I am fairly new to R A. Can anyone suggest what is best to avoid food wise as I wake up with such stiff hands that I can hardly move. All very restrictive. Just wondered what I might be eating that’s making them worse and certainly no improvement since I’ve been on Sulfasalzine. And now on Methotrexate. Have only had two lots of that. So is it too early for any improvements. My Rheumatologist seems to say give it 3 months. But I have no knowledge of R A at all
I’m feel so down as just can’t carry out normal tasks
Thanks in advance
Lynda
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Happy2shop
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Hi and welcome to the club that no one wants to be in. I have only had RA for two years so can totally understand how confusing and overwhelming it is when the disease strikes and you get your diagnosis. The best place to get your information from is nras. At my hospital they give out nras booklets and leaflets at appointments. In addition there is a little place, staffed by volunteers, that has information on all aspects of the disease. If that’s not available to you then you can order them directly from nras and you can speak to an advisor on the phone. Try not to use dr google as you’ll end up more confused than ever.
Morning joint stiffness is difficult for most of us and I’m sure you’ll get lots of tips…try them all and see what works for you. I usually fill my bathroom sink with hot water and plunge my hand in for a while, slowly exercising my wrists and fingers as I do so. Maintaining a healthy diet is good for your general health but unfortunately it’s unlikely that the disease can be controlled through diet alone. Some people find a certain food may make them feel worse but that’s trial and error.
The folks on these forums are a pretty nice bunch and have helped me a lot with hints, tips and more importantly staying positive. Take care, Spin x
And epsom salts in the warm water helps with some pain relief too. Can get that in chemists or supermarkets. Mornings are my very worse times. Using cold packs,or heated wheat bags help too.I am waiting for some occupational therapy courses from my hospital, concentrating on the hands and wrists - maybe ask your gp for a referral?
And definitely I agree with post below, contact NRAS. Some essential booklets to help explain things and give advice - I would have felt very lost at first diagnosis without their information.
Hi I am new to this forum just joined, I was diagnosed with RA in 2023 been on methatrexate for 2 years plus biologic my hands are very painful in the morning I find heat helps also use bio freeze gel !!!!
I always think I sound odd when sometimes I need ice and others times heat! I think ice helps most with inflammation, then the heat more with stiffness? Its a funny combo but I often find I am even wrapping my wrists around a glass of cold water... And that reminds me, as my grip can be weak I find using a plastic tumbler lighter ( and safer) than glass and I use a large 'bowl' type of cup,so I can cradle it, otherwise using the handle can hurt my finger joints.
at the start I tried different food to avoid but nothing changed for me and this is the same for supplements. I now do 16:8 food lifestyle but joints in the morning being stiff is typical of RA so it’s finding solutions ie warm shower, gels or exercises for hands. It’s a learning curve keep a journal of things tried and failed or worked to keep track too! Best of luck 🥰
Happily my hands are much better now but I do find that it helps to flex them gently whenever I wake in the night - maybe it's the long periods without movement that make them worse. At the beginning of my RA journey, I saw the Rheumatology OT who gave me some exercises to do and some resting splints to wear at night as well as some to wear occasionally during the day. The first few months were very challenging but things really improved once I'd found "my" medication regime and hopefully it will be the same for you.
Personally, I don't think that what I eat makes any difference to my RA; I do try to eat healthily but also don't hesitate to enjoy a treat now and then 😊
Ah it’s a real pain isn’t it. When I get up in the morning my body feels like it’s been run over by a truck during the night. Funnily enough if I get up to go to the loo during the night it doesn’t seem to ache all that badly then in the morning I wonder if I will be able to walk to the loo when I stand up.
Anyway, I vary, sometimes I sleep with compression gloves on, sometimes I try splints and I’ve started wearing alpaca bed socks which seem to make my feet feel better but it’s probably just down to luck.
I love a hot bath with magnesium flakes, some drops of patchouli and lavender oil in with the flakes, I often rub Better You Magnesium Gel on my aching lower back and hips and I also use Volterol on the same aching hips. I take hydroxychloroquine daily and if I’m feeling really, really creaky I top up with a couple of paracetamol.
I have bought some gadgets to make life easier around the house. I use plug pulls on three pin sockets to pull them out of the wall, I put furniture gliders under furniture so that it is easy to move, I’ve got new and very sharp graters for vegetables and I keep all of my kitchen knives really sharp. I bought a mini Magimix blender thing also for vegetables when I broke my wrist (I’ve also got osteoporosis) I also treated myself to a very lightweight hairdryer and a stick vacuum cleaner that is light and easy to use.
I have always said food doesn’t make a difference to me but there has been much talk of tomatoes in the group recently and as I have been eating masses of tomatoes recently and my hands have felt quite painful - right now I’m experimenting to see if life without tomatoes makes a difference - I’m beginning to think it might but I haven’t really been doing it for long enough to be sure.
