Just a quickie

[Treesha]

Is it possible to have stiff joints without the pain?

[sylvi]

In a nutshell yes. Sylvi.xx

[Treesha]

Thanks sylvi I didn't want to make an idiot of myself again! My knees feel like footballs but not visibly swollen and they keep stiffening up.

[Hidden]

Hi Treesha sorry I deleted by mistake when my OH was chatting. My knees have felt just like this at various points in the past year and my fingers are always stiff for most of the day and yet they rarely hurt.

When i first went to my GP he said he thought the pain in my knees and wrists probably wasn't RA because there were no signs of visible inflammation or redness - but they felt awful and my ESR and CRP were both fairly high at 60.

More recently I find that the pain can be horrendous and I still only get swelling, heat and redness when it reaches a climax and then it's like a big hot flush before it dies away but not always. My wrists have been my most painful joints - they feel like they've been fractured sometimes and yet there is rarely any visible swelling. So I think everyone is different in the way they present with RA and it is possible to get pain without swelling and stiffness without pain sometimes yes. TTx

[Hidden]

PS although when I had the worst stiffness and very little pain it turned out that I was under dosing dramatically on my thyroxine so it maybe worth getting your thyroid checked out because being hypothyroid can cause severe stiffness of your joints too. TTx

[Treesha]

Thanks Tilda I will mention thyroid next time I see docs.I worry about my knees because this is how this whole RA thing started last year and then one morning I woke up and couldn't get down the stairs! The horrendous pain came soon after. I hope it not coming back again I am not due to see consultant for 3months ( still waiting for appt to arrive)

[Hidden]

Yes you can have stiffness without pain xx

[Treesha]

Thanks summer I think I'm still in denial and hoping its somethin other than RA xxx tricia

[Hidden]

I know how you feel - mine started in my knees and then wrists and I too was unable to navigate the stairs. I dread waking up to that again. Maybe you'll be lucky and it will turn out to be something else although I'm not sure if being hypothyroid as well as RA is actually that lucky?! TTx

[allanah]

Hi

i recognise the denial thing, i get stiffness but also a lot of pain, and find myself asking the staff " are u sure i have RA." This is generally answered by an unbelieving look and " yes you have RA look in the mirror!!"

Also when i got ultrasounds done on my wrists and hands and feet, my pain that day was in my wrists and ankles but the stiffness was in my fingers and toes, guess where the highest inflammation was,... in my fingers and toes. The Nurse told me often when the damage is done you get less pain, so its the new areas of stiffness that cause her to worry. I dont know if that is right technically, but it seemed like it for me. ~So yes i think you can have stiffness without the pain, but we are all different and the RA affects us all differently at times i feel!

Axx

[Hidden in reply to allanah]

Thanks for explaining this to us Allanah - I didn't know how RA worked re stiffness and pain either. Presumably then the stiffness that remains in joints following a period of extreme pain and swelling are the residual effects of the RA when it was still active. Which means it's no longer active but has done some damage then? As you know I don't have a rheumy nurse who I can ask and so am taking full advantage of you having a very good sounding one! TTx

[Treesha]

Thanks all I do struggle to believe it sometime and I think because I am sero negative it just doesn't help. If there was a positive reading in blood tests it would be easier to believe. Tricia xx

[Hidden]

That is exactly how I feel all the time Treesha re the bloods. Also because I used to be covered in eczema for all my life and it's gone I think I am really expecting the RA to disappear too. Its hard because when things are relatively good - like now - part of my brain starts singing "it's gone, it's gone" but then the other part says "you've been here before and if it's gone why are your fingers still so stiff and your wrists still haven't got full range of motion have they and your ankles and feet ache first thing .. you're a fool if you think RA will just go away". Then a little voice from deep within says "yes but that's if it was RA in the first place? Perhaps it's just Osteo and you've just been a big girl's blouse about the whole darn thing" and so on... round and round in ever decreasing circles! At least you're not alone in denial. TTx

[Tinwoman2]

Yes, Treesha, I am often stiff & sore but my joints rarely swell up. When they do swell, I know that I must take care then to limit myself and not hurt them further.

I was in the cleaning mood yesterday afternoon, and did too much & my wrist paid for it last night. I should have iced it, but I was too lazy to get up & do it. I just let it rest on a pillow while I dozed while watching tv. I'll probably wear my most comfortable brace today.

Christine

[Treesha]

Thanks Christine hope youire not too sore today. My knees are still a bit stiff but then again they have never been 100 per cent since this started year ago