Painful swollen fingers.

I have arthritis in my hands with nodules and swollen joints. I think I am changing from a wrinkly to a crumbly. I have been taking a high dose Glucosamine for years now, and my hands are relatively pain-free even if they are not flexible. I don't like the idea of taking anti-inflams for any lenght of time. DBH started taking it when his shoulder was troublesome and diagnosed as 'wear and tear - can't mend it, sorry', but after three months, he is back to normal again.

Ooooh... that's a bit worrying then. Am I right in thinking RA is more serious than OA?

Henetha what you describe with nodules appearing and disappearing sounds more like RA than OA, which can come and go , OA nodules are typically bony and hard and don't come and go like the RA nodules...

I can only use ibuprofen sparsely, so have to save it for long tiring days as a treat!

Yes, the only way to keep going is to limit how long you spend doing any one chore that requires repetitive movements. Choir can be awful, with having to hold heavy music folders with one hand that need balancing with the thumb. I can knit for a couple of hours, but am using Tunisian crochet for a cushion cover and my left thumb has started to suffer, where I pull the stitches off. Weeding has to be limited to an hour, heavy digging to half an hour. Overhead pruning with loppers, an hour. I can only saw for ten minutes. I had to give up vacuuming and get a robotic cleaner. You become very aware of what your body can manage - sleeping in one position for too long becomes impossible. I thought it was odd when MiL gave me her cutlery - but now I am starting to find it uncomfortable to hold.

The thing that puzzles me about these nodules is that after driving me mad for weeks, they often suddenly disappear. I've got a recurring one on my left thumb that is particularly painful, but at the moment it's completely gone.
Like others above, I can't use anything with ibuprofen or aspirin in it.

Feldene Gel is good for relieving pain - but it is only available on prescription. My doctor prescribed it as I find brufen etc gives me stomach problems.

Nelliemoser and Petallus - I was referred to an occupational therapist by the rheumatologist who confirmed that it was OA that I had rather than RA. The therapist told me to ensure that I wore gloves at all times when I was outside during the autumn, winter and spring and it really does help. If I go out without the gloves that makes my hands ache even more. If I am peeling potatoes or veggies under a slowly running tap I also ensure that the water is slightly warm or again the pains start.

The base of my thumbs have bony nodules and can get very painful. At times holding papers can be difficult and pushing the button on my car boot causes difficulty. I have also had to bend the joint back to shape.

What does seem to help me is knitting regularly and it is when I stop this regular activity they play up.
They get more painful in winter and I am sure it also depends on changes in air pressure. I think there is a little more than ancedotal evidence about this.
www.arthritistoday.org/tools-and-resources/tools/weather/

I have used this product with some sucess.
www.flexiseq.com/row/
You can buy it in Arthritis UK shop or from a chemist it seems to act by lubricating an arthritic joint. It is not actually regarded as a pharmaceutical.

I have an allergy to aspirin and should also not use ibruprofen type products. So there are not a lot of alternatives for me.

I haven't got any nodules but then I've only had the problem for a couple of weeks.

Fingers are more painful in the mornings, easing up in the afternoon.

I'd never have guessed so many GNetters have this kind of problem which they are bravely coping with.

I suppose I'd better man-up!

I have arthritis in some fingers and toes too, as others have said, painful at the start, then just stiff. The biggest is a huge nodule at the base of my left thumb, next to the wrist, but no pain. Also corns develop on the toe bumps.
It doesn't really prevent me from doing anything, except playing the piano, but the main problem there is right shoulder (due to a fall a few years ago.)
I once tried to count up how many minor physical problems I have but gave up when I got to 10!

In recent years my treat to myself is a regular gel nails manicure. It really improves the look. Nails no longer break, and mine lasts about 4 weeks for £18.
Sorry, didn't mean to seem to take this off track and into beauty.
But it helps the appearance of hands twisted with arthritis and rheumatism.
It's enough that we already suffer the unending ache of OA.

I also find weeding difficult and have taken to breaking chores into segments and alternating with regard to the muscles/joints being used.

I do hate the way my index fingers curve inwards. I'm starting to get twinges at the base of my thumbs. I have to be careful how much weeding I do with a trowel, too.

My hands were my only vanity Coolgran; what makes it worse is that we only see the rest of your body in mirrors but we can't not see our hands. Even my nails no longer grow long but snap off . My little fingers are quite bent.

I have always been fat curvy but was blessed with nice slim wrists and hands with long fingers and good nails. I was proud of them. Now the knuckles are all getting nodes, the forefingers and little fingers being the worst. My wedding rings are tight...that finger isn't too bad. Right hand is pretty knobbly.
Ibuprofen and gel helps.
Plus of course the blue veins don't help the look.

DS said......wow !!! Your hands look really old. I was 50 at the time.

I have had pain in my fingers and difficulty straightening them for the last couple of years - then I made the connection - that is the length of time I have been using crutches. If you have had a hip replacement, your fingers may simply be objecting to this unusual position and activity.

With my hands - it's apparently gout...

It was surprising how many wanted to join it. It was also surprising how many of them were beginners - so I don't get much knitting done there as I spend all my time teaching and unpicking!

Thanks for comments.

I am hoping I have not got progressive rheumatoid arthritis (shouldn't have consulted Dr Google). Anyway, it's heartening to hear how others cope with this kind of thing.

janerowena I like the idea of a knitting club. I have always done a lot of knitting - but not at the moment!

A friend of mine found that the fingers in the hand that she used to rub arthritis cream onto her knee became much straighter and bent easily for the first time in years, so it could be worth using something topical.

Horrible things those nodules it makes your fingers very unsightly..but I do agree after the initial swelling and pain they do settle down to a tolerable throb.. except my thumbs , they have never settled down and the pain when the decide to play up is excrutiating.. I wrap them in something warm when they are bad. I also have them starting on my toes...

Nodules = Hebenden's nodes.

Yes, I got that when I was forty, one joint at a time. As each new joint gets arthritic it is very painful, especially in cold weather. However, it does stop after a few years. It's the joints with the most wear and tear that are the worst affected - I had to stop knitting for years. Four or five? I am left with strange-looking nodules on the joints. I started to wear fingerless gloves at night, and applied ibuprofen gel to affected joints to get me through. During the day I took ibuprofen tablets, moving on to stronger medication as it started to affect other joints in my body. It's a very sharp pain in the fingers, as I said, it has stopped now. I have started to knit and sew again very recently but wouldn't dream of spending more than an hour or so a day on it in case it sets it off again.

Now that we have started up a knitting club and all of us are 50 or over, it has been very interesting to see how many of us are in pain at the end of the two hour session. I am not, but all the beginners are. So now I make them stop every 20 minutes and flex their fingers.

I have OA in my hands, shoulders and feet and certainly at times suffer from the cramping in my hands (and feet) that you describe. Do you have nodules on the joints of any of your fingers - a sure fire sign of OA.

It is such a pain - at present it feels as if acid has been poured into one particular joint and it is constantly burning with pain.

I exercise my hands every day even when they are painful to keep them as mobile as possible. The websites for Arthritis Care and Arthritis UK both have good exercises to help with pain relief and mobility.

I hope that this helps a little.