I don'tknow if I have RAand would like anyones opinion. I have been waking upfor the past couple of weeks with hand pain. stiffness and pain in both hands like they are curled when I sleep. when I open my hands to flex them my big knuckles pop and crack. they don't bend with my smaller finger knuckles. my hands open and close like a flap. I am probably not making any sense. my hands stay this way for about fifteen minutes but the pain doesn'tgo away for a while. sometimes a couple of hours. my fingers are also swollen in the morning. I have not seen a doctor about this yet. I am scared about this pain.
Hey Lucy and welcome -
Well, it could be RA but it could be something else. You really need to see a doc to have some tests run. I didn't have cracking or popping but my hands went numb during sleep. That probably doesn't help much, I know.
Don't be too scared. It's really frightening at first - heck, I was hyperventialting - but if it is, there is a lot of support here and there are therapies to help.
Hugs,
Pip
Hi Lucy, Pip's right. You need to see a Dr. Hopefully you don't have RA but if you do, this is a good place for support.
Good Luck
Linda
thank you somuch for replying. I know you are right, I will call my md on monday to get myself checked out. does what I posted sound familiar to anyone? if I have RA, do the beginning symptoms have the finger cracking and pain? I don't know what else it could be?Lucy, I have pain but not the finger cracking. I have cracking in my neck and my knees where I have OA. I'm sorry I can't help you hopefully someone else here has some experience with that.