DAS Scores

lindalegs
lindalegs Member Posts: 5,399
edited 20. Aug 2010, 09:56 in Living with Arthritis archive
I give in a015.gif

XX
Love, Legs x
'Make a life out of what you have, not what you're missing'

Comments

  • scattered
    scattered Member Posts: 326
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    They should do a DAS every time you see the rheumatologist or the nurse, but they don't always. It's one way of measuring how you are over time.

    ESR and CRP are inflammatory markers and they are the only blood tests that are taken into account. Because the test also uses a count of tender and swollen joints it is still relevant even if your inflammatory markers are low. They are just one aspect of it.

    I'm seropositive but my inflammtory markers have never been high, even when I've visibly swollen and in pain. My highest DAS score was 7.6 even taking into account low inflammatory markers.
  • wibberley
    wibberley Member Posts: 421
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hiya Lynn,

    Wish I could give you a full explanation....but I can't!

    As you know, I'm also sero-negative (don't know exactly what that means either, but hey-ho). My rheummy pinched all my joints, added up all my screams and told me that that was my DAS score.

    I've probably just confused things further....... :!:

    Sorry,
    Lois x
  • tillytop
    tillytop Member Posts: 3,460
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    I've never understood the DAS scores either (will go and read Scattered's explanation in a min) but I loved Lois's answer about the screams! Certainly they always do one for me whenever I go to the hospital but I don't usually get to know the result. Tilly x
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    I thought they did it a) to really get your affected joints humming 'cos they're all sadists and b) to assess how active one's arthritis might be at that given time. I am also given a questionnaire to fill in, twice yearly, detailing what I can and cannot manage re cooking, washing, dressing etc etc etc. After a while it all becomes a blur. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • stlucia
    stlucia Member Posts: 392
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Ah that's me - sero negative with normal bloods. The nurse said I was one of those difficult people!! :-) But I still managed to get a DAS score today so it seems possible.
  • shiningstar
    shiningstar Member Posts: 40
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    My Rheumy does a DAS score at every appt, he says that we should all be on Anti TNF and at my last appt more or less told me thatif I wanted to be on anti TNF when he squeezed to say it hurt..I think the exact phrase was 'no prizes for being brave' ... my score is still below where it needs to be for TNF based on no of joints sore, no swollen and crp or esr and that line where you say how bad it is, and in may area it only needs to be high twice 4 weeks apart.

    Hope that makes sense..

    Love SS
  • caprica
    caprica Member Posts: 195
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hmm interesting. I never got this at my hospital. So if you get a score of 'remission' under 2, does that mean you have nothing showing up at all? Does that mean healthy people have a DAS score of 2? Or does it mean that you still have some symptoms but very few?!
  • cthornley
    cthornley Member Posts: 627
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Not everybody gets DAS scores because it is only one of many tests that they do to measure RA disease activity.....I have just read a very technical article on the subject in my husband’s BMJ (British Medical Journal) [they end up being my bathroom reading :roll: :oops: ]

    Different tests measure different things and there is no definitive answer or right test and not all rheumatologists agree which is the best way to measure disease activity....which I guess doesn't help with making diagnosis clear, some tests include hips and knees others don't some include feet others don't...apparently there is no best way and the main thing is that you are measure consistently i.e. using the same test each time so your personal progression is plotted.

    Hope that clarifies it a bit and stops people feeling left out :wink:
    Chrissie
  • wibberley
    wibberley Member Posts: 421
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Chrissie's right. My sadistic rhemmy who I had from ages 15 - 43, held no store by blood tests and as a result I had very few, hence the 'diagnosis by scream' method...and he had the firmest of handshakes...not good!

    My lovely new NHS rheummy (who I started with earlier this year) is totally the opposite and did a barage of blood tests on me on my first visit and apologises profusely before doing anything that might cause the slightest discomfort!

    Lois x
  • page35
    page35 Member Posts: 1,081
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hi Lynn
    like you i dont have anything show up in my Blood except for a very high ccp anti body.
    anyhow i never had a das test but this doesnt stop you from being put on tnf treatment. i am on mxt, salpha and hydroxy and if this all fails my rheumy says she will try to get me funding for the tnf drugs.
    she did say it will be more differcult for me to get cos i dont fit nicely in the RA box.
    hope you are well, havent bumped into you for awhile :D
    Sharon x

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