Question
I am 42 yrs old and I woke up one morning 2 years ago and could not bend my fingers and my ankles, it only lasted a few minutes and never longer but also developed pericarditis..there is debate among my doctors whether or not I have sero-negative RA. I have been treated with Methotrexate and Humira (1 yr), but the symptoms always came back (only in fingers though) and then they would increase my methotrexate again and I’d be fine only to have symptoms in hands come back. I went off Metho due to side effects and then during an illness stopped the Humira… I have not taken any medicine for 9 weeks and feel the same as when I was on all the meds and no worse…My doctor wants me back on Humira but I feel that if I my symptoms are no worse off the drugs than on and my sed rate is staying between 17 to 21 and 2 years later still no antibodies or RF that I maybe be able to stay off medicine and not experiance joint damage? Do severity of symptoms correlate with disease activity (specifically joint damage)? meaning less symptoms less damage and visa versa.
Answer
No. The severity of symptoms do not always correlate with joint damage. It is important to have x-rays done regularly to assess the level of joint damage, even if your symptoms are mild. Inflammatory markers such as high c-reactive protein can correlate with x-ray damage.
