Arthritis in hands

[Tootsey11]

Anyone here have arthritis in their hands? I've nodes forming on my second joint on a number of my fingers on both hands. Fingers are quite stiff and painful to bend. I'm 47. My granny had this but didn't develop it til her 70's.

Anyone have it or can tell me how fast this develops. Doctor not remotely interested.

Insist on a referral to a rheumatologist- have initial appointment privately if you need to.

Ask for a blood test to see if your inflammation markers are raised. If they are, ask for a referral to rheumatology. You can also ask for a referral to a hand therapist. There are things they can do to help.

Even if bloods negative still ask for rheumatology referral. My bloods always been negative and X-rays fine.

@Hercules12 do you have arthritis in your hands? How bad are they. I know my granny had to give up her craft work as hers got that badly distorted she couldn't do anything.

I'm 54 and had about 4 nodes form about 3 years ago. It was weird, they all appeared at once. I got tested for rheumatoid arthritis but nothing showed.

They are a bit stiff occasionally now but haven't got worse in the 3 years. They seem to flare up if I carry heavy things, especially if it's hot, but don't get permanently worse. My mum's hands are terrible.

HRT can really help, so I would investigate that right away.

I'm on hrt for the last 3 years.

hi- I have psoriatic arthritis- no psoriasis though. Started same age as you. My hands were stiff and painful. Gp sent me for bloods and X-rays which were fine. Fortunately there is an early arthritis clinic in my area which I found through Google and so I asked for a referral. Saw a very good rheumatologist who is specialist in psa - not all are- and was diagnosed initially with inflammatory arthritis - too young for osteoarthritis and she said definitely not that. Started on meds straight away - they like to start you off quickly to prevent damage. Had for nearly 3 years now and got diagnosed with psa after first few months.

I did the exercises on the Versus Arthritis YouTube channel. That's really helped with pain. GP also uninterested.

Yes, I do. Mine is because of a connective tissue disorder.
The throbbing can be really painful and my hands are very weak. They're worse when it's cold.

I take painkillers which do help. Voltarel gel can be useful too. I have some aids in the kitchen and a very useful DH!

I'm 50. I have nodules on 4 fingers. I don't have as much strength in my hands as I used to and I've got one of those jar opening devices but other than that, I don't think it's got progressively worse. One day they appeared and they've stayed much the same since then. Sometimes they swell up more than other days but there doesn't seem to be a pattern to it.

I'm a cleaner, my hands get a lot of work. My previous job was a baker, then before that working with my hands in a fast paced food environment. They have had a lot of use, so presuming osteoarthritis.

Are they Heberden’s Nodes? If you google you will find information about them and what can be done or not. Hand therapy, which I suggested above, is one thing that might help.

I also used my hands a lot in the past too. One other trigger is walking the dog if he pulls as that definitely makes my fingers worse!

@Tootsey11 I think if you're struggling to bend them, it might be worth seeing the Gp. I haven't bothered but other than weakness in my hands, it isn't too impacting

I have PsA (psoriatic arthritis) in hands !
I had to keep pushing for Rheumatology referral (I’m 47) at initial consultation he thought perimenopause but MRI the damage ! I would keep pushing without meds it will become worse and damage is irreversible xx

That are a couple of hundred types of arthritis. There is no evidence OP has psoriatic arthritis. A GP won’t refer you to rheumatology for osteoarthritis as they won’t be able to help.

Don’t think anyone has suggested op has psa . She asked if anyone has arthritis in their hands.

Mid 50s and have had it on forefinger joint for a decade or so. Also on my thumbs which is making life a little harder to navigate. I do daily stretches of the hand to fight clawing, basically stretching my fingers back as far as I can without using external force. I also wear wrist supports at night for the wrist pain, and have finger splints to keep joints pointing in the right direction. Wearing splints for wrists, fingers etc at night was a game changer.

For weight lifting I’m getting to the point I am going to have to get special wrist hooks as my grip is staring to weaken. Strength training has helped with arthritis in knees etc.

An anti inflammatory diet seems to help too and has other benefits.

I have a sideline in predicting the weather based on how much my joints are aching 😛

Most doctors are pretty useless so you will have to find your own way. The arthritis U.K. website has some great fairly up to date information, especially about how to cope with chronic pain.