Hi just to let you all know, i did receive my blood results this morning by post, but not my Xrays, My husband grabs the post this morning and took it with them, I feel silly now worrying, The funny thing was i rang the doctors this morning and ask them if they were there, and they said no, Never mind, Just need a bit of help, WELL A LOT REALLY............
I need your excellent knowledge, so that i can understand my results.....
full blood count (normal). (creat 38) LFTs (ALT100) CRP(33.6) anti-CCP(>340),hep A,
which i believe means i have passed the hep blood test, the other thing i think i do understand is that my ALT is very high, So i need to have another blood test to check my liver function before i am able to start MTX,..
It also says that his impression is that i have a new seropositive rheumatiod athritis with a DAS CRP of 4.52.
Sorry i know i properly could look all this up on the internet, But i'm sure you no that it can get really confusing sometimes, I have never really understand a lot of medical teams, So i have a lot to learn.
Thanks (sorry Michelle must of miss understood my GP on my CRP results)
hugs and XXXX
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shirlthegirl
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Hi Shirl - does it give you a normal range in brackets at the end of the blood test results? It normally has the range they should be within on there somewhere.
I can say that your liver Alt is high - anything under 100 is just about okay but not for starting Methotrexate I would think. Normal range for ALT is under 50. This might well have nothing to do with RA - I don't think the disease itself raises the liver enzymes but some of the drugs take quite a big toll on your liver and it's important that it's within normal range before you start.
Your CRP is raised but not hugely high (same as mine was when I was diagnosed) - indicating you have active inflammation though - it should be under 10. Were you given your ESR figure - the other inflammatory marker? Your Anti CCP is high which shows that you have sero positive RA rather than sero-negative. I don't know about normal range but mine was negative although my Rheumatoid Factor was a low positive. It will certainly mean that your consultant wants you to get onto DMARDs as soon as possible and confirms you have RA.
I think a DAS of 4.52 is quite high but I've never been told my DAS so I'm not very with it on this - it's your disease activity score and is used to decide whether you qualify for anti-tnf drugs (the newer more expensive ones).
I just know ALT because mine was up to 92 recently after I'd had some booze - a no no for MTX especially for me. That's the one figure that might hold them back with your medication and apart from cutting out all alchohol I'm not sure at all if you can do anything about it. You should go back to the GP with these results and discuss asap.I hope this helps a bit. Tilda
same here josie , all i get to see is tower graph on a P.C .. he may aswell show me a blank screen .. for what good it tells me .. never get anything in the post only appointments , and thats if they remember ..
Thanks tilda I've just got all my last blood results out and checked them all to make sure I'm getting it all correct lol.and shirl ur crp is better than u thought so good news there but tilda is right ur alt is high,something you need to chat about with the dr.my last alt reading was 19 ,but what I find interesting is my rf factor is negative and my anti ccp is strong/ positive,I asked how high and my nurse sed it dusnt say,it just says strong positive,so this is very high I suppose.so doi have sero negative RA? If anyone knows plse let me know,but I will ask my nurse at next appt.i don't know about the as score either shirl,I've never had it done either.i know you really want to start treatment so ring dr for the other look test ASAP.lots of love xx
i only understand the CRP(33.6) ,like tilda said its slightly high , but that shows inflammation.. that you knew any ways ,,
the LFTs ALT CCP and DAS CRP of 4.52. is all abit double dutch to me i dunno what all that means ,, but i shouldnt worry to much about trying to understand it all at once ,, if something were very wrong ,, your GP would be calling you ..
its alot to take in all at once ,, but if we all stick together , we can help/support and learn from each other .. we`ll understand it all soon , im sure ..
andy x
Josie I don't even have a rheumy nurse or anyone apart from this place I can ask things of so please don't feel too left out! I don't even get told when my next rheum apt is and I know my consultant was up today and yesterday but no letter - I just know that they prioritise new referrals. I only know my blood test results because I get print offs from the receptionist at my surgery just before I see the consultant (only twice in 20 months!) and when my GP says something is high I usually ask him what figure is high and he rather reluctantly tells me!! I've certainly never had a copy of a letter or anything directly from my consultant. He writes to my GP and I have top prize info out of him from time to time. Tilda xx
oops meant to write to prize - he's never given me a top prize for interrogating him!! TTX
DAS scores are that anything under 2.58 is classed as remission, 2.58 to 3.20 is called inactive, from 3.20 to 5.20 is moderate and anything above 5.20 is considered to be very active RA. The eligibility for ant-tnf needs you to have DAS of 5.20 and above over at least 6 weeks.
