Is it rheumatoid

Forgotten

Hi. New to group. I suddenly woke up one morning a few weeks ago with my fingers bent. This has continued. My ring finger left hand is almost unusable until I massage and stretch my hands. My GP has run blood tests which showed one marker “slightly high” but this was in line with my blood platelets being a bit higher ( I had COVID a week before test). My X-rays show OA in all small hand joints and no inflammation in fluid in between. My GP says he’s a certain as can be that it’s not RA. Should I push more and ask for an ultrasound or referral to consultant?

Poppyjane

Hello @Forgotten welcome to the online community

You say that you have been experiencing bent fingers especially your ring finger. Inflammation in your finger joints is sometimes a symptom of Rheumatoid Arthritis and your GP has run tests to check this but he is not certain that it is RA. Certainly some blood tests do not show the presence of RA which can be confusing when symptoms indicate that it is likely. The fact that you have had Covid may be influencing the blood results so a referral to a consultant sounds a sensible option.

Meanwhile I attach some links which I hope you will find helpful to relieve the pain and mobility of your fingers.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/exercises-for-healthy-joints/exercises-for-the-fingers-hands-and-wrists/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/

We are a friendly group who offer support and advice to each other and share our experiences of living with arthritis so I hope you will join in with our discussions. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Take care

Poppyjane