For me keeping moving is the secret. I walk for at least an hour most days and do Pilates twice a week with a teacher who is a physiotherapist as well as doing some at home. We are all in our 70s to 80s with a variety of medical conditions and most of what we do is gentle stretching - everything from fingers to toes and all the bits in between. I also do (when I remember) the hand exercises I was given after I fractured my wrist. If I didn’t move I think my body would seize up.
Sorry you have RA. 🩷 Yes, it needs 12 weeks (but I saw/felt a lot of improvement at 8 weeks) but see if you can get any hand wax bath treatment from the physio at the hospital. Ask the rheumy/nurse. Did wonders for my hands and wrists which were awful. I also had my hands in a basin of hot soapy water at home first thing, moving them gently for 5 minutes, or or the shower directly on them to easy the stiffness and pain. Now I sit with them on a micro wheat pad if I feel I have overdone things if they hurt, although my RA is under good control days.
As for food … I’d keep a note of anything that definitely makes you feel worse and try avoid it. You need to eat well though. x
I can only tell you what works for me and always alongside medication;
I follow a plant based diet, vegetarian, almost vegan actually, with very little sugar and absolutely avoiding highly processed food. I believe and the evidence is mounting to prove that eating inflammatory foods increases the inflammation in our bodies.
Zoe on YouTube has lots of good information about inflammatory food and there’s a recent podcast about RA.
Hopefully as your body responds to your current meds regime, or you find a new one, everything will improve. The patient’s important job of being patient is very challenging - I hope your condition improves soon.
Like others have commented, I haven’t noticed any connection between food and RA. I have quite a lot of food allergies, making me careful of what I eat. I find the most pain relief (other than and in addition to prescribed meds) when soaking in a hot bath. Thirty plus years ago when there weren’t many medications available, I did find that hot wax treatments at an RA clinic were helpful, as well as soaking my feet and hands in a tub of hot (and sometimes cold) water at home. Making flexing movements with my hands and toes throughout the day is also good, but it’s hard to avoid the pain and stiffness upon waking or a period of not moving much.
Hey lovely. I sympathise, I’m the worst in the morning with my hands and wrists. It takes a good hour to limber up. I wanted to add I came off my meds (methotrexate) in October. By December the first thing I noticed was how stiff I was in the morning. I’ve been trying to reintroduce methotrexate since but unfortunately had a lot of infections.. so I too am on my second dose.
When I started it initially, it did take around 6 weeks to feel any benefit and 3 months to get the full benefit. So I know I still have a long wait until the stiffness goes. But I can tell you it does. I was getting up at 5 and swimming for 6 when I was on methotrexate continuously. Now life is very different off it.
I do find that a bath helps my whole body.. but it’s hard to do that when you’re feeling so robotic.
I think in a few weeks time you will get some relief and it will keep improving the more you take. And me too! And also.. I cannot tell you how different life is in the water - I feel like a bl**dy ballerina in the pool.. I’m the tinman on land!
There’s lots of great advice here already. I also don’t find any connection between food and my symptoms. Both NRAS and Versus Arthritis have some useful information about diet.
Morning. From my own experience years ago I found sleeping in hand/wrist splints was helpful. As Headinaspin said…dunking them in warm water helps. Hope your meds help but there are so many out there now so dont suffer in silence. Takecare
I found massage with oil and frankincense helpful make your own using jojoba oil as a carrier and buy organic essential oils if you can. There are a few that are supposed to be good anti inflammatory google has good information but for me as others the right meds make all the difference. I have found for me cold is better weirdly.
note my unusual diagnosis…. result is the same though, stiff, painful joints. After 40+ years of this I recommend ( obviously if suitable for you as we’re all different), heat, support/elastic bandage and rest. I find foods with tannin make it worse, sadly that’s tea and red wine. Some sufferers report ease when gluten free, worth a try.
When I was in my early days of RA my hands worsen, so they sent me to have them x-rayed . It showed up the OA in them which was also a factor of stiff , weak and painful hands. I was sent to physio where a delightful lady gave me all sorts of advice about exercise, equipment, and reducing pain with either ice or warm pads depending n time of year. Everywhere is awful during RA flare including my hands and I have never found foods made a difference in my case.
So suggest you speak with specialist nurse via your advice line as to has it been long enough time for your meds to have started working? Three months is a usual time frame for some improvement. Also to ascertain if it's OA in your hands too?
It’s fairly normal until the RA is under control. I find it best to just keep going as it’s fleeting. I also do a lot of cooking so it helps to keep your hands mobile and I’d suggest the tennis ball squeeze might help. I can’t comment on splints etc as never had them but once under control apart from the odd blip when off medications it does resolve.
