Question
Hi, I am a medical laboratory thechnologist and i have experiencing upper back, shoulder,neck and bad headaches for almost 2 years. There is also some numbness in the hands,arms. I did many tests over the years, x-ray and ct scan. All they found is that there is some degeration of the discs at the neck which my doctor told me should not hurt. The headaches wakes me up at nite and/or the numbness in the arms.My ribs cage feels tight.  I recently did a rheumatoid factor test and was positive with a titre of 240. The ESR is normal. My MD is not sure what is going on and I have to wait to see a rheumatologist, which will take a while. I would like your opinion on the scant information I have given you.  Thank You very much

Answer
Dear France,  It is most likely that you do have rheumatoid arthritis and you could also have osteoarthritis...  It is possible to have both arthritis conditions and degeration of the discs is associated with osteoarthritis...  As for the idiot doctor that told you degerative disc disease does not hurt, he/she should go back to medical school....  Degenerative disc disease of the neck can cause all types of problems such as your headaches, numbness and pain in your back, shoulders, neck etc...

You are going to have to wait till you see the Rheumatologist and he/she does more blood work to make sure it is Rheumatoid Arthritis and not some other autoimmune disease or a combination of autoimmune diseases..

thank you,   karen