While these are from some of my "worse" days, I almost always have some swelling on my hands between my knuckles, and in my ankles up through my calves. Sometimes it's visible to others, other times I notice but they can't see it. Luckily my rheumy always says that I know my body and I know when it's swollen.
The swelling makes my hands and ankles/feet ache and feel tight. I've ordered compression stockings and I'm going to try them. Wearing shoes is difficult and sometimes even socks. A few weeks ago, while I was at aquatic physical therapy, I knelt down on a textured locker-room mat in order to help my "pool mate" get her socks on (she had a spinal fusion a few months ago). When I got up, I had indents on my calves, which were still visible after 3 hours, even though I didn't realize my calves were swollen.
Um I swell when there is no doctor around. And only then. Like right now!!!
How 'bout them apples?
My right knee is the only thing that ever has visible swelling however, my fingers, toes, wrists, and ankles have swelling around the joints that just hasn't made it to the surface so they look normal.
Mine is usually vissable. Sometimes when i am taking the pred i think i can tell before i swell and i am right. It does end up swelling. You know like is this fibro i don't think so but i hope so sort of thing. So i can tell before i swell that must be swelling you can not see. Like today i have visable swelling right side of body but not left side yet. I have the crease under the calf on the rightside but not the left yet . Yet i have felt like i have had planters in both feet all week. And left wrist i was pushing up to get out of the chair and ouch. I am on pred so i guess my goal is to keep the swelling down. Argg i just do not want both ankles and both knees swelling at the sametime. But they are sure trying. I guess i could sit around and twittle my left thumb? The right arm is on strike. Oh thats right the left wrist is mad maybe i won't be able to twittle my left thumb. Anyway invissable swelling would be just fine by me.
Wow InnerGlow! Those are some pics of your swelling. I am sorry.
I do have swelling in some of my fingers that never goes away, but those are fingers I have ruptured tendons in or caused some kind of trauma to the finger and RA went after it.
See when I was going to one RD, in 2001, she said I did not have visible swelling. Because she use to press down on my right knee cap and say yep you having swelling in there, and I just thought she was "crazy". But that is also about the same time my J/RA started becoming more active after having my daughter. I hurt and had fatigue, but did not swell like I do now or when I was a kid.
I just wanted to see what the ratio on the board was for visible swelling VS invisible swelling, well it is not invisible, just not surfaced I guess.
My wrist is about 5 inches around and everytime I go to the doc he says my wrist is inflamed. I don't know hoe he could possibly tell that. It is a mystery to me.
Does he squeeze your wrist?Actually i found the crease to the left ankle it is swelled just the crease is only about a few inches above the ankle on the left side and clear up under the calf on the right side. Usually the left one is up under the calf also. So i said it wasn't swelled i just had to push my sock down so just wanted to clarify that vissibility is on both left and right but just more swelling on the right.After seeing Inner Glow's pictures, I think my swelling is non existent. That looks painful - I hope it's not that bad all the time.
My swelling was mostly my hands feet. There are a few areas where they are still a little puffy, but for the most part now gone. I can wear my wedding ring and that is always the clue for me. In a way I guess you could call those stubborn joints "invisible swelling" - I can't see it, but the Rheumy can feel it.
JOonie, he does squeeze my wrist- but I do too and all I can feel is bone. It feels the same all the time. I dunno. Sometimes I think he just says that. The only joint that I can see swelling on are my thumbs. That is the only time I have ever seen swelling on my body. When the wrinkles are gone I know its swollen! lolSo far, no swelling although it feels like it. I often hold my wrists out of reflex, thinking it will feel better and that pressure will help and while it somehow does, it doesnt help the swelling feeling (more of a support thing?)
The lack of swelling is yet another reason I have never gone to the dr for this. I thought it couldnt be RA and yet when I went in for something unrelated, my dr was alerted by several red flags and ordered blood work which came back positive.
[QUOTE=cah1418]JOonie, he does squeeze my wrist- but I do too and all I can feel is bone. It feels the same all the time. I dunno. Sometimes I think he just says that. [/QUOTE]
Maybe it is a certain place or way he squeezes your wrist, that lets him know there is swelling in the joint. Like I said about the other RD that would press down on my knee cap and say I had swelling because it sprung back up, maybe it is something like that.
That is all I can think of.
Baker's cysts in the backs of both knees and swelling in both hands.Punkie have you had an mri with contrast of your knees. I had abakers cyst in the back of my knee and it was because i had a torn ligement. They said it was most common to have that type of cyst with that type of injury. Actually i had complained of the pain in the knee origanally and they told me oh well that is just a cyst it will quit hurting. Then finally six months later my spine specialist listened to me. He said how did these people tell you it was just a cyst and not take an mri. Because i told him my back felt better but it still hurt to walk.Wow Innerglow, that's me too!
Right now, my foot/leg looks like your picture. My legs look funny cuz my right is HUGE and my left isn't.
My hands don't swell, but my wrist (left) gets HUGE.
My calves are large often, they have a BIG lumpy look under the knee, then thins out toward the ankle, ugly look, plus above my left knee i have what i once thought was a fat roll,it's huge and stick out, but when i finally got swelling down the first time, it went down and i was surprised.
But, my calves and feet, especially right, love to be poofy.
I bought some diabetic socks, but unfortunately i swell up too large to fit in the biggest i can find.
Hi Milly
Ihave an appt with my Rheumie Apr. 14... I'll talk to her about and MRI. I did slip/fall down the stairs quite awhile ago. I didn't think anything was injured except my pride.
my swelling is usually visible. Unless its the shoulders, can't really see that.my swelling is usually visible. I have it in the ankles, knees, hands, feet, and elbows. I get lovely sausage fingers. I think I may have some of that "invisible swelling" elsewhere though.oy that invisible swelling has been a problem with docs in the past. They say I have no reason to be in pain because they don't see or feel any swelling, and because I have firbo they blame it on that. I know the difference though! Its my body they are very different pains!My one finger on my left hand was huge when I woke up. Usually its just my fingers that swell.I get swollen fingers and ankles. My knees swell now and again, if im flaring i get very little swelling, mine is a burning painful feeling in the joint and complete body ache and tiredness
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com