u/Electronic_Sky_207

Remission/false positive?

Quick backstory- I was diagnosed 4 years ago with nothing but a CCP test of 30 and some vague symptoms. Doctors were actually ruling out connective tissue disorders and happened to put it in my blood panel. My rheumatologist at the time explained that I have a family history, so if I wasn’t experiencing symptoms yet, they were coming. We started me on hydroxychloroquine and I’ve experienced what I thought was slowly growing mild RA ever since (things that I was previously brushing off as part of aging and my body being generally defective.)

Since then I got a new rheumatologist who suggested we check the CCP level again since I’m doing so well. Well, it went from 30 to 17- normal range!

Obviously I’ll call her later today, but since that was the only objective diagnostic measure- I’m wondering if I’m in remission because the hydroxychloroquine is working, or if the first CCP was a false positive and I’ve just been popping Plaquenel for funsies for the past 4 years. I don’t really think that’s the case, but I’ve never heard of elevated CCP going back down to normal range. My first rheumatologist told me that once that marker goes up it never goes down again.

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u/Electronic_Sky_207 — 2 days ago

Murphys Law

Please send good vibes. Of course the trip I’ve been planning for months to take two 11 year olds on a 3 day camping/beach trip I wake up in pain… I can feel a flare coming.

I’m lucky and usually really low pain/early ra only taking hydroxychloroquine. I’m packing enough ibuprofen and topical pain killers to last a normal person a year, and thinking of bringing the steroids my rheumatologist prescribed that I’ve never needed/ had the guts to take before.

But we’ll make it to the beach even if they have to drag me on their skateboards!

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u/Electronic_Sky_207 — 1 month ago