Arthritis Information -How fast does OA progress?

 

Have you actually been diagnosed with osteoarthritis?  Because what you are describing sounds more like rheumatoid arthritis to me.  However, hopefully others here will chime in soon.  I'm new to all this myself and don't want to steer you wrong! Good luck to you! Yes, I saw a rheumatologist in Jan and the blood tests ruled out RA, but now I've heard sometimes the blood tests can be negative.  I also had a lot of x-rays taken at the same time.  I go back in a few weeks for a follow up and want to ask her about how fast its all happening.  I'm all over the web trying to find more information about it.  Do you have RA? Hi, I'm new to the forum and to OA.  How quickly does OA usually progress?  I started with a knob on my right ring finger upper joint about a year and a half ago.  But during the past 6 months I have gotten crooked pinky fingers on both hands, knobs on several other finger joints, fingers sort of turning outward, finger joint paint all over, and a constant aching.  My pinkies are always catching or cramping (don't know how to describe it) and sort of "pop" and it hurts to grip things.  I can't believe how its happened so suddenly.  I'm 57 and work in an office using computers, answering phones, etc and it's getting harder all the time.  What will I be like in another year? That business about the English women getting menopausal nodules was so interesting.  I never knew about that, but my mom had it on the upper right pinky (she was English) and now I have it at the middle joint and some redness at the upper joint, and it happened at menopause (English and Scots-Irish).  Amazing the stuff you learn here.  I also take estradiol and have noticed that when my estrogen was too low, my pain, stiffness, etc. got worse.  I've always believed there is a hormonal connection.  My OB/GYN explained it this way:  In some cases, for some women, the hormones are keeping the disease under control and when the hormone level drops, all hell can break loose.  That was certainly true in my case. 

Jesse882008-03-24 16:50:12wildwoodwaitress..good luck on your appt. next month...I hope you get some answerw!Hi Shelly,

I've had the most success so far with taking small, regular doses of Estrace and the specific carbohydrate diet and also eliminating beans and legumes.

There is no autoimmune connection with nodal arthritis that I know of. It is mostly hereditary and occurs during or after menopause and is considered osteoarthritis.

I did read recently that there is some connection between the joint synovial fluid and estrogen, but I don't think doctors have much more than that.

I do have my first appointment with a rheumatologist next month to have him look at my hands and low back x-rays.  I live in a fairly rural area and the orthopedists and GPs areb't real up on this type of OA and haven't been much help. I figured it was time to see an expert in the big city.
No, I have not been diagnosed as having RA but had a grandmother who had it and am having some symptoms that may indicate the start of it.  Almost for sure I have some form of osteoarthritis but I think lots of people do as they get older (I'm 55).  I also tested negative for RA but there's such a thing as false negatives.  I just found out today that my first ever appointment with a rheumatologist has been moved up a month to early next week and I am so excited about it!  I want so much to know exactly what it is I do have so that I can move on from there and do what I need to do to feel better and avoid further damage if possible.  The Arthritis Foundation has a good website you might want to check out, and they'll also send you a free copy of their magazine for the recently diagnosed.  I think you may also be able to get other literature from them.  I really believe knowledge is power so the more we know the better it will be so long as we keep a positive state of mind. about.com/arthritis is another good website with loads of info. [QUOTE=Shelly41]You can also have OA with RA.   I did not even know there was a syndrom out there based on estrogen, or the lack of it.  It is interesting how things are developing in the autoimmune world...that is what was interesting.  I hope you are ok, and have had some real success.  Do you eventually get more autoimmune stuff?  I did have blood work done and the doc said it was OA not RA but I think I will ask her about it on Friday at my appt. and see if that is what part of the blood tests were.  I have had others say it sounds more like RA also.  I was hand sewing something the other night and after a while my thumb hurt terrible, all around the lower joint, for several days.  Just doesn't seem right.

Shynon, Psoriatic Arthritis is an arthritis that has the symptoms and some of the presentations of RA, but the tendons and ligaments are inflammed and swell as well.  So,  when I flare my fingers are very round and my hand gets very round where then tendons and ligaments join to the joints.  There is no test persay for PA, but it can be genetically identified, as well as if you have Psoriasis you are more apt to get Psoriatic arthritis.  Although you can have a combination of OA or RA with PA as well.  I have OA and PA, and the jury is still out about Lupus.  Also the damage presented by PA is at the end joints of the hands and feet instead of starting at the base. 

Hi,

I read your post with interest.  I believe you may have a form of arthritis that is called nodal arthritis, which occurs mostly after menopause. The Brits know a lot about it and apparently it's carried in the genes of the English.

My paternal grandmother was half English and had the bent pinky fingers, but no OA.

I have hand OA (nodal arthritis) well in advance of menopause. OA in women is most commonly found in the hands.

The bumpy or lumpy joints at the top of the fingers are called Herberdon's nodules and the middle finger joints are known as Bouchard's.  I have found the latter to be the most painful and annoying. I only have one (which only came on recently) in my left pinky.

I, too, have tested negative for RA with a low sed rate and C-Reactive Protein marker -- both knowns as excellent identifiers of internal inflammation.  While I've had the hand arthritis for 16 years, I am starting to develop inflammation in my lumber spine and hip joints, also part of the nodal arthritis syndrome. It' also hits the knees as well.

A low or no starch diet has been a lifesaver for me. It helps the pain in my hand joints, but I haven't been on it long enough to tell whether it will slow the progression of my condition. I also need to stay on a low dose of a form of estrogen called estradiol. If my estrogen levels drop too low, the pain in my hands becomes quite severe.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Good luck with your treatment.
OA usually affects the large joints and not the small joints of the hands and feet.  You can also have OA with RA.  I have OA and Psoriatic Arthritis.  I would talk to the RD about seronegative RA. That is so good you are getting in earlier than you thought.  Please let me know what they had to say about it.  I have read a lot on the about.com website but will check out the Arthritis Foundation now.  Seems like most info is on RA..... Shelly, yes I keep reading descriptions of RA and OA and it seems more like RA to me.  What is Psoriatic arthritis?  Is the seronegative RA another different type of test?  I go back next week and am getting together questions to ask the dr.  She seems knowledgeable. 
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