Posted , 4 users are following.
im 28 and been having severe joint pain and stiffness for a few years, i finally went to the doctor for it today and they did an RF test and i was wondering what normal levels are
0 likes, 6 replies
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Eska2019 jessica46358
Posted
dont let your blood work decide if you are sick or not
you can have "seronegative" rheumatoid arthritis ( which is what i have )that would make your blood work come back as normal when you still have the illness
what are your other symptoms ?
jessica46358
Posted
my legs will get sharp pains shoot threw them and sometimes will feel like my legs and feet are asleep bit their not. when i was 21 i got cellulitis from a mosquito bite and the infection got in my blood and almost killed me and im wondering if maybe i have some kind of long term damage from that an its causing these issues
jessica46358
Posted
oh and my knees will swell up so bad it looks like i have 2 knees and on rainy days i cant hardly move
blair97497 jessica46358
Posted
Hi Jessica.
You should do a search for "normal RF level". I'd recommend check out a few government public health sites detailing what RF tests can cover and what range of diseases RF autoantibodies are associated with. Another test used in RA diagnosis is Anti-CCP. Do some searching on this to find a definition, and what it means for disease activity.
That said, the normal range for RF is a Unit (or International Unit) count of less than 14.
Greater than 14 is a positive result - meaning the test shows abnormally high RF autoantibodies.
The result may say which type/s of RF autoantibodies were tested for, or which have shown up.
Lab results note the test, the unit count, the normal range, and a meaning.
In my case, I had pain and stiffness and some swelling affecting many joints which could vary through the day, dry eyes and mouth and fatigue.
My lab blood test report was
IgM Rheumatoid Factor Abs: 1256 IU/mL ( 0-14 ) H
Anti-CCP Antibodies:>300 U/mL ( <5 ) H
Those results are (H) high positive for RF and Anti-CCP Antibodies. My GP/family doctor had limited experience with the RF test, and at the time was quite uncertain of the meaning. Given a normal range of zero to mid teens, but a result of over one thousand, she wondered if that was some kind of error.
However RF and Anti-CCP were strong indicators that my symptoms related to RA.
As Eska notes, a percentage of people with RA are sero-negative, meaning they do not test positive for these autoantibodies.
amkoffee jessica46358
Posted
the pain you described in your legs and the feeling that they're asleep when they're not is indicative of a pinched nerve. Google neuropathy. I would suspect that you have it and some form of arthritis. if I were you I would request the doctor do an MRI of my lower back.
jessica46358
Posted
i got my test results back yesterday and my RF was positve so the Dr i sendin me to rheumatologist. To amkoffee i was thinking the same thing about maybe having neuropathy, i had a MRI done in november and all they said was that i had spondylolysis. im just now getting the doctors to acknowledge that i have something wrong with me so hopefully ill get some answers