quick arthritis question

[ktgrok]

Background, my mom has crippling arthritis in her hands...as in she is legally disabled and in constant pain. It is inflammatory arthritis, but she was told not RA. Looking at surgery, most joints are bone on bone or fused. 

I have had on and off pain now and then in my hands, never bad. I did have the doctor do X-rays years ago, and nothing. I had bloodwork recently and sed rate, RA factor, and C-reactive protein were normal. So assuming mine is just osteoarthritis?

But the last week my hands have been worse - I have been using them a lot more doing landscaping/gardening/scrubbing baseboards and spring cleaning. And eating more sugar...which tends to flare things. Today I worked on the in ground irrigation system, and my middle finger HURTS. It is also slightly (very slightly) swollen. I am wondering if there is anything I should/could do to limit any damage during this flare up? I took an 800 milligram ibuprofen I have a prescription for from when I hurt my back. Anything else i should do? I also have muscle relaxers but that didn't seem like it would help, but maybe? Do I need to ice it or something, or can I do my normal "ignore it and it will go away" routine? I only ask because if this is the start of what my mom has, they have told her that controlling the inflammation is key. 

[Ellie]

3 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

Background, my mom has crippling arthritis in her hands...as in she is legally disabled and in constant pain. It is inflammatory arthritis, but she was told not RA. Looking at surgery, most joints are bone on bone or fused. 

I have had on and off pain now and then in my hands, never bad. I did have the doctor do X-rays years ago, and nothing. I had bloodwork recently and sed rate, RA factor, and C-reactive protein were normal. So assuming mine is just osteoarthritis?

But the last week my hands have been worse - I have been using them a lot more doing landscaping/gardening/scrubbing baseboards and spring cleaning. And eating more sugar...which tends to flare things. Today I worked on the in ground irrigation system, and my middle finger HURTS. It is also slightly (very slightly) swollen. I am wondering if there is anything I should/could do to limit any damage during this flare up? I took an 800 milligram ibuprofen I have a prescription for from when I hurt my back. Anything else i should do? I also have muscle relaxers but that didn't seem like it would help, but maybe? Do I need to ice it or something, or can I do my normal "ignore it and it will go away" routine? I only ask because if this is the start of what my mom has, they have told her that controlling the inflammation is key. 

((((Ktgrok and Mom))))

Well, some people find relief from that pain by doing an elimination diet, especially the Autoimmune Protocol. For myself, I discovered that the only food that causes me pain is dairy; for other people it's nightshades (such as tomatoes), or wheat (not gluten, but wheat) or other grains.

[Selkie]

I used to have painful hands and the pain completely disappeared when I started eating a whole foods plant based diet. It's been over a year and my hands feel great, no pain whatsoever.

[Acadie]

Another option is to look into a low oxalate diet. Some forms of arthritis are oxalate related.

Amy

[MaBelle]

You should see a rheumatologist and get on something asap to stop the damage.  Don't screw around with it.

[Laura Corin]

Check with your doctor about recommended exercises to maintain flexibility. People in pain often avoid movement, and this sometimes makes things worse. My knee with OA wakes me up at night if I skip yoga.

[Pawz4me]

Katie, what you describe is similar to what I experienced. My mother had RA. For years I had symptoms in my fingers, wrists and a few other joints. I was always rheumatoid factor negative. Until I wasn’t. My rheumatologist says I had a classic presentation of RA. And FWIW my inflammation markers are rarely elevated, even when I have multiple swollen joints. And yes, controlling that inflammation is key to preventing damage. Take NSAIDs and rest your finger/hands. You need to have your anti-CCP level checked. It’s a marker that is even more specific for RA than rheumatoid factor, although like RF it often doesn’t become elevated until further into the disease process. There are several types of inflammatory arthritis. A rheumatologist can help sort things out. You can fiddle with your diet (not helpful for me, and according to the arthritis board I’m on not helpful for the vast majority of people with RA, but I believe others who say it helps them) or try some supplements (my rheumy recommends turmeric/curcumin) but you probably really do need a work up by a rheumatologist, especially if swelling and/or pain persist for more than a couple of months despite rest and NSAIDs. 

[ktgrok]

Ok, I was wondering if it was silly to see an rheumatologist if lab work didn't point to RA. But if this continues, I will make an appointment. I really have been working them hard, and sugar does make things worse, so I'll try to be nicer to them and cut the sugar and all that. 

[Pawz4me]

And I forgot to say earlier that sero -negative RA is a thing. Lots of people who get an RA diagnosis don’t test positive for RF or anti-CCP. 

[MEmama]

I hope you figure it out. Hand pain is so awful! :(

I've had finger joint pain in the summer for years, and this past year it only got moderately better for a while in late winter. Already it's coming back noticeably and it's still in the 40's (idk if it's temperature or humidity related, if either). My doc ran the usual tests and everything came back negative. She didn't seem concerned (hello! I'm concerned!! And in pain!!). I have no way of knowing my family history so nothing to go on there.

On the advice of many I tried going gluten free to see if it would help; it didn't. I do like Laura's suggestion for flexibility exercises and will look into that. 

I hope you find answers! 

[prairiewindmomma]

I remember your previous post. I would take a photograph of your finger, mark it on your calendar, and take some ibuprofen. One joint, after heavy use, after your labs isn't setting off a ton of warning bells in my head.  DMARDS aren't without their drawbacks, and you don't have other RA indicators: morning stiffness, bilateral symmetrical issues in small joints, etc.  Those would all push me to do something, but at your point I would up my fish oil and take a small but reasonable dose of ibuprofen. I wouldn't hit it with 800mg.  That's a really heavy dose and there are some studies talking about damage from infrequent high dose ibuprofen use. I'd probably take 200 mg morning and night for a few days until the pain and swelling is gone. 

[hornblower]

Also consider you could have plain old OA. I believe you can also have OA & RA together.
I have OA in one thumb and one toe (not the big, the one next to it). My doctor is very unconcerned. I presented with it first at ~49 yo and she said, yup, welcome to aging. There's really nothing to be done as far as I can tell if it is OA.  The joint is swollen even when it's not inflamed and now has a bit of a nodule on it so yeah, I'm getting old lady hands.