how is everyones hands?
Is it true that they can prevent the deformity from happening
[QUOTE=mark1]
how is everyones hands?
Is it true that they can prevent the deformity from happening
[/QUOTE]
mine just hurt at times but don't yet look deformed.
I have three fingers heading towards my little fingers.
I had a lot of problems with my hands the first year of my RA...swelling, stiffness, pain, etc. The last 3 years I've had almost no problems at all; while taking MTX and now Humira. I occasionally have flare ups but seems to be localized in my legs and feet, and not nearly as severe as the first year...so yes, I do think the medications can make a big difference.
Alan
My hands still look good but really hurt. Roxy told me hers was the same way but when they did xrays, they showed damage so I'm getting xrays done.
It fairly common to ask for xrays of your hands and feet at the beginning of your treatment as a baseline. Mine have never been done.
The medicines really do help with stopping that kind of progression. You have to think of it this way. RA used to be a sentence of being shrivelled up and wheelchair or bed bound within a very short time for a lot of people. Although it can still be disabling, as it is with me, it is a far cry from what it was.
There is so much hope out there. Even two years ago, there wasn't that much use of the biologics and that has changed everything. Think what might happen in just two more years.
It's probably going to be the bugs and the bats though.
Mark,
My hands are the worst, most painful thing of this whole disease (JRA) for me... Before I was diagnosed I did hard core gymnastics and I can't support my own weight on my hands anymore. They did MRI's and I have errosions in both my wrists. I am currently on 25mg of MTX and they just did another MRI so we will see if anything is improving or the deterioration has stopped. I have to have extra time at school to write exams and notetakers for class. At least i don't have problems with my feet! good luck with those digits...
I CAN BARELY TYPE. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Splints help if you get to it early enough, and there's surgery. Here's an info site: http://www.handuniversity.com/topics.asp
If you find the right Rx cocktail for you and achieve remission before any deformities arise - that's the best case scenario.
My hands hurt alot in the beginning and still do.....and now the larger joints I HATE THIS DAMN DISEASE AND RIGHT NOW MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I had three knuckles that were swollen and painful and the fingers decided that they would roam in other directions, so I had my rheumy inject cortizone into those knuckles and viola....no more swelling, pain and the fingers have straightened out. Guess they know who the boss is now! I am actually amazed that this happened. The rheumy called me 3 days after to see how I was doing and she was surprised too. I told her that I would like to order a gallon of cortizone to put into the tub to soak in.
My first obvious symptoms were in my hands. By the time I was dx'ed I could barely brush my teeth or tie my shoes. One month after starting DMARD theropy things dramatically improved.
13 years later provided I'm properly medicated I rarely have any problems at all. X-Rays show some deformities due to RA but if you didn't know what you were looking for you wouldn't be able to tell with the naked eye. I can tell; simply because I've watched them change over the years BUT it's very slight.
Paraffin provides some relief
I woke up last night with my middle finger feeling awful, it was hot to the touch, leaning sideways aat the middle joint and bruising.. its like my fingers have minds of thier own.
But with all this there is very little deformity. the index fingers go towards the pinkies with a noticible bend.. the knuckles are huge, my thumbs are kind of S shaped, but they are nowhere near as bad as some I have seen.
It is so wierd how differently it affects each of us even just focused on hands. I do have a lot of problems using my hands. The dexterity just isn't there any more. In the beginning, it hurt my fingers to even touch the keypad.
Yet, I have very little outward sign of the problems I've had. I did spend a year using the paraffin baths morning and night. I know it helped tremendously and when they are bad, I drag it out again.
I wear the wrist splints and the compression gloves. I try never to do any one activity for very long with my hands. So cooking has become a diffucult task.
I'm a artist and it's hard for me to draw any more. The pain just takes all the pain away. I can't even do it on the computer any more. It limits my writing as well.
But all these problems which are really hard on me do seem to stand out to the doctors. The hands look pretty normal.
