Thursday, September 1, 2011

Blood work related questions?

I'll be going for my blood work and x-rays tomorrow afternoon, and my appointment with my GP is on the 13th of Sept. I was reading over the list of things being tested in the blood work, and was wondering if any of them are routine for people with RA? I'm being tested for the following:
-Glucose, random
-urea
-creatinine
-calcium
-phoshorus
-CK
-album
-protein, total
-alkaline, phosphatase
-C-Reactive, protein
-Rheumatoid Factor
-Profile, Auto Diff
-ESR
-TSH
-Thyroxine, Free(FT4)
-Vitamin b12
-Folate serum
-Ferritin
-ANA Screen(lists a bunch of abbreviations after that)
-Urinalysis

I am also getting my hands x-rayed for signs of RA. I am slightly confused because I was diagnosed with RA when I was a teenager, my hands have remained swollen and my symptoms are still there. I still experience stiffness, fatigue, joint pain, and my index fingers have the swan neck deformation. Why can my GP not just refer me to an adult rheumatologist instead, or does he need documentation before referring me?

Also, does anyone have any idea how some of these things in the blood test could relate to RA? I'd really appreciate any input, I don't exactly have a good relationship with my GP...Thanks





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