spondyloarthritis and seronegi...

[5teve]

spondyloarthritis and seronegitive is this the same thing I am confused do you suffer more with your back with spondyloarthritis I seem to suffer more with my feet , hands and fatigue

[Hidden]

No, they are not the same. Spondyloarthritis refers to a 'family' (sounds so cosy!) of diseases which include psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis (that's the one that mainly affects the spine).

What they have in common with rheumatoid arthritis is that they too are types of autoimmune, infammatory arthritis.

Some people with rheumatoid arthritis have something called rheumatoid factor in their blood and if so, they are said to have sero-positive RA. (Confusingly, some perfectly healthy people have rheumatoid factor in their blood too.) Other people may have typical signs of RA but no rheumatoid factor showing up in blood tests. And they are said to have sero-negative RA.

Sometimes people are diagnosed with sero-negative RA and the diagnosis later changes to psoriatic arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis. Or the opposite might happen.

I have psoriatic arthritis which doesn't typically affect the back. For me personally it's knees, feet, hips, hands. Fatigue, unfortunately, seems to be a symptom of the whole damn lot! But getting on the right treatment very often helps loads with that.

[5teve in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the info I just get confused some times thanks

[Hidden in reply to 5teve]

It is all very confusing and you are welcome!

[Barrister]

As Postle2 says, I was originally diagnosed with Sero negative RA then PsA then spondyloarthropathy. I suffered from back problems since my mid twenties, having the usual injections, physio then surgery but wasn't diagnosed properly until I had pain in my feet. I'm now on Humira.but have awful pain at the moment in my feet, hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders so no, it isn't just your back. Also, Spondyloarthropathy can include different types of inflammatory bowel disease one of which I was diagnosed with last year. Clemmie