Hi all! I'm looking for some insight. I was referred to a Rheumatologist because of reoccurring eye issues (first eye Dr diagnosed it as ocular rosacea on a guess, since it wasn't flaring at the time; second said episcleritis when it WAS flaring, and I'm pretty sure this is the correct diagnosis), joint pain, positive ANA, high CRP and ESR. In the notes from my appointment, it sounds like my rheumatologist suspects spondyloarthritis, based on my symptoms.

So I was sent for xrays and lots of blood work. My CRP and ESR were normal this time, and all my other blood work was normal (I still haven't gotten all of them, but CBC and such were normal) except I was HLA-B27 positive, and my SI Joint xray says "mild osteoarthritis." I was told by someone in another thread that mild osteoarthritis doesn't usually cause symptoms, but my main source of pain is lower back and hip pain that gets really bad at night and when I sit still for too long. I'm definitely symptomatic when it comes to my SI joints.

I have a follow up next month, and since I've been told mild osteoarthritis is normal and that an x-ray would be able to tell the difference between osteoarthritis and inflammatory arthritis, I'm afraid they'll tell me it's all normal and not related. I've tried to do some research and saw that women tend not to have visible damage on xrays early on, but that a positive HLA-B27 doesn't necessarily mean you have spondyloarthritis. Does anyone have any experience with this? If they tell me it's normal, what steps should I take then, if any? Should I ask for an MRI? It seems a little too coincidental that I have the symptoms of inflammatory back pain and related issues, to just take it at face value that all I have is some mild osteoarthritis, but what do I know?