I am grateful for that. But the kind of deformity some of you are experiencing, I just consider heart breaking especially for women who tend to pride themselves on lovely hands. We know that other women are looking our hands to see if we have a nice manicure, new polish, etc. It hurts our self image to have this precious part of our body look wrong and then when you can't do the simplest things, you just feel so darn helpless.
There are exercises that can help you keep your fingers mobile. I do use them. One that my fitness trainer taught me was to take a newspaper and crunch it into the smallest ball you can make. Very simple, but it does help. Since I've developed nerve problems as well and find my hand closing up like a claw at times, I now take a small stuffed animal about the size of a beanie baby that has arms and legs. I wrap my hand around that in the evenings and sometimes in my sleep to help keep that hand from closing up permanently.
Also avoiding repetive tasks is important. I remember once tying bows together for a Christmas party. Didn't seem to be that big of deal. I couldn't use my hands at all that night. Or using a spray can of paint, same thing. I can't really use a hammer any more because it causes my wrist to bruise and swell.
Hands, I miss my hands that could paint and write and loved to cook.
Almost all my pain is in my hands. Over the last year or two I've lost alot of feeling in them, although they hurt constantly. I go to pick something up and it goes flying across the room. If there is a jar to be opened I usually end up cussing and crying. Not a good combo
Oh yeah, hands! With Raynaud's for 25 yrs and finally dx'd with scleroderma 10 yrs ago, my hands never looked pretty - fingers swollen like little sausages all the time, and then turning blue, white, purple etc., if out in the cold. People do notice that. Oh my gosh, what is wrong with your hands? Like I hadn't noticed. Oh well, I got used to it. Thankfully I never had much pain until this fall - hands and writsts hurt terribly, worse at night, keeping me awake, and taking a couple of hrs to improve in the morning. Not sure if the scleroderma is raging, or I'm developing RA (do have OA in both thumbs - they look deformed but don't really hurt) or maybe carpal tunnel. Will see the RD next month & hope to find out & get something for the pain. Pat
You should look down at your hands and say "OMG!! What in the world is going on?" and run crying from the room.
People are so weird!! lol
LMAO omg Lovie. That is awesome. HahahahahaThanks for the link, Lynx. I'll be having the CT Release surgery in a few months time and of the dozens of references I've read this is the best. It answered All my questions. - Des.When I am in a bad flare up I could just cry. Besides the ra I have pa which is affecting the soft tissue, muscle, of my hands. I wear thumb splints at times due to the degeneration of the area at the base of each thumb and further into the hands. This is one of the reasons I came off of 3rd shift and took the job in receiving on days. Granted I still use my hands, but I am not opening boxes and working frieght onto shelves. Opening those boxes were a killer, the glue on some of those boxes you would have thought the contents of those boxes were gold!!! Even with equipment to open the boxes, it was hard and you are expected to open anywhere from 60 to 75 cases an hour and have it on the shelves. I still work in the garden and still do crafts and needlework, but I also know when to stop when the hands are not wanting to do anymore. I have learn to live with it, my meds do help but I know it is something that will always be there. meme
ps this is another site that is good for info on hand problems. http://www.eatonhand.com/hw/hw100.htm
How does one tell the difference between neuropathy and carpal tunnel? My hands have had pain, numbness and tingling from the beginning of my RA. But this last few months, it has grown so much more intense. Plus, my left hand wants to crawl into a claw. I've worn the wrist splints for years, mostly at night. I started doing it during the day to take the strain off of them and that helped for awhile. Now, they seem to make it worse, causing more pain. Then, my thumbs hurt terribly.
Any ideas?
Hi Everyone,
I'm always reading everyone's messages but rarely post so here goes!
