Newly diagnosed

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KarenG10
KarenG10 Member Posts: 2
edited 28. Nov 2023, 14:07 in Living with arthritis

Just joined the community today. I had been experiencing pain and limited movement in the base of my thumb for three months, and when I couldn't ignore it any longer, my GP ordered an xray which showed osteoarthritis. I'm 62 and female. Although when I was working I used to type for many hours of the day, and we used to joke that we'd all develop arthritis of our hands/ fingers. I am having a steroid injection in the thumb early March. I am very impressed at how quickly this has been offered. I have developed the same symptoms in my other thumb, and also suffering pain and stiffness in both knees. Is it common for several joints to be affected within such a short time frame?

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  • YvonneH
    YvonneH Member Posts: 1,076
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    Hi @KarenG10

    Welcome to the Online Community, this really is a place where the more members we have the better the place is.

    You have osteoarthritis confirmed in your thumb which is going to have a steroid injection and now you have other joints joining in the fun! We have a large group here who have OA, and there seem to be 2 kinds of developments or symptoms maybe. One group have osteoarthritis arthritis and can trace it back to a fall or injury in the past, it affects the one joint. A second group find they have it many joints, myself included - I call it widespread OA. This isn’t connected to repeated use or injury. I’ve no idea why this would be, but our research team at Versus Arthritis are doing a lot of research on symptoms at the moment and I'm hoping it will be finding some answers. You can check it out over on our website https://www.versusarthritis.org/research/

    Here is the section on OA

    https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-of-the-hand-and-wrist/

    steroid injections can be great, you will find members reporting excellent results for months and others who have had no benefit. If you first one isn’t successful don’t let that put you off. I have had mixed results but I would still go for an injection if the pain required it.

    Do have a good look around the community and please join in, whether to offer support to a struggling member or to join in the levity discussion

    Looking forward to your next post

    Yvonne x

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