Oh my aching hands | Arthritis Information

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Gee, it just keeps spreading like poison ivy.Pain!Does anyone understand why my fingers ,especially my pinky, want to lock up?I am learning a new way to hold the steering wheel now.If I don't wrap all my fingers around the wheel my fingers tend to lock up or get stiff, one or the other.Also, this tingling sensation I get is kinda weird too.

I am calling reheumy. today.My gp called in a referral for me.

Anyway, just felt like complaining.

Anybody else want to jump in with me and complain some too, bring it on.I feel better now that I got that off my chest.

Sheila

Yeah, I'll jump on that invitation to complain My hands hurt alot too. seems like everything hurts at one point or another. The thing thats getting me down the most right now is the depression. seems like I am always crying, or right on the verge of it. I seem my rheumy today so I intend to ask him for something to help with the depression. Just being able to come here and know that others know what I am going thru helps a lot.
I hope your hands start to feel better soon.
Linda

I think Ill jump on the bandwagon with you Sheila. My hands hurt all the time. I drive mostly with my palms now cuz it hurts to much to grip the steering wheel. Actually my pain is much better than it has been the last few weeks. Still achy some, but not nearly in the horrific pain I was. Thank the lord for Prednisone.

Feel better hon!

Shawnie

I'll get in on this too. Driving is real hard on my hands. It's a 35 mile commute to work and by the time  I get here they are stiff. I did get a real fat foamy steering wheel cover that helps some, but not enough.

Mike

Someone explain this to me.Why does it feel as if something is pulling my pinky out and in.Does that make since?I feel like I need to wrap my fingers togther.My pinky keeps wanting to stick out and it hurts and is getting stiffer.I', sorry to complain so much.I don't know what is happening to me.What should I do about my fingers?

About 2 months ago I purchased a paraffin wax bath from Walgreen's for around .00.  It's easy to get wax for it online and even comes scented.  If I have the time,  doing the wax treatment really relieves alot of my hand problems, albeit temporarily.

Sheila-it kind of sounds to me like your finger may be dislocated or jammed.  Only an x-ray can tell for sure.  Of course, when in doubt, call the doc!!

Take care everyone!

Cheryl

 

Although my fingers and hands don't hurt, my little finger is driving me mad. It won't bend completly and its so painful on the joint! I don't understand why everywhere on my whole entire body is pain-free except for my little finger.

I am so grateful that ra has not really effected my hands.  That has got to be really hard on you guys.  The pain is bad enough but it seems like your hands hurting would make everything difficult.  I feel for you guys and I pray that it never goes to my hands. 

Right now I'm fighting the knees.  They are really bad now that I'm walking for the marathon but I refuse to quit.  I have tried for three weeks now to get in touch with my rheumy but he is elusive (out of town this week again).  My knees don't hurt when I walk; they hurt later when I'm resting.  They also are very painful when I sit cross-legged or bend them which I tend to do in my sleep.  Straightening them back out is an "Ouch". 

Now that I feel normal about my fingers, do any of you have the same knee problem? 

Roxy, have you ever asked yoru dr. about why your toe goes crooked?That is exactly what my pinky is doing and it has done it with my thumbs and pointer finger.Right hand is worse than the left.It's kinda freaking me out.I know that RA can be worse than you think and sometimes the damamge is done before you know you have it.that is what worries me.With no dx  I am afraid damamge is being done to my joints that can't be fixed.I know a woman that has RA.Her toes and fingers are very deformed.They are all pulled to the side,just like the way my finger is turning.I haven't heard back from the reheumy. yet about making my first appt.I guess I will just keep trying to pull my fingers togther.The pain is now also in the hand and falls to sleep or atleast has that feeling.What a mystery.

Sheila,  I asked my rd about my toe.  The toe thing happens and then goes back to normal.  Rd just kind of shrugged it off as if it is to be expected

Look at your pinky finger and see if it drifts out from your other fingers. I know my left pinky does. As a matter of fact it is bent at the top joint and I cant straighten it. The middle joint is also crooked as well. Im thinking it must be damaged cuz my RD actually asked me if I had ever broken it, I havent had any hand injuries that I know of.