Hi Lynda, I too have a RA diagnosis and remember it being very hard in the beginning. My finger joints were very swollen and looked all out of shape and it is very upsetting, however it does get better. It took 10 weeks or so for the methotrexate to kick in. As such I tried lots of other things that were recommended and continued to use the following. Consider looking online for Isotoner compression gloves. These were recommended by the hand therapy lady at the hospital. They work great and you can sleep in these every night. Don't waste your money on any that aren't Isotoner they don't work as well. A hand massage machine for £50 also works a treat both myself and husband use this when needed and it makes the hands feel so much better. Even after the prescribed meds kicked in I wasn't completely happy and undertook my own research. I came across hyaluronic supplementation. RA affects the levels of synovial fluid in the membrane of the joints, this supplement increases it, so my hands feel much better when taking it. It took 11 weeks to take effect but I could feel a difference at this point. I buy mine form Weightworld who make a quality product. Hope these things help you too, regards Deborah
Just to clarify, as I see you have mentioned food a couple of times on posts. Rheumatoid arthritis is a genetic condition, we aren't sure which genes yet, but last year they discovered the gene for one of the severe forms of lupus, which is a similar condition to RA, autoimmune and affects the joints and organs. When it has been discussed on here lots of posters have mentioned people in their family having RA, my gran and great grandad did.
There are various triggers which cause the RA to begin, for some it's pregnancy, for others it's a period of great stress, a tooth abscess, a bad virus, like covid, recently we have had a couple of new posters saying their covid vaccine triggered it, anything really which puts the body under stress.
Food does affect some people with RA where they have an intolerance and the body's immune reaction to it worsens the auto-immune condition, but it's only some people.
Hello . So for me I do feel pain as soon I get up so I take the methotrexate and Celebrex but as the day goes on and depending on what I’m doing my hands get stiff and achy. So I keep massaging them and put hand warmers on them and rest. But I hope one day it won’t be as bad for any of us
I am newly diagnosed, and my morning routine currently takes about 45 minutes, of which at least 35 is dedicated to my hands. When I wake up, I can barely curl my fingers, and my wrists and fingers are swollen. At the end of this regime, time consuming as it is, I can make a fist with about 1/3 normal power, my wrists are nearish to “normal” size, and I can cross my fingers on both hands. (The other 10 minutes is applying heat-ice-heat treatments that I’m about to describe, to other joints.)
For heat: I use a hot water bottle, Cover off, but at a temperature that does not burn the skin. (But definitely much warmer than tepid!)
For ice/cold: I use ice packs.
I always start and end on heat.
1) First, apply just heat for a couple of minutes, laying my hands on the hot water bottle, then laying the hot water bottle over the back of my hands/wrists. Gently moving my fingers a little during this phase. (I could dunk them in water, as others have suggested, but I stay in bed for this regime. )
2) Then once or twice, carry out these steps:
Apply heat for 30 seconds (ish), then ice for 30 seconds, then heat again for 30 seconds.
Heat: I wrap the hot water bottle around the back of one wrist, while placing the palm and fingers of the other hand on the other side of the hot water bottle.
Ice: I put the ice pack on the back of the wrist that was wrapped in heat before, and place the palm/fingers of the other hand on the ice pack.
Then repeat the above, switching hands.
During the heat phases, move your fingers gently.
At this point, I can usually curl my finger tips to my palms.
3) Then do the exercises in this youtube video, presented by Dr. Andrea Furlan:
When I complete those, I can make a reasonable fist, with about 1/3 power, maybe 1/2 on a good day.
It’s boring - but my hands are much more mobile than they would be without this regime. And some of the exercises are hopefully building some strength too.
Sorry to read about your miserable stiffness. Just a couple of hopefully helpful notes:
ANY supplement you consider taking please run it by your rheumatoid team as it could well make matters worse or weaken the effectiveness of your medication.
Do take a look on YouTube for the truly excellent Versus Arthritis and NRAS exercise videos… free of charge and aimed specifically for those of us with rheumatoid and/or osteoarthritis. Both charities have wonderful helplines for personal and helpful advice/counselling plus a great range of booklets covering every topic concerning arthritis you could possibly wish for….backed up with a wealth of experience and caring members of our forum, all fellow sufferers.
You are doing exactly the right thing….being interested in how to help yourself. It’s teamwork between yourself and a dollop of patience, your medical team, annd amazing forums like this!
Heat or cold applied to hands can help: try one for a few days then the other to see if either works for you. Regular massage helps too just applying cream. At 82 I have gone back to yoga after a 40 year gap and it does help me (it's a group for over 60s LOL). It also helps improve balance. Every time I wake up from siesta, snooze or in the morning I lie and flex fingers and goes for a couple of minutes to get my brain in gear, too. Thinking about trying Pilates too. As for diet plenty of rainbow colour veg though limit root veg = carbs. Limited fresh fruit - berries are best and frozen cheaper. Kefir / plain Greek yoghurt good for gut. best to avoid fizzy drinks and alcohol. Swimming in cold water eased pains. I wish you pain free days and positivity. Xx
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