arthritis...how do you know???

Question:

I have a lot of stiffness and pain in my fingers. I thought it was because I started a job where I have to use my hands all day but now it has moved to my left hand as well and I don't use that one very often. It is worse in the morning or when it is cold but arthritis meds don't do anything. It feels like there is fluid or something on my knuckles that won't let them bend. Can't afford going to doctor but would like to know what it is.

Answers:
Arthritis medications don't take it away, they just help it feel better. People who have arthritis (like me) have times that it comes & goes, but it gets worse when you get older. It never really goes away. But each joint will tend to flare up for a few months, then get better. The knuckle will be permanently enlarged, or slightly bent out of shape after it has flared up like that. A doctor can diagnose osteoarthritis (the kind lots of people have) without actually doing a blood test. Sometimes they do an x-ray to see if the joint has changed. But it sounds like arthritis to me. The prescription medication I take for it is 375 mg. Naproxyn. That's the same thing as Aleve, and you can get generic naprosyn which is the same thing. Take two instead of just one, and you've got the prescription strength. You could do that when your joints are especially painful.

The only way to know for sure is a blood test.

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arthritis...how do you know???

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