My hand and other limbs are swollen and I have no idea what might be the cause.
I'm male, 29 y/o, 175cm and 72kg having a healthy lifestyle. For 1.5 years I’m living with symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. My left hand is permanently swollen (https://imgur.com/a/UwUkpT2). I feel stiffness in my wrists and mobility is very limited. Sometimes my other joints, such as fingers, ankles, and sometimes knees, are also swollen. I cannot recognize any pattern that causes that. It really seems very random. For sure physical activity affects the swelling. Almost after every longer walk or swim my wrists are fatigued and I need a few days of recovery. Also, even a low dosage of alcohol makes my left hand super-swollen, but in general, I’m using alcohol occasionally (once for 3 months statistically) so that can’t be the main cause. It is also worth mentioning that I did not have covid.
I’ve seen many doctors and done many examinations, but none of them indicates anything specific. USG shows that I have active inflammation in my joints and synovial membrane overgrowth. I did medical tests on Lime disease, Yersinia, and Salmonella, HLA-B27. All of them are negative. I also did a gastroscopy and colonoscopy but everything looks correct. Celiac and Crohn’s disease have been excluded. Also, I did allergic tests and all of the possible molecules were negative.
From various blood tests, the only positive are:
Immature Granulocyte - 0,1% (where max accepted range is 0,4%)
Leukocytes - 14,8/µl
Currently, I take medications such as Methotrexate, Methylprednisolone, and other Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory but I can see any significant results.
I really doubt I suffer from typical rheumatoid arthritis. I guess that it might be some kind of autoimmune disease, but at this point, nobody can clearly diagnose my illness. I will be extremely grateful for any suggestions. 🙏
First off,
, I am sorry you are experiencing these symptoms. It sounds like you have done all you can to get the proper testing and I am sorry you are still without a firm diagnosis. I know that must be very frustrating. As you mentioned, your elevated lab numbers indicate inflammation, but the cause of the inflammation is apparently stumping everyone, including your doctors.
How long have you been on the medications? Sometimes, it takes awhile for them to "kick in". You have literally ruled out every idea I would have come up with as to what could be causing the inflammation in your body. And, frankly, it sounds like you are doing a lot 'right' (exercise, healthy eating, moderate drinking, etc), so I (unfortunately) don't have any great suggestions, either.
I'm sorry. I truly wish I had some brilliant answer for you, but I don't.
Does *anything* help with your inflammation, even briefly?
Best, Erin, RheumatoidArthritis.net Team member.Thanks for support! Currently my swelling is moderate due to 25mg of methotrexate I take every week. I keep investigating and there is a possibility that I might start biological treatment.
have you been tested for gout? I have the same issues, exactly and found out it was gout
Hi
. Discussing different possibilities made me think of this article from our editorial team on various types of arthritis conditions (gout is included). https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/types-of-arthritis. Also, you mentioned the idea of trying a biologic, so I want to share this article on the various medications and drugs for RA: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/treatment/drugs-and-prescription-medications-for-ra. Note: many of these cross over to other autoimmune arthritic conditions. In addition, has anyone mentioned seronegative RA. Upwards of a third of cases do not show up with a rheumatoid factor test. This article goes into further detail: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/seronegative-diagnosis. Of course, only a doctor (preferably a rheumatologist) can provide the proper diagnostics. Hoping you get some answers and relief soon. Best, Richard (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team) Thank you for the links! So far few rheumatologist has suggested that it is seronegative because my RF and anti-CCP are low.
I hate to say it but I have been where you are. I have had my hands and feet so swollen that they look like someone inflated them. Did you know that hands and feet technically have joints all throughout? I didn’t know that either until I had arthritis in almost all of them. Hands alone have something like 30 joints in them, and they can all swell from RA. Heck, I didn’t even realize a collar bone was a joint until one year they became the bane of my existence. Sufficed to say that joints are all over the body and RA can attack them all and I’ve been there. You are not alone, and please let us know if there’s anything we can do to help. Keep on keepin’ on, DPM
I'm so sorry you have such swelling & it looks very painful. I suffer from severe RA & about 4 other "Itises" (AP, OP, AA) for over 20yrs (luckily my 1st attack put me in the hospital, so I was diagnosed right away. Most people have to wait years sometimes) I was recently at my Pain Management appointment fighting for my meds (as usual in Fla.) When I showed him a picture of my most recent Attack. Turns out I now have yet another auto immune disease. (CRPS) Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, so now my journey continues with Yet 1 more Dr. In the mix with a Nerve Dr. Who's talking about a Nerve block to Stop this from happening. So my advice is Never Stop trying to figure out where it's coming from Even if you get whatever it is under control & see a neurologist as he may be able to run different tests or notice something your Rheumatologist didn't catch ( hopefully not for 20 friggin years like mine) best of luck to you on your journey & praying for a diagnosis AND Cure . Living with stuff like this is exhausting, but just keep digging.
Hi
. There are a lot of things a neurologist may help with. Was there a specific injury that led to the CRPS? For anyone interested in more information this article from the Cleveland Clinic goes into more detail: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12085-complex-regional-pain-syndrome-crps. Hoping you get some relief soon. Best, Richard (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team) interesting. Might get a referral to a neurologist, anything that might help.
