Positive Rheumatoid Test...

[IngridBeth]

Okay, I am full of questions since my doctor said I might have Celiac or gluten intolerance of some kind.

I was dx with Fibromyalgia in '03, and blood tests for all auto immune diseases (I guess the symptoms overlap so it's normal to test FM patients for them) were negative...EXCEPT Rheumatoid factor! My specialst (a rheumy) does not believe I have RA but he continues to watch blood tests and monitor for other signs....he said I may develop it later (no thanks!) or there could be another reason for the positive test.

I just thought about this and wondered if there could be a connection with gluten? Has anyone experienced this? I did search this site and found a few links but it seems like it's one of those unkowns....

[Gemini]

Okay, I am full of questions since my doctor said I might have Celiac or gluten intolerance of some kind.

I was dx with Fibromyalgia in '03, and blood tests for all auto immune diseases (I guess the symptoms overlap so it's normal to test FM patients for them) were negative...EXCEPT Rheumatoid factor! My specialst (a rheumy) does not believe I have RA but he continues to watch blood tests and monitor for other signs....he said I may develop it later (no thanks!) or there could be another reason for the positive test.

I just thought about this and wondered if there could be a connection with gluten? Has anyone experienced this? I did search this site and found a few links but it seems like it's one of those unkowns....

I also have a very high RF and it does not mean you have it or will get it. Other autoimmune diseases like Sjogren's Syndrome and maybe Celiac can elevate this number. My PCP wanted to refer me to a rheumy and I have refused so far because I have zero symptoms of RA or FM and am not a negative thinker so keep positive about ever developing it. I do have Sjogren's, Hashi's thyroid disease, Celiac and Reynaud's so I am convinced these other issues are elevating my numbers. I only worry about stuff if I have symptoms...life is too short to become obsessive about it.

The other test which may come out wonky is the ANA but that is just for general inflammation in the body. Mine was high but, again, I am doing fine so don't give it a second thought. As with the RF, other autoimmune diseases can elevate this number too.

[mushroom]

Okay, I am full of questions since my doctor said I might have Celiac or gluten intolerance of some kind.

I was dx with Fibromyalgia in '03, and blood tests for all auto immune diseases (I guess the symptoms overlap so it's normal to test FM patients for them) were negative...EXCEPT Rheumatoid factor! My specialst (a rheumy) does not believe I have RA but he continues to watch blood tests and monitor for other signs....he said I may develop it later (no thanks!) or there could be another reason for the positive test.

I just thought about this and wondered if there could be a connection with gluten? Has anyone experienced this? I did search this site and found a few links but it seems like it's one of those unkowns....

I am assuming he did either a CRP or an ESR blood test on you - both of those test for inflammation. Were those negative?

I am sero-negative with psoriatic arthritis (which often tests sero-negative).

And yes, there is a positive connection between RA and celiac. Your rheumatologist is more up-to-date than mine, who has not heard of this link. A research project from the Academy of Finland's Research Programme on Nutition, Food and Health has identified genes in the body that are both connected to the immune system and to the ability to break down gluten in the intestinal tract. The study conducted by Research Fellow Paivi Saavalainen found evidence that the genes associated with the inability to digest gluten were also linked to other autimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. I am sorry, I printed out the page about the study, but do not have the link to access it on the web.

[ravenwoodglass]

Yes there is a link with celiac and RA. My genes for celiac, if tested before I was diagnosed would have been considered RA associated genes here in the US. My arthtitis has been in remission now since a couple of months after I went gluten-free.

[IngridBeth]

Thank you for the responses!

I feel so frustrated right now with testing negative and yet responding so much to the diet change. I know people say just do the diet anyway and I certainly will, but for dealing with friends, family and even my other doctors I just would really like to have an actual diagnosis. Even if it's just gluten sensitivity or something....

Sorry to complain I really am happy about finding a possible answer to so many of the health issues I've had!

[ravenwoodglass]

Thank you for the responses!

I feel so frustrated right now with testing negative and yet responding so much to the diet change. I know people say just do the diet anyway and I certainly will, but for dealing with friends, family and even my other doctors I just would really like to have an actual diagnosis. Even if it's just gluten sensitivity or something....

Sorry to complain I really am happy about finding a possible answer to so many of the health issues I've had!

Dietary response is the most important part of the diagnostic process. If your symptoms resolve gluten free and reappear if you add gluten back in that is diagnostic in itself. More doctors are starting to recognize this. There is nothing wrong with accepting your body's response and listening to it.