My hands are in very bad shape because I have a lot of joint damage (severe RA for 25 years) and so my fingers are very deformed and my entire hand is shifting. I really try very hard not to be self conscious about them but it isn't easy because people do stare! I just wear my wedding band and never polish my nails because I certainly do not want to draw attention to them. However, when I look at the big picture I feel so very fortunate that I have a great family with a wonderful husband and kids and terrific friends so I do feel blessed in so many other ways.
Arlene XX
Deanna - carpel tunnel should be viewable with x-rays/MRIs something of that sort. I think. I'm pretty sure. LoL My hands are really stiff and sore today. I used them a good bit yesterday and today I am paying for it.Carpel Tunnel can be considered to be a form of neuropathy caused by RA. A Nerve Conduction Test usually picks it up and when the splint no longer helps its usually time for the release op to avoid permanent mobility loss.
Mind you, if it is CT then the pain is likely not to be RA pain. The same applies to tingly, numb feet and toes. If you have neuropathy you can have neuropathy pain which is not RA pain. You'll then need neuropathy pain killers.
Okay, I have both RA and neuropathy. The splints no longer seem to help. I am going to get xrays of my hands soon though.
I'm having a devil of a time getting anybody to do nerve conduction tests. In fact, I have a hard time getting someone to acknowledge I'm having the pain and numbness in my hands. And, according to the last Rheumy, I don't even have RA. Of course, he was an idiot. But it doesn't help me deal.
Strange people, some of the rheumys. It seems that if the bloodwork is O.K. and a physical examination of hands, knuckles, feet and toes doesn't show obvious signs of RA, they then say you haven't got RA. It's discouraging that they don't look beyond their own speciality and make the connection. I don't know how it works in America but here in Australia the person to give a referral for a nerve conduction test is our family doctor (general practioner.) Press for that because CT and neuropathy require different treatments than RA.
As I've said in another post, my RA has basically been under control for months, its the CT and neuropathy brought on by RA that's causing the pain and the problems. Knowing that, me and my docs have a game plan which seems to be working.
Welcome Arlene!
I've have arthritis for a long time too. My legs are two different lengths and my right knee is sorta bent inward. My right hand is worse that my left so I find myself almost subconsiously hiding it with my other hand. (Some of that is "guarding" it too, it's so sore) But it's difficult not to be self conscious around those who don't seem to know that it's not polite to stare.
This would make an interesting topic! You should post it. What do you say/do with impolite people? Ignore them? Confront them? Surreptitiously flick cheetos at them while they're not looking?
My problem is that people just try and barge right over me. Sometimes I want one of the guns like they had in Ghostbusters and just wail away at them. It wouldn't hurt, but it sure would be messy.
My hands look like the pillsbury dough boys!! I am starting to get some deformities in my pinkies and my right pointer finger. I have not been able to wear my wedding ring in probably 1.5 years!
I can do small tasks, like button my shirt or tie my shoes. I can not do anything that requires making a fist or grasping, like opening a bottle of water. I shake so hard that I often drop and spill things.
I am an office manager and optician. I need to be able to repair glasses and those screws are darn small. I have actually had to ask patients to loosen things for my as I have no strength. Since I work with my hands, people are always asking what is wrong or what did I do to them, etc. I just say I have an auto-immune disease and try to leave it at that.
I have purchased a very small keyboard for my computer. Its smaller even than a lot of lap top keyboards and it does help with the typing. Since the keys are not as far apart, my hands don't have to stretch as much and its supposed to take less pressure to depress a key but I am not sure I can tell a difference there. I have also learned to mouse with my left hand as that one doesn't hurt as much. The more I type, the more they hurt but I need outside contact, I need to talk to others who understand!
I have some deformity in my hands both from RA and OA (index and middle finger most distal joint). they have provided me with a ton of misery over the years. The pain is mild today compared to the misery in the beginning.
These days it is my 'freaking feet'
Lots of nerves in the hand.
