Is RA always symmetrical?

[MoGo]

Hi, I've heard that RA is generally symmetrical. is that the case? What have others found?

[ITYFIALMCTT]

PsA in my case - rapid onset and symmetrical in my hands and feet.

[MoGo in reply to ITYFIALMCTT]

Thanks for replying. How long did you have the symptoms before you were diagnosed? And how are u going now?

[Amkoffee in reply to ITYFIALMCTT]

I have it in my hands and feet too and God I hate it. I can't hardly open up anything anymore and I drop stuff. and then I laid down and my feet just start aching.

[helixhelix]

I'm not always symmetrical...everything usually starts one side and sometimes the other hand/foot/shoulder/knee will join in but often not.

[farm123]

Mine started in just my left knee and it was years later that other joints joined the party. Farm

[Nettac]

PsA myself. Started both knees, then both achilles, then both shoulders, both hips. Toes also.

Grim.

[Matilda_1922]

Mine started in both wrists

[Neverending63]

Mine isn’t symmetrical and in fact can be very random.

[Yvettebloo]

Mines mainly left foot right hand. Left hand swells when in a flare and goes back to normal after

[wishbone]

Mine's pretty much entirely symetrical...started in both feet followed by knees, (which is when I saw my GP) hands, wrists, ankles, elbows, shoulders and finally hips. That's near enough the order of how things progressed anyway. Elbows and hips are the least troublesome of the lot.

[Downtime]

Mines pretty symmetrical . Started in hands, neck, knees, shoulders and elbows. Then both hips due to trochanteric bursa . The hips are much better now after steroid injections and now it seems to be mainly in both hands and both knees.

[MrsC0we]

As far as I can tell, I only have RA in the wrist joint and two knuckles of my right hand, so I'm not symmetrical.

[helenlw7]

Mine is symmetrical in as much as I have joint damage or pain in both sides, but it is much worse in my left ankle, shoulder and hand for some reason.

[Candy]

Hi, Mine is at times, at other times not. Candy

[Soreknees2016]

I have PsA and it usually starts on a joint on one side then a different joint on the other side joins in, eg starts in right knee and then in left ankle. Having said that, I’m sure there were occasions in the early days pre-diagnosis when both ankles were affected at the same time, and a doctor I was seeing as part of a diabetes drug trial suggested it might be Palindromic Rheumatism. 🤔

[Ruth12345]

Hi.

Mines is mainly symmetrical but worse on right side at times. Rt elbow much worse than rest of body. My rhumy said that symmetry is a main indicator as well as lots of other things.

[Bookworm55]

For me it was the fact that my right knee swelled up just as the left one improved a bit that first made me wonder if there was something more than a sprained knee going on. Unfortunately there was.

[AgedCrone]

Not in my case..I've got full blown sero+ RA, & before I was in remission on RTX , I could get pain anywhere anytime! Not symmetrical at all...just where it decided to pop up!

[dbestdeb]

Mine started that way, but now it isn’t always symmetrical. My doctor thinks I may have psoriatic arthritis instead of RA and it isn’t always symmetrical. My left side is way worse but I also have scoliosis and that could be an aggravating factor.

[Joy_1]

I am never symmetrical other than when I am flaring.

When I get pain it tends to be in right hand, right foot and left knee.

[Amy_Lee]

I started at 2 knees, both fingers, feet, elbows then shoulders. Basically I was symmetrical at the early stage. Once my body was no longer swell up, but my right foot swell up a little. I thought might be I twisted it, so I ignored. When I visited my rheumy next, I told my rheumy about that, my rheumy said it could be a little flare. I questioned why only 1 side? She said went DMARDs were working, the flare could be anywhere and might not be symmetrical. She advised me to just walk in if I detected any issue in future.

I was lucky I have been okay since.

Amy

[Hidden]

I was absolutely symmetrical in the beginning. Hands, wrists,and ankles. Now its all over the place. Sort of symmetrical, but worse on one side than the other. Right side worse than left.

[Mandy8175]

I am sero-positive and joint damage is symmetrical, but pain is everywhere! My right side hurts more, but I am right handed! I started with fingers on both hands , then wrists, knees, back, ankles, feet and hips.

For those of you that reported pain was worse on one side, is it on your dominant side? My right side is the worst, and that is my dominant side!