Early RA. What to expect.

I’m new here and hoping for some advice.

About 6 years ago I had a skin-related autoimmune issue. During testing, my RA factor came back very high (145). They advised me to see a rheumatologist, but since I didn’t have joint symptoms at the time (aside from long-standing knee arthritis), I didn’t follow up.

Fast forward to now—I've had pain in both thumbs for over 6 months. Over the past month it has worsened, and now my index fingers and both wrists hurt as well. An orthopedic doctor said its arthritis and suggested I see a rheumatologist. My hand X-rays were clear. I repeated my blood work and my RA factor is now 177, but Anti-CCP is negative.

I have an appointment with a rheumatologist on Tuesday to start looking into this. Does this pattern sound like rheumatoid arthritis? What should I expect from here? I’m surprised at how quickly symptoms have progressed in just 6 months, and honestly I’m feeling defeated. I’ve always been very active, and with two of my kids still being babies I’m worried about what the future might look like.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.