helo do you think i might have RA? your advise would be appreciated.

Thanks and trust me I will next week. I'm a mechanic this pain in my hands is making my job terrible

I'd endorse everything Don says, as that has been my experience precisely.

Also understand that despite your blood results, 20% of RA sufferers are sero-negative, meaning the RA factor does not show up in the blood results.

In those cases it's up to the rheumatologist (rheumy) to make a clinical diagnosis. Your GP may not know this, but your rheumy certainly will, so get as early appointment with the specialist as soon as possible..

I also did not feel the dread fatigue that can come over RA sufferers in the first month or so, so that need not be an indicator at this stage.

All the best, Justin. It's a tricky, painful ride, but you can get it under control and live a normal life if you take quick action.... You may need to give up heavy lifting for a while though, so consider a change of job at some point.

Now why I'm even thinking maybe Ra since Monday swelling in hands has been long gone but they are stiff and hurt like hell and its pure joint pain a very sharp sometimes throbbing I get numbness and tingling and I hasn't seemed to get batter maybe even worse

I mentioned pain. Also this is my first flare up which I would think my joints are healthier. What's bad is getting them moving like this morning I had to soak in really hot water and slowly get them to unstiffen. There's plenty of pain it feels like when I've broken my hand but less painful like the throbbinging and shape pain u get when ur bone is snapped that sends you to your knees that pain isn't there but I dunno I just figured that was the best way to compare it too something. Its straight bone Pain. My though my hands like the center of them in back hurt too they hurt everywhere wrist hurt but not as bad. Also my ankles are swelling a little. Take long socks off and my it pushes the swelling up to legs makes it noticable for me but they do not hurt.

The previous injury thing I've never injured my left hand. Also this pain is in entire hands and wrist although the swelling is mainly gone every single bone is sore. Its something some form of arthritis or tendonitis something. I've over worked my hands before but its never been like this and for both hands to swell up. Also most edema says its soft and pushy if its from water when mine swelled the swelling was hard as a rock. They blew up over night then went down by the next evening at least 75 percent and i didn't ice them or anything they did it on there own and have just hurt like hell since.

I also have a high pain tolerance worked for 6 months with a torn back muscle completely in half. Worse pain in my life and the workers comp doctor would not give me pain meds. All because when it first happened. They gave me some 15 to be precise and scheduled my appointment 10 days later. Well when i came back early saying how much pain i was in and they had only gave me 7 days at most crap they say one every 4 to so hours u do the math. Well he treated me like a junkie trying to get pain meds. I've broke bones blew my knee out n my back was 100 times worse. I still pushed through. I've broke my right hand three times now I've works besides the first few days after it happened I've worked with them n it hurt like hell. I got realm good with my left hand.

I live paycheck to paycheck bills bills bills i cannot afford to miss more than a day or two of work here and there.

Mornings are the worst i cant even move them then soak in hot water and slowly move more and more. It hurts but o ce there movable the pain is alot less worse its getting them to that point but still just hurt.

I have no idea if its ra just find it odd it came out of no where n have alot of the symptoms of Ra and exp the ones people describe when they first have a flair up and descover they have Ra. The longer you go the more damage ur joints take and the more pain who knows hopefully its something else. Oh and the first day it flaired up I felt like crap spent most day in bed and in the mornings untill I get them moving good I feel sick. Dunno if that helps but I'm not so sick feeling I cant make it through my day.

Thanks for your advise

Hi Justin, you sure have been through alot. RA is sometimes hard to diagnose because of about 10 other diseases that mimic or are similar to RA. When i read all your information/symptoms, it didn't think of RA that just all of a sudden spreads thru multiple joints, starting with just one, without any physical reasons for them, as in your daily profession, and many past experiences with broken bones and extensive injury. What I think of when I read what you've shared is repetitive injury made upon injury or upon previous injury. This sounds to me like major tendenitis or inflammation, causing nerves and other vascular areas to become completely pinched off, blocking blood supply and causing serious pain and damage to tendons in your hands, wrists and thumbs. When we have broken bones, our body attempts to heal them by growing layers if bone in bone, and scar tissue, which put tremendous pain in the existing tendons and nerves. I think possibly your other hand that was noy broken may hurt because you are compensating, using your better hand, using extra wear and tear on thus hand as well without realizing it, causing tendonitis and damage to this hand and wrist as well. You are doing extensive hard labor on the joints in your body from previous and current injury. By using the bones/muscles in your body. Using your unhealed and previous broken conditions with highly strenous work and wear and tear, causes tremendous amts of inflamation which causes further damage (do you take a anti inflammatory such as Aleve? or a safer prescribed one meant for longer term? This is a critical must). My thoughts are that you have several things going on, very possibly osteoarthritis as well, caused by previous damage or bone breaks. The very strenuous kind of work is very disabling, not only in your hands, fingers and wrists, but extremely so in your spine, which can be extremely disabling and painful at a very young age. Your wrists and hands that you have also identified as having very large bumps and extremely painful stiff and swollen fingers, sounds to me like surgery to correct overgrowth of bone, or osteoarthritis, or pinching of tendins, nerves, etc. may be more what this is about. Each person is a little different, but cold water has helped so much more with pain for me with injuries and inflammation and then going to warm, alternating the two. Have you tried this? The pain in your ankles sounds like possibly strenuous long hours in your feet working on very hard surfaces, with or without excess weight on them. Please try not to do injury on injury, and go to your doctor. My guess us that this could be a orthopedic type of bone doctor, who may offer his recommendations for taking good care if yourself in relationship to what you've already gone thru, and are currently..as to prevent you from a very disabling condition (s).. I know its hard for a hard worker such as yourself to take it easy, but your quality of life and future life depends on this. Please take good care of you and let us know what the results of all if this are. Take the anti inflammatory on time regularly, try not to do damage on top of damage, and try cool water as opposed to just warm. Be good to your poor bones and body, and let us know.