Could people charge how their Rhuematoid Athritus started please

[stifffingers]

I'm 15 weeks post partum and towards the end of pregnancy my fingers would kill in the morning, really stiff and would take a good 30 mins to warm up properly. Was told it was just the swelling etc it'll stop when baby is born. It hasn't stopped just got worse and worse. Now it's affecting me in the day, any kind of pressure on my wrists and fingers is painful. Yesterday I slid open the car door and my hand was really painful after for ages.
The Cold sets it off too.

The gp thinks we're looking at joint disease.
I'll be having bloods to check for RA. He said if that comes back normal then it's probably osteoarthritis ! I'm 33!!!

I guess I'm just asking for any stories of how both these conditions started for people, those first signs ?

Thanks

They would probably put you on DMARDs or give you a steroid injection, from my experience.

I can't cope with the DMARDs myself (would rather be in pain than throwing up all day) but the steroids I've had have really helped. Don't rule out speaking to someone.

Mine started initially in my knees, shoulder and I had problems with a swollen gland in my neck. Some finger issues but in the early days nothing major. No swelling, joints not hot to touch. Tired to the point I would describe as wading through mud. My RF test was positive. 13 years on and I now get the additional symptoms. Auto immune issues on Mums side too. RA can also trigger after pregnancy.

I have absolute sausage fingers. Mine started neck of knees and then front , then my arms. Now I have it mostly in left knee front and back and my neck. My Aunt made herself a neck collar but I am not going down that route. It makes a crinkle noise whenever I move my neck reminds me of bean bags!

@LadyOfTheFliessssss

Thank you. I might think of asking to see a specialist then if only for a proper diagnosis but I must concentrate on my other health issues; high BP and diabetes type 2 because whatever I see GP for they are obsessed with my BP. Ok I know it is important.

Years ago I had a blood test and the GP said I did not haverheumatism??? Surely even if it wS not flaring up there would be signs??

By the way it used to worse in the summer and so did my Aunts but now it is year round!!!

Mine started in both hands/forearms. The pain was so bad it woke me up every night. I had red spots on my hands that were hot to the touch. I didn’t have any damage to my joints when they did X-rays, so got it early I guess. Fatigue was awful. I’d be able to go for a 30min run and that would be if for the day, on the couch for the rest of it. Well managed now on plaquinel but sick of all the appts and need a b12 every month also.

Has anyone's started with pain that wasn't super bad ? I mean it's painful but not to the point of waking me up.

Last night I woke up early hours and my hand was very stiff, but loosened up within minutes of moving it around. This doesn't seem to be as extreme as some posters experiences, so it makes me question if it's bad enough to be RA

I was 16. I am 32 now. Have already had one hip and knee replaced. I am having my other hip replaced at the end of Jan, my shoulder in April and I am then on the list for my other knee and elbow.

It started in my hands, wrist and shoulder. It is debilitating

There isn’t a degree of badness where it’s RA and, if it’s not that bad, it isn’t. If you have evidence of disease activity (stiffness that takes time to settle, pain, swelling) then you can be given a diagnosis of RA. Even if blood results are not positive for RF, that may be because of seronegative disease.

The other thing to remember with pain is it’s subjective to the individual - what I can deal with on a day to day basis, another person may need strong pain relief to function effectively. On another day, it could be the other way round.

Given your past medical history, its
definitely worth asking for a referral to a rheumatologist for investigation into whether the Stills has come back as RA in adulthood.

Yes, getting your blood pressure under control is also important because of the other potential health implications (no one wants you having a stroke!) so make sure you’re working with your GP on addressing that - whether it’s trialling medications or making other lifestyle changes; you may well find, once it’s under control, your diabetes is more stable and you can also address your joint issues.

I was diagnosed with RA in my early 20s, I'm now 50. It definitely started in my hands just as you have described, stiff sore fingers in the mornings and waking up fairly stiff all over, next it was pain in my wrists, almost felt like I'd broken my wrist at one point. Diagnosis took months as I was young so don't think the Dr's were looking for RA necessarily then and bloods came back negative for rheumatoid factor several times until eventually it did show up. Treatments have come such a long way over the past few years that the prognosis is much better now if you do have it. Good luck with everything and hope you get the treatment you need as quickly as possible.

