What is considered an aggressive form of RA??

[esb65]

I have seen this term lately and wonder if there is a definition or how one is considered having an aggressive form of RA???

[JacquiThomas999]

I got that diagnosis, I suppose it was because my bloods were so high.

[Hidden]

I personally think that the term aggressive RA is decieving. My friends husband, Ken, developed RA last October 2015 and it was deemed aggressive. It was throughout his body. He got a disabled pass to put on his car as he couldn't walk. He was put on 30mgs of mtx and 400mgs of hydroxy. Today he is in less pain and his swelling has gone down, he can walk now. I was deemed mild RA 2 1/2 years ago. I was put on hydroxy for a year. I started to slowly swell in other areas of my body. Last year sulfa was added to my hydroxy. I continued to swell and have pain in more areas. My rheumy still considered me mild. I have been off work since January 2016 now and finally at the end of July I was given mtx to add on to my hydroxy and sulfa. I guess what I am trying to say is that Ken's RA came on fast, while my RA came on slowly and steadily. I think we both have an aggressive form. They just presented differently.

[helixhelix]

I think that agressive RA is more about defining its potential to cause erosions and damage, An aggressive RA can come on quickly or slowly, or respond well to drugs or not. But the important thing is whether it causes damage or not - certainly in doctors' minds as they seem less concerned about levels of pain. You can be in a miserable state, with lots of pain, and immobile but not necessarily having an aggressive disease as no matter how miserable it is it's not causing permanent damage.....

I've read stuff about sero-positive people being more likely to have erosive/aggressive RA, but that is only a generality as there are plenty of sero-negative people who have nasty forms too. So it is really something that becomes clear over time.

[Hidden in reply to helixhelix]

I agree with helix. I have an aggressive course of disease and it's called this because it's caused a lot of damage in multiple joints, it's scarred my eyes, reduced my lung function and damaged my autonomic nervous system. I've needed an aggressive course of treatment to begin to halt the damage.

I've heard that seropositive RA with exceptionally high inflammatory markers tends to be more aggressive but sadly, I'm the exception to the rule and I don't think I'm alone. I do have elevated inflammatory markers but my rheumatoid factor was borderline.

That said, I know people with so-called "mild" disease who are hugely affected and their lives have been forever changed. RA is a horrible illness for all who suffer.

[DelicateInput in reply to Hidden]

I do feel for you. It just sounds horrendous.

[Amy_Lee]

In Jul 2014, I started with ESR 98 and CRP 177.6 but my RF and CCP were both negative. My whole body swell, I could not turn my neck and I could not ate solid food because my jaws were in great pain too. My weight dropped from 54 kg to 38 kg once and my muscles were wasted and I was left with skin and bone then. I am not sure if I was having an aggressive RA because I did not ask my doctor about that.

Recently when I joined the activities of Arthritis Foundation Of Malaysia, I shared my experience of recovery process, I was almost back to my normal life after a year of treatment and I got better each day since. My doctor did mention during my last visit in Aug that I did not have an aggressive RA because my RF and CCP were both negative. Therefore I am not sure if RF and CCP results would determine the aggressiveness of a RA patient? May be I will ask her during my next visit in Nov.

[Karen77]

I think if I am feeling poorly, I will say that I have an aggressive form of RA to elicit sympathy.

Actually, I don't. And that's not fair to those who *do* have aggressive RA. I don't know if I do or not. In the beginning, I really wanted to know. I wanted to know where I fit on a scale and how I compared to others. I don't think anyone can really give us a scale or tell us where we lie on it (if it exists), at least not until we've had it for awhile and exhausted a few medications, etc. I don't know why it's so much on my mind today, but RA Warrior (Google it) mentions different manifestations of RA on her blog. Like you could find a medication right away and go straight to remission forever like magic, or you could be on a roller coaster ride, feeling awful, then great, then awful (I think that's me), or you could find that you never get to feel great but only get to a state of sort of maintaining the disease level (you don't get to feel great, but at least it doesn't get worse), and then I guess the worst situation would be if no medications seem to do any good and instead your symptoms increase and worsen. I hope there aren't too many in that last category, if it exists. I guess from what others have said so far, there's a difference too between aggressive onset and snowballing symptoms (which would certainly feel aggressive to the person experiencing it).

It's way past my bedtime and I find myself rambling. Good night!

[Hidden in reply to Karen77]

Oh that makes sense to me Karen. Maybe I am assuming I have the aggressiving type when I actually have snowballing symptoms.

Maybe the drugs have been working to keep me from developing any more bone errosions.

[Mall]

Aggressive RA in my view is a diagnosis given by Rheumatologists when they are assessing the potential permanent damage, that can be expected if the disease is not controlled. This diagnosis can help access the more aggressive drug treatments including biologics. Unfortunately the term is sometimes adopted by folk who are having a hard time with their condition and suffering with pain and inflammation. RA when it is aggressive can affect organs, like the heart, not just joints, and in its aggressive form needs to be brought under control quickly and effectively.

[Doughnut61]

My anti ccp was > 340 and I was told that was unfortunately aggressive RA