determined by blood tests alone.
I want my Prednisone back
I want top tips for managing RA
I want someone to cut off my fingers...
First rhuematology appt as my GP thinks I have RA
