More info on Addi

On 2/12 Addison finally got to see a rheumy. After me describing her symptoms and him looking at her he thought there was a pretty good chance that it was JRA. They ran blood work to get a better picture of what was going on and also rule out some things such as Leukemia, etc. I explained that I was giving her Ibuprofen 3 times a day but that it didn't seem to be working. He prescribed her Naproxen and wanted to see her again in a month in the morning to see her knees, ankles.

Well the Naproxen is really helping. She is still limping just a little but she is definitely not as stiff in the morning as she was. The nurse called me today and said that her test results had come back and that there is nothing to worry about but that her SED levels were elevated and that her ANA test was positive. She said that Dr. Pressly would talk w/ me further about that.

Here's some medical info on theses test:

Antinuclear Antibody (ANA)

Patients with certain rheumatic diseases, especially lupus, make
antibodies to the nucleus, or command center, of the body's cells. These
antibodies are called antinuclear antibodies and are tested for by
placing a patients blood serum on a microscope slide containing cells
with visible nuclei. A substance containing fluorescent dye is added
which binds to the antibodies. Under a microscope the abnormal
antibodies can be seen binding to the nuclei. Over 95% of patients with
lupus have a positive ANA test. 50% of rheumatoid arthritis patients are
positive for ANA. Patients with other diseases also can have positive
ANA tests. Other criteria must be involved in definitive diagnosis.

Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate is a test which involves placing a
blood sample in a tube and determining how fast the red blood cells
settle to the bottom in one hour. When inflammation occurs the body
produces proteins in the blood which make the red cells clump together.
Heavier cell aggregates fall faster than normal red cells. For healthy
individuals, the normal rate is up to 20 millimeters in one hour.
Inflammation increases the rate significantly. Since inflammation can be
caused by conditions other than arthritis, the sedrate test alone is not
diagnostic.