At diagnosis i had some swelling in the finger joints and they were looking ever so slightly deformed. Luckily xrays showed it was not permanent --- it was fluid which went away completely. I was looking at a chart in the Rheumy's office one day and I saw a poster of deformed hands and I said 'My mom's hands look like that" and he said "Well, I doubt yours ever will because we're being so aggressive with your treatment from the start". Whew. My hands only hurt a couple times before I was DXed. Most of my RA is in other parts of my body.Lynk, I love your sense of humor and like the "cheetos" idea! heeheeheeheehee!
When people do comment on my hands (it doesn't happen very often)I just tell them that I've had severe arthritis for 25 years and that seems to satisfy their curiosity.
Arlene
I have noticed less dexterity in my fingers. I also have a really hard timeHahaha this is WAAAAYYYYY off topic...but what you said reminded me of a sound byte my friend recorded once. She did it in super speed, so it was all high pitched like the chipmunks. There was no rhyme or reason to what she said, but it was funny..
"MY HANDS! WHERE ARE MY HANDS?? YOU GOTTA HAVE FRESH HANDS!! I CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITH OUT FRESH HANDS!! ohh where are my HANDS??"
I wish I had some fresh hands!!!
i havent been able to make a fist, gosh for a very long time... i was probably about 6 or 7! people comment on my hands and it drives me crazy because they have no idea! Enbrel helps me... but it doesn't resolve my fist problem-i pray for my hands everyday! the only fingers that look good are my ring fingers, but they dont bend all the way either!
22 and no fist but i do what i have to do :)
I used to have nice looking hands now they look worse and older than my grandmother (that is 96). I was getting my nails done and I think that I may quit. I can't stand to even have anyone look at them. I usually wear things like hoodies that I can stuff my hands into the pocket 1. to hide them, and 2. to keep them warm.
All of my arthritis symptoms started in my fingers and wrists (7) months ago. My first “flare” lasted (3) months and while I had the symptoms in both hands the pain and swelling was worse in my left hand. After that period my symptoms died down a bit and while I still hand mild symptoms they were very tolerable. Through this period I was still officially undiagnosed and not on any medication. I saw my Rheumy for the first time on
Katie, you cannot go. You do bring a lot of life and fun to this board. I will see if I can find where I emailed before because this person is not paying them for advertising. What a low life!
But remember the rest of us are not. And we need the input that you, Crunchy, Alan and so many others give. I mean we need it.
I know, I know. It's just sooooo frustrating. Makes me wanna SCREAM!! >.<You are allowed to scream. Go ahead, it'll make you feel much better. I'll probably hear you all the way from Florida.
my hands are what sent me to a new dr in the first place. I had already had my knees replaced and been told by the surgeon that it was NOT OA like everyone else said.
My hands LOOK fine. Except that my left wrist looks like a sausage. All the RA is in the carpels. I don't have any strenght in my left hand and it is painful to use after a few minutes and sets stiff in the morning for a while. My fingers are normal, just a bit puffier than they used to be. I haven't been able to wear my wedding ring for about a year. My thumbs are both bad at the base. My favourite tools are the electric can opener and the new fangled cork remover that require no work on my part. Sometimes I even have trouble using my knife and fork. Big pots are a pain too.
My blood work is negative but the MRI showed definite erosion in all 8 of the carpels. Negative blood work saw me go through about 8 doctors before ONE even mentioned that I could be sero-negative. No one else even thought that was an option. If they had I might still have my knees
Just kidding! My hand story is true though; they slowly improved with MTX and now Humira...pretty much pain free for the last 2 years. When I have flares now they usually involve my lower back or legs...but not too severe.
Alan
Oh, I want some of that fairy dust.
i want normal hands!! i wish i could ball a fist and punch something or someone sometimes..
I have tears in my eyes as I write this. I play the flute and piano at church every Sunday. It is my saving grace that keeps me sane and happy. I am so worried that I will have to stop someday and it breaks my heart. I play thru the pain right now. I just love it too much.
I am so sorry you can no longer play. My heart goes out to you!
Laura