Sudden Onset Of Joint Swelling And Pain

[MightyMouse]

Hi all,

Three days ago, the middle joint of my middle finger on my dominant hand became swollen and warm--and began to hurt quite a bit to move it. Now I have 2 other joints on the same hand but different fingers that have joined in the swelling and pain. Heat doesn't seem to help, nor does ice. Took some naproxen (oy, my tummy is really in for it--took some last week too for my neck/back) which helped a little bit. The skin around the three joints is taught from the swelling.

Trying to figure out what the heck is going on; I will head to my doctor asap, but wondering if this is arthritis? Never had this happen before except to my knees, and for those, it was always from overuse when I was still running regularly. Anyone get this as an autonomic problem rather than autoimmune?

Nina

[Rachel]

Nina,

Ouch! (for your joints and your poor tummy!). That is strange. I hope your doctor is able to help you.

I had strange joint swelling and pain (middle knuckle, both thumbs, and other various joints) about two months ago, but we never did figure out what was going on. The autoimmune tests didn't show anything other than a positive ANA. Could it have been autonomic in cause? I don't know. Everything else I have seems to be autonomic, though.

I don't have any great words of wisdom. Hopefully your doctor will! Let us know what you learn.

Rachel

[Maxine]

My aunt gets this----she has gout.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gout

Hope you Doc has an answer for you.

[MightyMouse]

no one in my family has ever had gout--and i've never had any problems with my uric acid being high according to any blood work I've had. Hmmm.

nina

[ajw4790]

Hi!

I have never been told any of these type symptoms were autonomic related. I guess they could be, but more likely it is something else. Did you have any changes in meds or activity? Or eat a lot more salt or something? With it being warm to touch and responding to NSAIDS it sounds more like arthritis. Heat can make swelling worse, so if you choose one choose ice.

It would definitly be worth checking in with the dr. I hope that they can help you find out what is going on. I have a lot of hand pain and stiffness that I wish they could figure out. You need your hands to do pretty much everything, so it really stinks when they are not cooperating!

Good Luck!

[mkoven]

Hi Nina,

Definitely get it checked out. Francomano published something saying some edsers also get Rheumatoid arthritis more frequently than chance would predict.

The gout theory is interesting, though I think unusual for young women. When I was on super-high doses of nsaids after back surgery, my big toe swelled, turned red and was very painful. Never confirmed. It subsided and never happened again. My dad has gout and is on meds to prevent it.

[morgan617]

I was going to mention gout too, but it usually hits the toe or elbows. It sounds like some kind of inflammatory response to something.

I've had this happen a few times, but it has always just resolved itself. I have no idea what it is. The pain tends to stay after the swelling goes down though...unfortunately. Hope it gets better soon! morgan

[pat57]

I'm pretty sure RA is symmetrical and would have effected both hands.

I looked at the gout site and it seems to explain an occurance I had- months ago re my big toe.

thanks Maxine.

good luck Nina, hope is disappears!

[jhjd]

Do you have any cuts on your hands? I ask because a couple of weeks ago (as I posted), I was diagnosed with cellulitis in my foot, and the first thing that happened beyond just me getting cut was that the joint on my right big toe became swollen, red, painful, and warm- it was so swollen that I couldn't even move it! While the cut itself (on the tip of my toe) was clearly icky, the cellulitis, which moved into my foot, was way worse- partially because I didn't go to the doctor soon enough because I thought I'd just sprained/broken my toe. By that time, I was having fevers, chills, nausea, plummeting blood pressures and escalating heart rates, etc. After toe surgery/debridement, two weeks on two different antibiotics plus an antibiotic shot, it's finally getting better.

The moral of my story is this: go to the doctor now! And good luck!

[Guest tearose]

This is similar to what happened to me!

Just yesterday, after being out in the heat, I returned home (to A/C) and a short time later out of nowhere my right index finger feels like something burst inside!!!

I was in soo much pain that I called for my husband to help. We saw my finger turn blue and I couldn't move it without tears running down my face. It felt like I had spontaneously broke it! It became swollen. I found holding it and taping it to keep it from moving relieved a bit of pain.

I noticed that my hands had this funky type of mottling going on...white parts, red and blue splotches...Today is a little better.

My hands are still turning colors and I feel weird.

I went to my PCP today and he is running tests. He did say things like "possible a virus, my system responding to a oncoming infection and Raynauds...I will get the blood test results by Wed or Thurs and will share what is reported.

Hope you do go to the doctor Nina.

Feel better,

tearose

[mom4cem]

Nina, just checking in to see how you are feeling now?

I've never had that but I've had what Tearose said. I've all of a sudden had bad pain in my finger, I thought my blood vessel or vein swelled. I get it every once in a while. I can't even touch the finger or fingers and it varies which one gets it), can't bend it or anything until it subsides. It turns purple too. Once or twice I by accident I hit my finger on the palm side of my hand where you can see the vein (well at least on me I can) and it stung and swelled and hurt like the dickens for days.

