[tkrik]

I have slowly watched my joint and surrounding tissue swell. The diameter is now bigger than a golf ball and the raised area looks like I have a golf ball under my skin. You can't see it well in this pic and you can't see the redness but . . .Is this similar to what you are experiencing? Of note, the outside of my left knee is swollen and the balls of both feet are swollen.

[Erika]

Ouch! That looks so sore.

My finger joints aren't that swollen. Mine is more of a universal swelling in the hands and joints at times, like after they have been still for a bit (after sleeping or after reading etc). The finger tips and now the left thumb joints areas are always a bit swollen though.
It hurts (sharp pain) to bend the joints of the hands & wrists when they are like that, but after a few flexes, the swelling and stiffness go down some.

Sometimes there is no swelling at all but the stiffness and pain is still there along with redness. I also have the index, 3rd and 4th fingers do a trigger thing at times. Nothing I've tried so far reduces the pain except Ibuprofen.

The redness is sometimes like what you get after handling beets in the kitchen; worse on the palm side and in the thumbs, as well as on the finger tips, under and around the finger nails. Then sometimes it is barely noticeable.
Since having a reaction to Lyrica, the swelling, redness and pain have been more pronounced, more often. It has been affecting the wrists as well for the last few weeks.

I'm thinking that it may be a rheumatic type of thing too because it feels like the tendons are affected as well as the joints themselves.

With love, ERika

[SallyC]

I tried to move your hand to see your face, but it wouldn't move.

I am so sorry for your pain, Trish. What does your Doc do to
relieve that swelling? That is nasty!!!

[tkrik]

My face is not in there as it was late at night, I was so tired as I didn't nap and was in my pjs and in bed. So, just for you Sally, just this once . . .This is me and my girls taken about a month or so ago. It doesn't look like it but I was pretty sick at the time (fever, vomiting all night, etc.) and ended up in the hospital two days later (diverticulitis that didn't respond to oral abx). So, now you don't have to pull my hand down to see my face. haha



As for the swelling, this is the reason they think I have lupus. Long story short, I haven't seen the test results and the dr won't give them to me despite me asking her at my last rheumy visit. She said, "I told you at your last appt., you have lupus and sjogrens." OK. It's not RA as my RF have been negative right along and my PCP had just done the test prior to me going to the rheumatologist. The rheumy said I don't have RA. So who knows.

I've been dealing with this for a few years but it has gotten so much worse and is happening more frequently. It used to only happen once every six months give or take. Every since February, it's been happening quite a bit and it's almost all joints/tendons that do this. My last PCP saw it and ran tests. He said it was tenosynovitis. It was the only time, that I know of, that a lupus test came back positive (antiDS DNA or something like that). Upon further testing, the lab said it wasn't lupus. It flares up and then disappears so I'm pretty sure its autoimmune related.

[ANNagain]

Trish- in the pic that is "just for you, Sally," which one is you? Yes, I am serious. I can't tell.

Best to you,
A.

[tkrik]

Ann - You are so kind! You just made my day!!! I'm the one on the far right. The one in the middle is DD22 and the one on the left is DD23.

[ANNagain]

I am amazed, Trish.

Have a good Thanksgiving.
ANN

[SallyC]

Originally Posted by ANNagain

I am amazed, Trish.

Have a good Thanksgiving.
ANN

Me too. After you told which was you, I had to go back and look again.
You look like triplets.. Beautiful triplets, at that!!!

[tkrik]

You guys are funny! I honestly think its a combination of positioning, lighting, and the angle of the camera (phone camera) of whoever took the picture (DD22 or DD23). We were all laying on DD22's bed so gravity pulled my sagging skin and wrinkles to my ears so you can't see them. People have thought we were sisters before but as I get older and signs of aging are starting to show, it happens less often now. Now people think we are related but not sisters and not mother and daughters. They have a hard time believing the girls are my daughters.

[Erika]

Trish,
No amount of gravity and repositioning would straighten out my wrinkles.
You all look like sisters, rather than mom and daughters


Two days without Ibuprofen and my joints are painful and stiff as all get out...two fingers on my right hand wouldn't straighten under their own power when I awoke. Those and the rest were on fire again by 3:00 AM.

I've taken 2 doses of Ibuprofen in the last six hours and a whole body Epsom salt soak. The bath increased the swelling in my hands & wrists but the joints have been coming around since doing some self massage and hand exercises in the water.
I am hoping that my guts have had a long enough of a break and forgive me for the Ibuprofen; but I just couldn't do much of anything (including getting a hold of the door knob of my bedroom door to turn it after I woke up and got out of bed...nearly had an "accident"), without making the pain worse.

I was hoping to go into the office today to get some work done, but I'm just going to go and get the books so that I can do the month end from home over the weekend. I just can't see myself sitting in the office for hours on end, with these hands the way that they are. Better to do it in shorter stints at home where I can take some breaks.

This is a heavy month end to get done too, because there are added things that need attention this month.
The year end bonuses need to be calculated, written up & sent out (I do them in November instead of December so that contractors can use the extra cash for the Holidays).

Then the building rental and sub-let rentals to associates for 2014 all need to be re-negotiated, and of course being winter, there are arrangements for some building/property maintenance that need to get done before the really cold weather hits.
The furnace needs to be serviced and the ducts need to be cleaned and disinfected, exterior lighting flood lights require some bulb replacements, the eves troughs need to be removed for the winter and sanding of the parking lot during icy conditions, all need to be contracted out.
I might have to contract out the snow plowing too this year because I just don't know if I'll be able to do that much steering and gear changing if my hands keep on the way that they are. So I need to check on that too.
Last but not least, there are the regular monthly bills to be paid.

Hmmm...although this looks like it should have probably been posted under "Pass the cheese...", I'm not whining. Just trying to figure out how to deal with the joints and get some things done without making a mess of it all.

At least the list of what I need to get done is written down now; and in doing that, the joints in my hands have limbered up some more.
That's a start .

With love, Erika