Nodule Shrinking | Arthritis Information
I'm not sure what's going on here, but I like it. I've had what was thought to be a nodule due to OA on my right pinky, on the outside and middle joint. It's been there for years and my mother had the same, only a bit worse. For a few months after I started the RA drugs there was no change in the nodule (I wasn't expecting any) but then it got worse...red and the bump got larger. Now, since I've started feeling the improved benefits of the MTX injections, the lump has gone down, almost to normal. How can this be, if it's a bone that's become lumpy? Bones can't shrink, can they? Could it have been something other than bone all this time? It was hard as a rock but now I'm wondering if it was something other than bone causing the lump. Any ideas on what happened? you can have a nodule that is actually liquid. It gets so filled and tight that you think it is bone when it isn't. I have arthritis in a middle finger and it has the bumps that come and go. They can get hard as rock or be squishy.I have had those too.Some come and go while others seem to hang out a bit longer.
I had a huge one on my foot(between the 5th and 4th toe) and had to have it surgically
removed because I couldn't wear shoes.
Mine are usually soft.
No kidding? I had no idea. I thought they were always bony growths, but what you're saying makes sense. So all these years it's been a hard knot of liquid? Amazing. So do you think it's RA related then, since the RA drugs seem to have shrunk it? Jesse - congratulations. I have no idea, but my recent MRIS on my hands and wrists came back with severe to moderate damage, which I could see happening years before my current diagnosis and was hitting the wall on getting help. I joked to my multiple doctors about my "mouse hand", but it was the RA, and not from too much computer use.
My current wrinkled fingertips and hands are from how swollen I had gotten and I couldn't see it for whatever reason (and the MDs didn't know what swelling looked like either), and when the proper RA DMARDS for me finally kicked in, the lessening of the inflammation is causing wrinkled fingertips, looser skin.
Perhaps it is fluid like suggested above as this is a disease of inflammation. I still swell up, but at least now it shrinks back down. Before, it was all just 24/7 swelling. Keep up the good work! Cathy
Cathy, that's good news that the swelling goes down now, and I assume that also means less chance of further damage in your hands and wrists. Are your hands fully functional at this point? How often do your hands swell now that you're on the DMARDs? Jesse, it's about once a month now, so I am deeply suspicious of hormones, and I am way past an early menopause, brought on with my one and only vaginal hemorragh (sp) after taking celebrex for a very short time.
Since these MRIs are ones I ordered up (gawd, what a statement about American medicine), I am hopeful most of the damage is now done. This damage was done way before I was diagnosed, so I just got through it with no medical help. My hands are somewhat functionally, so far not too much problem except pain and fine-finger action lost - I can still type!
I am two years post-diagnosis now, and most disabilities happen in the first 3 years, so I am hopeful I can continue working for the rest of my life as there is no retirement for me anymore. A 0 for a tank of gas?
My next 2-month check I am going to next ask for a referral for a hand/wrist surgeon/expert, as I want splints for the ulnar drift of my right hand, and I know I will need surgeries eventually as the tendons burst (my first right hand finger is ready to go). I am amazed at every past rheumy appointment which might include a short physical exam, that not one of the 4 rheumies (2 second opinions, and one trying to change to my primary's practice rheumy with her blessing, but no luck there, as he was covering for his friend who I finally fired) I have seen since diagnosis have noticed this drift or mouse hand I pointed out. Maybe I can help educate the next one by pointing it out to them, again, but since I now have an MRI to back me up, I might get some action. Keep us informed about you, this is interesting. Take care Cathy
Gosh, Cathy, it seems like if you didn't take the bull by the horns you'd be in much worse shape. You're to be congratulated for staying on top of this. I'm glad the damage wasn't more extensive, no thanks to the medical community.
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