Hi!! New here!! In April I was trying to find out why I'd been so tired and achy for the last few months...my labwork came back (+) ANA, and (+) RF...I went to the rheumy doc he told me that I didn't look like an RA pt. and that my symptoms where probably d/t my new dx. of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. I left his office feeling like I was OK and started to feel better once I got on the thyroid meds....until this past weekend. On Sunday morning I woke up with a very painful, swollen right thumb (no injury to my knowledge)...I went to the rheumy doc(ESR=33) and he said that maybe I am coming down with RA...but he's not postive because I look to healthy...LOLOLOLO!!! He put me on prednisone and I'm feeling ALOT better, but I'm scared. Is this the beginning of something???? I'm 40 and a mother of two small kids....I can't be sick. Jen

Hi FunnyGirl, It sounds like you may be in the early stages of RA. Do you have joint pain in other parts of your body? I'm kind of in the same position that your'e in except, now my symptoms are alot worse. My rheumatologist is still trying to give me a definate diagnose. He said it's RA /Lupus. We'll see. In the mean time, keep a journal of all your symptoms so that you can tell him what's going on. Best wishes to you.

Hi there !
If I were you I'd get a 2nd opinion, or push for more tests. You don't have to " LOOK " like an RA patient to have it. Or you can " LOOK " healthy and still have it. I just got a finial diagnosis of RA friday, and I have no outward signs of it except my left elbow is a little bigger. I'm a 49 yr old male, look about 35, and I " look " perfectly healthy. You couldn't tell by looking at me that I had anything at all. But... I was in severe pain 24/7. ( read my Thread here - titled " Pain..." ) Get more tests Funnygirl. My rumey even tested me for hepatitis in all the blood work he did. He said sometimes it would mimic RA, but I came back neg on that and positive for RA. And I have it in most of my joints. But you couldn't tell just by " looking " at me. Now he's got me on 4 med's and in just 2 days of it I feel almost 100% or maybe 90%, LOL Any thing is better than the pain I was going through. Anyway... My advise to you is - Tests ! Insist on more tests ! Good luck to you... and let us know how things go.
Bye for now... david :)