Hope it's better.

[doctorguest]

Hope you're doing better, Nina. One other thought is that often people who have mild trauma, especially to the dominant hand, may not remember having it. Traumatic arthritis/synovitis can be a possibility if you, for example, twisted or stretched your fingers as in opening a can or a bottle.

[MightyMouse]

DG--your thought is probably what the issue actually is-- I frequently hurt my hands/fingers trying to open bottles and jars b/c my joints are so mobile in my fingers.

Nina

[Guest tearose]

Hope you are feeling some relief by now Nina.

I re-read your posts and realize your main problem is in the joint...

Does your EDS flare? Could you be more prone to this in certain weather or like you think..certain motion?

My pcp phoned me this evening and said I have the beginnings of an infection and I have Raynauds Phenomenon/ Syndrome.

Fortunately the blood doesn't show the inflammation that means more serious problems.

take care,

tearose

[MightyMouse]

hey all,

I'm finally getting into see my gp tomorrow am. I'm not sure what's going on b/c one of my other fingers is now involved, and this one looked like I'd burned it...and a third on the same hand has started to itch inside the joint. The one that was affected first is still swollen and painful to bend. I'm not sure if it's Raynauds or what, but whatever's going on is painful.

Nina

[Sophia3]

Hope you get some answers to this sudden onset of finger pain Nina.

I have had invisible burning pain in knuckles for years that is 'negative' for most all arthritis ane exrays....but keeps me from using hands a lot and playing musical instruments.

it would but curious if you have gout or something. Keep us posted and hope you find relief soon

[Rachel]

I hope your appointment goes well today, Nina. Let us know what you find out.

Rachel

[MightyMouse]

The appointment went pretty well; I have lots of blood work to get done, and they gave me a set of hand x-rays today which were normal. I also have an Rx to try out, called Mobic? Never tried it before; also the doc said she's not aware of anything I could take via compounding pharmacy.

Nina

[flop]

Hi Nina,

Mobic is a brand name of Meloxicam which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). I hope your stomach is ok with it, make sure you take it with a meal and keep up with your PPI (is it omeprazole you take? - I forget).

Usually raynaud's phenomenon affects the finger starting from the distal tip and working its way towards the hand, it wouldn't usually just affect the the joints. Have you had any sort of cold / viral illness recently? You can get something called a reactive arthritis in response to a viral infection.

I hope it settles down quickly,

Flop

[MightyMouse]

Would be hard to say if i had a virus or not--Teri and I have not been feeling all that well, but we both think it's probably because it's such a bad allergy season here--perfect growing season for ragweed. The swelling actually started in the middle joint, not the topmost or knuckle, and then spread from there. The ring finger started with the top and middle, and now the middle one on my index finger has been itchy and swollen. There are arthritic disorders in my family with my mom having arthritis in her hands and neck since her 20's, and her aunt died from scleroderma. I don't think I have scleroderma, and despite frequent elevated ANA, i've never had a positive test for any specific markers for lupus, etc. My doctor wants me to see a rheumatologist in addition to all the blood work check for rheum disorders and lyme...

also, she's rechecking my cholesterol (was over 300 last time with high ldl and low hdl--which is backwards of how i used to be) and liver functions.

We decided I'd try to take the Mobic at least once or twice and see how it helps with the joint pain, and if it bothers my guts. Yep, I'm on my proton pump inhibitor, Nexium, twice a day. We'll see how it goes--my tummy hasn't been happy since trying Crestor for cholesterol, but I'm on a break from that medication right now, so we'll see what happens.

thanks to all of you for checking on me. Nina

[Mrs. Burschman]

Trying new medicines! Fun, fun! (I'm being very sarcastic here.)

Hope your finger feels better soon. I got an infection in one once (not sure why) that made it feel a bit like you describe.

amy

[Maxine]

Nina,

Crestor constipated me. I didn't that could be a side affect of a statin drug. I was disappointed because the drug did not give me any other side affects other then some mild weight loss-------(and I can't complain about that-- )

I was on a really low dose----(too lazy and sick today to get up and look right now). Anyway my total cholesterol is 185. My triclycerides went down to almost normal----dropped another 50 points-- to 166 , my LDL stayed about the same @ 126, and my HDL was only 22-- The doc wasn't terrible concerned, and said try to go back on the crestor. His NP said you can get slow guts from it, so it was true. I just didn't relate a statin drug as a drug that would constipate.

EDS can cause joint swelling, have you checked that out? I still think you need further follow up for the EDS, as your joints/ligaments/connective tissue don't sound normal atall. Remember the collapsed doner disk, and how it didn't hold up.

Take Care,

Maxine :0)