Should I get tested or let it wait....
I am 54 female. I have an arthritis bump on my r thumb, no symptoms. I think it came after I got my first smart phone so I attribute it to over use. it's 2 years later and my left thumb has been swollen and sore for 2 weeks. It started when I pressed on the cabinet handle to open it and felt a twinge. I went to the hand ortho dr yesterday and he said there are calcifications starting in the joint (top joint of thumb, the one that bends 90 degrees). He wasn't concerned, said ts arthritis starting and said to come back if it's not better in 2 weeks....
This week on Monday ( about 12 days after my thunb started) I noticed my lower teeth hurting in a strange electric way. Little jabs that would come and go. Wednesday afternoon I was feeling my face to see if it was sinuses (I haven't had a cold all winter!) I felt a bump in front of my ear about level with the earlobe. I played with it to see what made it hurt or move etc...At bedtime I noticed swelling in the area and it was hurting more...This morning it was more swollen along my jaw and back under the ear some. I went to the dentist and she said my teeth seem fine and she thinks it's my TMJ. She thinks its muscular and said to take ibuprofen 6-800 mg for a few days and see how it does. Here's the thing....I didn't eat anything hard, didn't bump it, nothing. Never had a problem.
I feel like its what happened to my thumb...it just got swollen for no real reason (though I had felt twinge in thumb before it swelled). It seems so coincidental that I am afraid I am starting RA....I don't know what to do.....See my family dr? Or skip him (because of the germ filled office) and go to an RA dr? Or wait a few days and see if the swelling goes down.
I feel fine otherwise. I go to zumba 5-6 times a week. I don't feel fatigued or anything. Just these 2 swollen joints inside of 2 weeks.
LoveMags,
Thanks for writing to us on our site and we are sorry to hear about the pain and swelling you are experiencing. While it is frustrating to not know what is going on, we encourage you to go see your Primary Care Dr. and get a more difinitive diagnosis. While it may be a simple diagnosis or someting more complex.
Here is an article that may be helpful: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/are-there-different-types/
Please check back with us and let us know how you make out.
Best,
Lauren (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team)I suggest that you get tested for r/a. I have a thumb on my right hand that had become swollen. The reason I have a standard gear shift knob in my car it has a knob that I push in to get it from park to drive. after seeing a r/a doctor for the first time and have taken x rays it has some bone erosion in that thumb. So the sooner you are tested and put on medication to prevent other bone erosions the better. I feel lucky only have my thumb and my pinky on my right hand to have erosions whereas other people aren't so lucky and have all kinds of deformity on their hands feet arms etc.