Shawnie

my left pinky it bent also.. no pain now, but forever bent... its called a swan neck deformity. Ill try to describe it and see if thats what you all are talking about...

starting at the knuckle closest to the wrist... it goes straight, then almost bends backwards at the next joint. (like a swayback horse in my opinion). The final joint make the bend go down. Its like i forced the final joint down (remember doing that as a kid to make your fingers look scarey? Like keep you rfinger straight and just bend the tip.... did anyone do that or am i wierd?) my ring finger next to it is starting to do the same thing...

Luckliy the fingers have not started to bend sideways, as I have seen in may pictures.. scarey!!!!!!!! and i can grow nails well!!! gotta cut them tonight.. its hard to type with them now!!! 

Here are some pics... hope this helps..

I'm sorry your hands are giving you fits.....mine are bad at the moment too.  Stiff and painful, they don't really lock up as yours do, but boy they hurt soooooooo bad like they've been struck by lightning.  Thank god that severe pain does'nt last to long for me, it then subsides to a lesser but still painful ache. This intensity is new for me and I'm so scared that horrible pain will just take over and not subside at some point. I'm counting down to my next RD apt, lots of questions. 10 more days.

I hope you feel better!!

I have a lot of hand problems and my pinkies are drifting outwards too.  Instead of worrying about it, I make a joke of it and say "How cool will this be when I drink a cup of tea -- pinkie sticks out all on its own!"  (Joking is my compensation -- and I know it doesn't work for everyone.)

Why do joints lock:  I am not sure about this, but I'll hazard a guess.  I think my problems with joints locking has everything to do with ligament/tendon problems -- and not so much the joint problems.  I don't have the benefit of a rheumy (none in any of the Virgin Islands), but put it on your list to ask next time you go.  Let me know what he/she says. 

Hugs,

Janis

Hand problems suck monkey butts!

Hi Janis,

and happy face butts too!!

                                        

I'm sorry to hear about the finger pain, I have the constant stiffness in my fingers my RD gave my a cortisone shot one time in one of my middle finger joints and that gave some relief.  I have had cortisone shots in both of my wrists for carpal tunnel.  I have those ugly nodes on both hands which I wish would just go away.  OMG as for my knees, they are so painful.  I had cortisone shots in both (can you tell my doc likes to give those) and xrays the inside shows no cartlidge left so now I have get referred to a Ortho Surgeon.  My knees hurt when I sit, stand, walk, lay in bed, breathe, etc.

We're with you there, sis.
Mina      

You know my fingers were the first sign that anything was wrong with me. It was by far my worst problem. I could barely move them at all.

After years of treatment...my hands are the least of my problems. Most of my symptoms are gone. The occational problem, but nothing like in the beginning...in my hands at least.

Not helpful at all....but thought I'd share.

Unicorn,

I have done that bending at the top joint since i was a little girl. It was amusing then, not so much now tho. Your pic is exactly what my left pinky looks like. So now if anyone else says that Im too young to have RA I can just give them the finger, the pinky one of course.
 I can also relate to the finger pain. It is so diffcult to drive. I also find myself using my palms alot. The really bad part is my job. I'm a Bank Teller,so I do alot of hand work. I do 10 key almost all day. By the end of the day, my fingers are just a "Flarin". The fingers are so warm to the touch by the end of the day. The swan neck pic is opposite of what my fingers do. My fingers bend upward in the last joints. I'm suppose to be starting Enbrel as soon as the insurance company gets over playin thier game. I now take MTX, Pred,Folic acid, and pain meds. The arthritis is in my toes,ankles,knees,hips,hands,and neck. If I only could have a med that would help with the pain. I can truely understand what you are going through.

SORRY EVERYONE IS HAVING HAND PROBLEMS!  MY MIDDLE FINGER ON EACH OF MY HANDS ARE STARTING TO CURVE  OUTWARD IN JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS OF DIAGNOSIS!
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