Osteoarthritis in fingers, not yet confirmed, pain really is getting me down.
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hi everyone, I'm new on here. About one month ago, started getting pain in fingers, both hands. Went to doc she looked at my hands said it's o/a, I have those Herberden's Nodes on several fingers, a few are quite large. But had them for years and they weren't painful. Anyway now in pain every day, and night, it is an unrelenting pain, that throbs and throbs at times. I am nearly 57 years old. It's driving me crazy, everything hurts these fingers - driving, using this tablet, gripping things, cooking, etc. I'm afraid I'm going to end up useless. I had an x-ray done, getting result in few days. I'm just not so convinced this is o/a pain, another doc said it could be gout pain. Maybe I'm in denial? I'm taking Mobic 7.5mg which helps a bit. Does this sound like osteoarthritis pain??
1 like, 4 replies
heather17911 santina90499
Posted
Hi
I am so sorry to hear of your pain.
I am 60 now, and pain started in my hands and thumbs a few months ago. An xray did confirm o/a, and I was given anti-inflammatory painkillers to help with the initial unbearable pain. Depending on what your final diagnosis is, I can offer a glimmer of hope in that quite often, as has happened with me, the pain will subside and the condition go into a remission phase. This phase can last for considerable periods of time, enabling you to get on with your life as normal, and better equipped for any flare-ups with medication.
Please don't become depressed about o/a taking over your life. It is true there is so far no cure as such, but with your doctor's help and a positive outlook, you can live with the condition successfully. I have also found that supportive gloves can give a great deal of relief, and they come in different formats such as with the fingertips free to make them easier to wear for everyday tasks.
Good luck with dealing with your pain, and I wish you all the best for the future.
santina90499 heather17911
Posted
Thank you very much for your reply, you've given me some hope 😊. It's really good to hear that it can go into remission, I've been thinking about those supportive gloves, I will give them a try. I hope you stay in remission, take care 😊
Anhaga santina90499
Posted
I know you feel you need the painkiller, but you should also be aware that nsaids interfere with cartilage regeneration, so try not to take them for too long, or too frequently.
Try to keep the hands warm and maintain the range of motion in your knuckles. I've never had all my knuckles hurt at one time, they thoughtfully take turns! But when an individual knuckle flares up it can be pretty painful. I can only imagine how nasty it is to have the whole hand flaring at one time.
There's a yoga (?) exercise, I think it's called the Flower, where you open and close the hands fairly quickly, but resisting the motion, do several times in succession. This helps to keep the muscles strong. Another thing you can try is to massage each finger joint with the forefinger and thumb of the opposite hand. Use a rotating motion, about three times in each direction, applying gently pressure. I think this helps to release the synovial fluid and relieves pain.
riley90188 santina90499
Posted
This was beginning to happen to me, now going to a Rheumatologist, she has ordered another round of lab tests in couple of weeks. Was talking to a couple of friends; subject of Statin drugs came up. I was taking one, yuk. Stopped and couple weeks later, still with OA pain but not like what was happening -
check if you really need that statin Drug, if you happen to be on one. I'm still going to follow-up with my PCP and Rheumatologist & try to hopefully get additional questions answered. My Blessings go out to you as I understand that awful pain and feeling. We are all different, but be aware to try to be your own Advocate; sometimes doctors think they mean to "Do No Harm" but their opinions sometimes get clouded by many various things, just don't give up; there is an answer somewhere; hopefully very near.