[txplowgirl]

Hi Ingridbeth,

I have fibro and RA, and I am gluten free. Going gluten free didn't totally take all of my joint pain away or help with the fibro or RA until I removed the nightshade vegetables. (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and all bell peppers.) They cause a lot of swelling and pain in the joints. Once I eliminated those my fibro and RA has eased up a lot to where they are managable without meds. Also, apartame will cause fatigue and pain in fibro sufferers to. Just a thought for you.

Hope you start feeling a lot better.

Vicky

[Skylark]

There's always Enterolab.com. I imagine if you're still eating a little gluten you'll come up positive there. Most folks do, as the tests are set up to be sensitive at the expense of specificity. They are NOT diagnostic, but maybe seeing a positive stool result or gene test would help you accept that the diet is working for you?

Fair warning - friends and family will probably accept an Enterolab result. Anyone with any scientific or medical training (like me or your doctors) will not draw any strong conclusions from the Enterolab tests.

[lcarter]

I'm one of those with Celiac, Sojgrens, and Hasi-hypothyroid - all AI diseases. I also have some mild joint achiness from time to time, but have yet to figure out what triggers it at those times when I'm pretty sure I haven't been accidently glutened. Anyway, I had one episode a couple of years ago of some joint swelling with an elevated Rheumatoid Factor and another test that was positive for inflammation. [Not sure which one it was]. So, my GP sent me to a rhemy who ran all the Rheumatoid Arthritis tests and decided that, luckily whatever it was, it wasn't RA. So, I'm guessing that those tests can be positive just because of the celiac disease and Sojgrens? [Fortunately, haven't had another joint swelling episode]

[chasbari]

Serum negative for celiac, very positive for RA (RA Factor in the 800's when anything +17 is considered positive for RA,) had RA to the point of crippling, finally Dx'ed for celiac by endoscopic biopsy. went paleo gluten-free and within forty eight hours the RA started to do a disappearing act. Even the "permanent" joint damage has healed in the last several years as a result and I need take no meds for RA at all.

[Gemini]

I'm one of those with Celiac, Sojgrens, and Hasi-hypothyroid - all AI diseases. I also have some mild joint achiness from time to time, but have yet to figure out what triggers it at those times when I'm pretty sure I haven't been accidently glutened. Anyway, I had one episode a couple of years ago of some joint swelling with an elevated Rheumatoid Factor and another test that was positive for inflammation. [Not sure which one it was]. So, my GP sent me to a rhemy who ran all the Rheumatoid Arthritis tests and decided that, luckily whatever it was, it wasn't RA. So, I'm guessing that those tests can be positive just because of the celiac disease and Sojgrens? [Fortunately, haven't had another joint swelling episode]

Looks like we are AI disease twins! I have found out since this post first appeared that Sjogren's will cause elevated RF numbers as Sjogren's is considered an arthritis type disease.

My RF tests are slowly coming down but they are still elevated and I don't have RA.

The joint swelling and pain can come from the Hashi's problem. That is one of the symptoms of low thyroid and just because you are being treated for it doesn't mean you won't have issues from time to time. Mine can swing occasionally between hypo and hyper in times of stress and that is normal for someone with AI thyroid disease. I used to have joint pain but don't anymore once I got my thyroid under control.

[Roda]

I just found out that my RF is slightly elevated from my last labs done in June (I just got the results, another story ). I had a bunch of tests run back in Feb. by my PCP for other autoimmune issues and they were normal then. I'm unsure if a RF was done then. I do have a few aches and pains but I can easily explain them away from "sleeping wrong". I can not lay a certain way because it bothers my neck and upper spine between my shoulder blades. My elbows hurt in the morning and pop, but then I feel alright. What has me perplexed recently, (before I knew of this elevated test) is that I'm having left hip pain for no apparent reason. It comes and goes. It does not feel like a pulled/stretched muscle as I can't think of anything I have done. I thought is was peculiar that my endo asked me on Wednesday if I was seeing a rhuematologist. I had no idea why she asked until I left. What has me worried is that maybe I'm not gluten free enough. I have not had my celiac labs drawn in a year either. I'm probably going to make an appointment with my PCP to see what she thinks. Could the RF be elevated and not have it? The whole thought of it scares the heck out of me. I have this mental image stuck in my head from when I was five. I remember seeing one of my great uncles at my gradfather's funeral who's hands were all twisted up and misformed from rhuematoid. He also couldn't get around very well. I realize that he was elderly then (back in 1978) and things have come along way medically since then.