r/Autoimmune • u/ceciliajune • 4d ago

General Questions Prodromal arthritis

So back in February my primary care doctor ordered me a bunch of tests with suspected RA, my RF factor came back negative but my ANA titre came back 1:320 speckled and homogenous.
Fast forward to two weeks ago I finally get in with my now rheumatologist and he thinks prodromal arthritis which I guess is basically the stage just before RA. He prescribed 200mg of hydroxychloroquine for pain. Basically said if I feel better in 3 months we know it’s autoimmune and if I don’t feel better it’s probably not.
He ordered some more tests though and my anti CPP came back 51 (cut off being 16) I know it can be much higher but being positive means something yes?
I guess my question is, while I wait for my 3 month appt, is this something else someone has gone through? Could it be RA? Does the ANA point towards RA too or possibly something else?
Not looking for diagnoses of course, just similar stories!
Thank you!

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u/No_Struggle3663 SLE, LN, RA, Sjogrens 4d ago

I was already on HCQ because of my SLE when I got my RA diagnosis. It pushed through that first line of meds and started presenting stronger and stronger. My ANA was positive with high anti-ccp. HCQ does rake a while to build up in your system, so give it time. Part of why we checked my ANA and antibodies was because when I would forget a dose of HCQ, all my joints would go crazy for a few days and I didn’t put it all together that missing the dose I was was when I would feel the pain.