I found a great blog, Chronic Curve by Emily Bradley, where she explains seronegative results that affect diagnosing autoimmune diseases.
This can lead to undiagnosed Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Polyarthopathy, Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome, and many others.
I know several people who have either Rheumatoid Arthritis or Lupus that have negative blood work results, and the doctors have positively diagnosed them based on their physical exam. It's very important to have a good doctor that can look beyond the numbers and rely heavily on their examination, there are a lot that won't!
yes good information there. Ive never had a positive result and been treated as a fraud by doctors ever since. it a shame that doctors think that evidenced based practice is all about pathology results when it’s not, it’s about examination, history and assessment that includes path results. We suffer the consequence of their lack of knowledge. barb
"If you know in your heart something is wrong, don't stop searching for answers!" No truer words have ever been spoken!
These diseases require a good diagnostician, most Rheumatologists are just that, understand there is a protocol that they have to go through when you first start seeing them, they may not be able to diagnose you on your first visit, thought mine did, but they should be able to put all the symptoms together and diagnose with info and exam!
I worked for a rheumatologist who based his diagnosis heavily on the physical exam, not results. There are so many doctors that still trust the results implicitly, causing patients to suffer misdiagnosed. My best friend and her aunt both have RA with seronegative results, and had been untreated for years, now their RA is pretty advanced. She's only 35, just about disabled, and the treatments are only keeping her from declining any further.
I wonder how many people here are misdiagnosed because of negative results?
This is a huge problem in Canada where you are NOT going to get on a Biologic drug unless it is in your labs! These poor people have every possible joint replaced and STILL cannot get on a drug that slows the progression!
Be careful what you wish for, with this type of healthcare system! This is just ONE short story! There are many to hear over on Psoriatic site like this!
As I talk to people in Canada and the UK, every country has major problems with healthcare, but in different ways. Not one of them seems better than the other.