I get painful joints in my fingers,arms and ankles. I got diagnosed with systemic lupus 4 weeks post partum after being re admitted. They said my lupus was dormant and my c sec kick started it.

I was diagnosed 4 months post partum. I had symmetrical joint pain in my fingers, warmth and swelling. I have seronegative RA and they took me seriously as my Mum has it too.

Hi OP I am older than you and I am seeing GP tomorrow to discuss my painful fingers and thumb joints. I have noticed for about a year that I don’t have as much strength in my fingers ,drop stuff and my joints are stiff ,thumb joints painful…even effects my writing and the joints are starting to look knobbly and quite tender if I press on them ! It’s my thumbs,index and middle fingers on both hands that are effected.
Also noticed the shoulder I dislocated a few years ago is getting stiffer and my knees hurt 😞…am feeling as if I am falling apart. Am also feeling generally fatigued more so than usual.
I do remember after my first baby I had to see a rheumatologist because I had wrist pain but I was never given a diagnosis.

I am not woken up with the pain in my fingers but I do get pins and needles when in bed in both hands depending on which side I am lying on.

I was diagnosed postpartum with RA even though I had negative bloods.
They did an ultrasound on my hands and feet and saw the 'mousebite' erosions on my joints and the diagnosis was made.

The waiting list was really long (7 years), I got lucky as a locum GP saw me, I'd never been away from the GP and they kept putting it down to changes after childbirth. But he had seen it before and by this stage (6 months pp) I couldn't bend my wrists, lift a cup, or walk more than a few feet at a time. So I got rushed through to see NHS Rheumatology and a diagnosis of seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis. I then didn't take any meds for 3 more months as I was BF, but I ended up really sick in hospital so the last BF was in a hospital bay in a&e and I immediately went in drugs which helped so so much.

If you believe you have it don't take no for an answer until you have an ultrasound.
Hope all goes well for you, its a bitch but with the right treatment not too bad

Sorry you've had a tough time. But it's really quite interesting how pregnancy can trigger this off in some people, I wonder why that is.

I had a c section and I also had gestational diabetes - I wonder if this could be a link somehow ? Not sure.

Would being low in vitamin d be causing such joint pains ?

Another question - does RA usually affect both joints (like elbows) on both sides at the same time ? I keep seeing this and can't say that's happening (other than my hands and wrists) it's more like my elbow will hurt, then the next day my ankle etc

I was the exact same, very similar symptoms when I was breastfeeding my girl. I can tell that it's cold outside without even opening the curtains by how sore my hands are! If anyone knocks my joints when I'm having a bad day it's agony.
I used have to take diclofenic that was left over from having stitches after birth!

My knees and wrists were the worst. I couldn't open jars of any kind. I got given Suphasalizine (sp) and it got loads better. Went away after I stopped breastfeeding weirdly, and I could stop taking the tablets. however it's come back again as I'm feeding my second now. Back on the tablets again 😩 I'm assuming it'll go away again once I stop feeding again.

Your GP has massively over simplified arthritis RA and OA are not the arthritis diseases, there are a huge number, psoriatic arthritis, lupus, sjorgrens syndrome, mixed connective tissue disease are just a few of the options. If they have only tested for rheumatoid factor there are a whole load of other tests that should be done.

I get pins and needles too. Not all the time, but if I wake up with them, they can take hours to go.

I get painful elbows and it tends to be one that hurts, but I can aggravate them both at the same time depending on what I'm doing. It's usually my right elbow though.

It helps to avoid doing anything in tight sleeves for me. Especially driving. It's a bit baltic for it at the moment, but I have to take off my winter coat to drive, even when it isn't a big thick one.

I'm waiting for an elbow replacement. It can impact any joint. I've had flares in my rib cage.

Don't let some GP fob you off with "negative for rheumatoid factor". You cannot necessarily detect RA (or other inflammatory arthritis conditions, there are others). I've had seronegative RA since I was 25. Nobody else in my family has it and it started as swollen, inflamed feet especially in cold or hot weather. It's unusual to start in the feet, apparently. I've never had any problems with my hands.

I mean you can't always detect them by doing blood tests! Sorry.

Are you flexible op?
I was investigated for RA but now have a diagnosis of EDS.
It flares up and subsides, was terrible a few years ago but it's been pretty dormant for the last couple of years apart from the odd niggle.