There does seem to be a slight difference in different places about whether you are seronegative or seropositive. Where I am they relate that only to the RF factor, which I don't have, so I was classed as seronegative but with positive anti-CCP (just like you Shell). But in other places you seem to be called seropositive if either of these is positive... As long as your rheumy is clear what you have I don't think it matters as used by them to decide how to progress you through the different drugs. Polly
Hi Shirl mind blowing isn't it thank god we have all these lovely people on this site to helps us understand....my anti ccp is also 340 I asked my rhumi nurse if I should be worried about this and she said its just something they need to keep their eye on which is a good thing I guess, although my crp is normal. Ever body is sooooo different me and Mich have really different bloods yet at the mo on the same medication so it's all swings n roundabouts really.
I think the most important thing is for your team to get your ALT sorted and then they can get your meds sorted, but sounds like they are keeping their eye on things. I hope they get things done quickly and you don't have to suffer for long, in the meantime don't worry and stay positive.... Love Claire x
I am a bit worried about my ALT, Especial when i need to have another blood test done,
But it good they are on top, Will ring them on Monday morning, from what you have all said it is really high, I've always enjoyed a drink at weekends like anyone, But didn't really start drinking until my mum die 7 years ago, But i suppose things do catch up to you in the end,
Do you think i could have RA in my liver? Or am i going of the track,
Please don't think that you have made me worry anymore, As the letter did say i had to have another test as it was high, So i have been thinking it,
And i know your not GPs, And you have all given me great advice in the past,
I don't think an ALT of 100 is super high. Yes it's above "normal" but I think you have to get to several hundreds or more before it's a big, big worry. It's more that you can't start on MTX until it's come down. And it could easily be something short term like you had a recent virus infection. also, although RA can affect your internal organs eventually with years and years of uncontrolled inflammation, that's quite rare now, and also very unlikely that you'll be at that stage when you've been diagnosed early. So try to hang on until you've had another test and get to see the doc. Polly
If your liver function isn't good enough for you- to be taking MTX, then I guess the next thing is to get back to see the rheumatologist as soon as possible and ask if that means they can consider anti-tnf drugs (Enbrel, Humira, etc) which don't have the negative effect on your liver - and can actually be much more effective anyway.
The other thing is that they may decide that if only one of the liver readings is out of whack, that its not enough to stop you taking MTX, but that they would monitor it more closely. Generally if your liver function is bad, several of the readings will be in the high range. The liver panel includes about half a dozen different tests and they need to be looked at together, not just one isolated high (though ALT is usually considered one of the more important ones to monitor). It could also be that it was a random high reading and when they repeat it, it won't be nearly as high.
Hello every one ask your gp to supply a blood monitoring book or your hospital pharmacy.. there your blood results can be written down by your nurse of health care assistant. these books have the " normal" ranges printed in them for guidance too.
Unfortunately blood test results can mean different things to different people, as the ranges can vary between different labs and the results can also vary from person to person (i.e. what's generally a high result for one person might be an average result for another). We therefore cannot tell you what the results mean, other than DAS, which would be:
A DAS28 of greater than 5.1 implies active disease, less than 3.2 well controlled disease, and less than 2.6 remission.
For more general information on the different blood tests, these pages might be helpful:
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i dunno what all that means ,, but i shouldnt worry to much about trying to understand it all at once ,, if something were very wrong ,, your GP would be calling you ..
Fingers changing, should I be worried?
Feeling sad and worried 
Not sure if it is part of arthritis because i only get it once a month 
