help my hands have stopped working

[youngandbroken]

I am 25 years old and for the past few months I have had redness, pain and stiffness in my hands, my fingers are becoming twisted and lumpy. It is very strange, but in the last few weeks it has become so much worse, I am waiting to speak to my GP but appointments are few and far between and so I still have a few weeks until my appointment . It sounds like such silly things but I can't open bottles, make pastry, chop vegetables properly and pushing my daughters buggy is so painful that I could cry. I am only young and feel like my body is broken, has anyone else experienced anything like this? Are there any tips for how to manage when your hands don't want to do what they are supposed to do.

Do you suffer from psoriasis at all? I have psoriatic arthritis and that affects the joints in my hands.

@HollowTalk no I do suffer from eczema but psoriasis.

You need an urgent GP appointment and probably a referral to a specialist. I would suggest your situation is urgent and you call the GP back and ask to book an urgent appointment. Our surgery has urgent on the day appointments and non-urgent appointments to book weeks in advance. Your situation is urgent. It could be an inflammatory condition like rheumatoid arthritis. You would need a referral to a specialist.

My dad had the same symptoms and the problem was actually with the nerves in his neck, the ones around the first vertebra. It was a surprising diagnosis but apparently these nerves are connected to the nerves that supply the muscles in your hands. It's definitely worth getting a scan of your neck even if it's just rule this out, as although they were able to operate on my dad and release the nerves, the consultant said he would have made a better recovery if it had been done sooner. He put off seeing anyone about it for years.

Yours might not be the same thing as my dad had, but thought it was worth mentioning just in case, as it's one or those things that has a much better recovery the sooner it's treated.

I haven't experienced anything like that but imagine it must be very scary OP :( A relative had a similar thing and it was arthritis, she was older than you but not old, maybe in her 40's at onset.

Get an urgent GP appointment and get it looked at as soon as you can. If appointments are weeks away then you need to ring the surgery and tell them you can't move your hands and you need to be seen immediately - they will find space for you.

I agree you should be seen urgently. This does sound very much like an inflammatory arthritis and there are effective treatments beyond painkillers that are used fairly early after diagnosis nowadays.

My mother describes something fairly similar when I was a baby and she was in her thirties - not being able to handle nappy pins was one of the difficulties. She eventually found a combination of remedies that worked for her flareups and kept her hands functional for decades. But you should be able to get more detailed diagnosis and targeted treatment compared to what was available to her in the 70s!

You need a referral to a rheumatologist.

Sorry meant to second the likelihood of referral being needed, it may be that the GP can get some advice by phone if you can't be seen by a specialist for some time. The fact that you are describing deformity in your fingers already adds to the urgency - I believe that its been realised that early treatment is important to limit the progression of such problems.

Best wishes, hope you can speak to a GP very soon.

You need to be tested for things like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and hypothyroidism. All of which can cause muscle and joint difficulties. Your Gp should be able to book initial blood tests and refer you to a rheumatologist.

OP, do you have pain/swelling in any other joints? Do the balls of your feet hurt at all, particularly first thing in the morning?

Don't wait weeks, get an urgent appointment

I sometimes get pain in my hips and shoulders as well, but not swelling as far as I can tell. I will try to get a sooner appointment, my mum has told me that my nan was diagnosed with arthritis young and so I'm guessing that might be quite likely which is a worrying thought.

@youngandbroken

I sometimes get pain in my hips and shoulders as well, but not swelling as far as I can tell. I will try to get a sooner appointment, my mum has told me that my nan was diagnosed with arthritis young and so I'm guessing that might be quite likely which is a worrying thought.

It does sound like it could be, but certainly don't take my word for it.

I have nodular rheumatoid arthritis and my symptoms started with pain and swelling in my hands, pain in my shoulders and pain in my feet. I was told on multiple occasions that I had tendonitis by my GP, but in the end really challenged them. I demanded a blood test as I had to be rude and tell them I knew they were wrong.

I was diagnosed initially by a blood test (checking my Rheumatoid factor and inflammation markers) and then went to a Rheumatologist who confirmed it. If the blood test doesn't show anything, that doesn't mean that it's not RA.