Arthritis Questions

[Eve]

In inflammatory arthritis I know the MCP and PIP joints (knuckles and half way up fingers, can never remember which is which!) can swell up as it often the case with me.

Can the ones right at the top of your fingers below you nails be affected as well? The tops of my fingers have been going really red/purply on and off so thought I'd just have a check to make sure I'm not avoiding anything like circulation related. I found some stuff about Raynauds and my fingers do change colour but they tend to feel hot more than cold, especially in this weather, and I get times when they feel like they are burning (when the rest of me is fine) in warm water (like in the shower), my feet too sometimes - I figured maybe the inflammation making them more sensitive?

Hands are very hurty at the moment and am finding my fingers are more naturally starting to curve round a bit and it takes effort to straighten them out which I'm hoping is not a bad sign.

[Eve]

Managed to get a couple of pics, not great as on my phone and you can't see the colour change very well but hopefully gives an idea.

http://tinypic.com/r/dw5mrd/6

http://tinypic.com/r/wttz0z/6

[shaneystar2]

I don't know about discolouration below the nails Jenna .My hands swell up in the heat and also in the damp ! All the nodes that have grown on the finger joints start twinging too and they go shiny .I can't straighten my little fingers either.Permanently bent now and the arthritis had affected the way my nails grow .They tend to curve over if I let them get too long .
Short answer ..don't know really ..but do sympathise .

[Eve]

Snap re heat and cold, this humidity is horrible, especially on the buses which are like saunas in this weather. I find water can sometimes make it worse bizarrely! Like when they burn in warm water or when cold and raining.

I can straighten my fingers but it feels like they are stretched and naturally spring back to a curved shape, almost like an elastic like thing and mainly the three middle fingers of each hand and feel stiff bending them in the middle.

I have a freaky little finger nail, I accidently chopped the top off the finger when I was little (door hinge incident!) then it got a tumor on the top which I had an operation to remove. It is still shorter than the other one and the nail is rock hard, grows ridiculously fast (so much faster than the others) and curves over, it is almost like replicating the bit it's missing as so strong...very weird! Better than a stump though :)

My knees are really twingy as well at the moment, have to remember to turn properly with my body so as not to twinge them! Keep doing it on the bus in the morning without thinking stretching over to open the bus window (fresh air freak!). I need to associate with my knees going arghhhhh!

[shaneystar2]

Well I think we're going to get some rain after a really stifling day here and we live on the coast ! .My left knee is playing the piano to me :)
Sorry I have no practical advice to give you .These arthritics are no joy ride .
I saw a post here a while ago exhorting the properties of cider vinegar .I spent mega money on a bottle of it and have been slugging it every day now for about three months and it's done zilch :(

[lcg]

hi jenna - yes these do swell as any other hand joint. mine are giving me particular jip at the moment - along with everything else that usually hurts. humid weather plays havoc with arthritis....i just thank god i'm seeing my rheumatism doc on friday. it feels like i am being poked with a cattle prod and moving through mud. not fun, so i sympathise x

[Giggsie]

I was told to mix cider vinegar & honey tried it for a couple of months and like shaneystar none better.

[Eve]

Thanks all, sorry for the delayed reply, been having vision problems as per latest post (arghhh!). I'll give the cider vinegar a miss then :)

I see rhumo a week Monday so hopefully some help then. They took me off Plaquenil as I was having vision problems but had them again anyway so looks like they weren't to blame afterall...argh!

So humid at the moment, really doesn't help with the swelling. Spent 4 hours in the hospital earlier but at least nice and cool in there, was a sticky mess by the time I got home though.