My mother was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) years ago. She is now 66 years old and is still pretty active despite the shape her joints are in. But her latest blood work showed a 2.79 spike in protein M of the gamma region. I think that's what it said.
Of course they are sending her to a hematologist and her appointment is in a couple of weeks.
I was wondering if her RA could trigger the spike in her M protein.
We are trying not worry, but it's hard.
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Re: Can rheumatoid arthritis cause an M-spike?
Hi Tracys,
Sorry to hear about your mom.
People with RA can sometimes have a higher incidence of paraproteinaemia (the presence of an M-spike) than those without RA. But the fact remains that she has an M-spike and that signals that she very likely has some type of monoclonal gammopathy. BTW, I am assuming when you say a "2.79 M-spike", that you mean an M-spike of 2.79 g/dL. How are her hemoglobin, creatinine and calcium levels doing (you can find these on her CBC and metabolic panel tests)?
This could very well end up being a benign type of monoclonal gammopathy known as MGUS, which would never require any treatment and she would be none the worse for it. But the other tests that the hematologist will run will determine the nature of her monoclonal gammopathy.
In any case, assuming she has an M-spike of 2.79 g/dL, I would encourage her to seek out a multiple myeloma specialist that deals exclusively with multiple myeloma and related disorders, not just a hematologist/oncologist . If you let us know what city she is in, folks on this forum can make some recommendations.
A good resource to start to better understand the various types of monoclonal gammopathies can be found here.
Sorry to hear about your mom.
People with RA can sometimes have a higher incidence of paraproteinaemia (the presence of an M-spike) than those without RA. But the fact remains that she has an M-spike and that signals that she very likely has some type of monoclonal gammopathy. BTW, I am assuming when you say a "2.79 M-spike", that you mean an M-spike of 2.79 g/dL. How are her hemoglobin, creatinine and calcium levels doing (you can find these on her CBC and metabolic panel tests)?
This could very well end up being a benign type of monoclonal gammopathy known as MGUS, which would never require any treatment and she would be none the worse for it. But the other tests that the hematologist will run will determine the nature of her monoclonal gammopathy.
In any case, assuming she has an M-spike of 2.79 g/dL, I would encourage her to seek out a multiple myeloma specialist that deals exclusively with multiple myeloma and related disorders, not just a hematologist/oncologist . If you let us know what city she is in, folks on this forum can make some recommendations.
A good resource to start to better understand the various types of monoclonal gammopathies can be found here.
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
Re: Can rheumatoid arthritis cause an M-spike?
Thanks for the info. I do not have her blood work with me, so I am not sure on the CBC results. I think her white count was low, but that's all I remember seeing. I will take a look at that when I get home.
We are in the Jackson, Mississippi area, and we will definitely be seeking a specialist upon the diagnosis.
In the meantime, I will try and read up on all that I can. There is nothing worse then going to the doctor and not understanding a thing they are saying.
Trying to be optimistic, but want to be prepared.
We are in the Jackson, Mississippi area, and we will definitely be seeking a specialist upon the diagnosis.
In the meantime, I will try and read up on all that I can. There is nothing worse then going to the doctor and not understanding a thing they are saying.
Trying to be optimistic, but want to be prepared.
-
Tracys
3 posts
• Page 1 of 1