Questions and concerns | Arthritis Information

I'm in a situation where I'm not sure what to do next. For the past three weeks, I've been experiencing pain and swelling in my fifth mcp, most noticeable on the pad of my palm below the pinky. Started as just feeling stiff then the swelling and pain and some loss of ROM -- i.e., when I spread fingers of both hands, the affected one has a smaller span between pinky and fourth fingers. This might have been associated with an injury I got around that time -- jamming my pinky finger -- but the pain and stiffness and swelling have been pretty consistent since then. PCP gave me an xray which looks normal i.e, no fracture anyway. This morning, started feeling stiffness in the second finger of the same hand. Nearest appointment I could get with an orthopedist is a month away and I'm not sure what that would yield anyway. I'm going to see if I can find someone who can see me sooner. For the APers: Not knowing what this is... but knowing that time seems to be a factor should it be RA -- I am wondering if it makes sense for me to prophylactically get tested for mycoplasma (don't even know how I would get tested) and/whether to begin minocin instead of waiting around. As you can imagine, I have a tremendous amount of anxiety about all of this which is coloring my ability to assess what is going on and act. Would appreciate any thoughts.Hey Joe!

Mycoplasma tests are hard - our 'joke' is they take a vial of blood and we hope one is kind enough to swim in. That being said - I do advocate getting tested because if you do have this, insurance will cover IV's if you and your doc decide to do them.

Go to www.roadback.org and follow the instructions on getting a referral to an APMD near you. Call them and find out if they have a lab for myco testing. Some of these guys just help us out and others are affiliated with labs. You can't be on antibiotics before the test as it invalidates the results.

Yes, some here on AI started with an injury - so it's possible. But one joint is kind of rare - unless your Palindromic. Check out www.Palindromic.org to see if you 'qualify' LOL - but if you're not in screaming pain, then you may not be one of us.

Did the PCP run blood tests? RF, CCP, SED etc? If he did, get the results. That might tell you a lot.

Also, if it is RA and it's just starting....get on probiotics ASAP. Run a search here and see what people have been saying. Go to the health store and get the most strains and the most 'live cultures' as possible. Start at one a day. And maybe NAC but I've just started studying that so I can't guarantee that one.