And now it's my finger

This is just craziness I tell you!

Last week (Monday to be exact), my hands were bothering me.  So much so that as I was heading into Ottawa to attend a funeral, I turned around in my neighbour's driveway and came back home to get my arthritis gloves.  My hands were hurting that much as I gripped the steering wheel.

I thought nothing of it.  Just another of those "bad hand" days.

Fast forward to Thursday evening as I sat enjoying the company of my former boss man and good friend BK and his wife.

The ring finger on my left hand was hurting -- bad.  

I looked down and it was swollen, big time.  Just that one finger.  Normally when I have an arthritis flare-up in my hands, both hands are visibly red and swollen, not just one digit.

I struggled to get my wedding band off and initially it looked like it might have to be cut off, the swelling was that severe.  But eventually, I worked the ring off and massaged the finger.  Man, it was sore!

The finger continued to bother me through the week-end but the swelling subsided considerably.

On Monday of this week, I noticed that it hurt when I typed.  It also hurt if I used it for everyday functions.  As the day wore on, it started to swell again.  

I put in a call to my doctor and explained that I had a problem with my finger that I thought should be assessed.  I was given an appointment for today (Wednesday) at 11:15am.

Yesterday, I woke with a finger that was almost normal, although it was sore to pressure.  But yesterday was  physio day so I was in the car for a good part of the day.  Gripping the steering wheel was no picnic.

Today, it was swollen again and very sore.

At least there was something for the doctor to examine when I saw her this morning.

Her guess?  A trauma-based osteoarthritis.

'Cept, for the life of me I don't recall any trauma.

Just to be sure though, she has ordered blood work to rule out Rheumatoid Arthritis, because it is also presenting precisely like an RA -- although I have not previously ever been diagnosed with RA.

I'll have that blood work done in the next couple of weeks (there's no particular rush) and we'll discuss the results when I have my physical examination in October.

In the meantime, I'll use Voltaren Emulgel on the joint to at least give me some relief (we hope) until it resolves itself.

Hmmmm, I wonder which joint will be next?