Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis

What are some of the symptoms of Rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis may start gradually or with a sudden, severe attack with flu-like symptoms. It's important to remember that the symptoms vary from person to person. In some people the disease will be mild with periods joint inflammation (flare-ups). In other cases, the disease will be continuously active and appear to get worse, or progress, over time. You may feel weak and tired, you may have a fever or lose weight, but joint pain will be the main problem.

If any of the following symptoms last more than 2 weeks, see your doctor. If your doctor believes that you have RA, it is important to see a rheumatologist right away, to begin treatment.

• Pain: Your joints may ache, or the pain may feel burning or sharp. For some people, it may get better after a while. Pain while sleeping or constant pain may be a sign that your arthritis is getting worse.
• Stiffness: When you have arthritis, getting up in the morning can be hard. Your joints may feel stiff and creaky for a short time, until you get moving. You may also get stiff from sitting.
• Warmth. You feel warmth around the affected joint.
• Joint tenderness. Your joints may become tender to the touch.
• Redness and puffiness. Your hands will get puffy and red.
• Morning stiffness. The stiffness felt in the joints when you wake up in the morning. Though morning stiffness doesn’t generally last more than half an hour or so, with rheumatoid arthritis you can sometimes have morning stiffness for over an hour.
• Symmetrical pattern pain. The same joint on both sides of your body ache at the same time.
• Rheumatoid nodules. You may develop these firm lumps under the skin, generally on elbows, ranging from the size of a pea to the size of a marble.
• Deformed joints. Joints can start to look like they are the wrong shape, especially as arthritis gets worse.

In addition to specific joint symptoms, rheumatoid arthritis can cause symptoms throughout the body (systemic). These include:

• Fatigue. You may feel tired and listless. Exercise will help combat fatigue.
• Mild Fever. Because your immune system plays a role in rheumatoid arthritis, fevers are common.
• Flu-like symptoms. A general feeling of illness (malaise) due to your immune system creating antibodies.
• Loss of appetite. Your flu-like symptoms and fatigue can contribute to your loss of appetite; however, it is important to keep your strength up and maintain a healthy diet.
• Weight loss. Your loss of appetite and fatigue may in turn cause you to lose weight. You need to be careful though. Maintaining a healthy body weight is important.
• Depression. Suffering through chronic, debilitating pain can cause you to feel hopeless.
• Dry eyes and mouth. This is associated with a secondary condition called Sjogren’s Syndrome (an autoimmune disease).
• Pleurisy (potentially). An inflammation of the pleura (the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs), which can cause painful respiration.
• Numbness and tingling. Your hands may go numb and tingly from time-to-time.
• Paleness. As with the flu, you may be pale.
• Swollen glands. Your glands can become swollen, which may also be associated with Sjogren’s Syndrome.

Early treatment can slow and sometimes prevent significant joint damage. Therefore, if you have symptoms similar to rheumatoid arthritis, it is important to see your health professional to determine whether you have rheumatoid arthritis. Early diagnosis and treatment allows for possible reduction of joint pain, slows joint destruction, and reduces the chance of permanent disability.

Do you have more questions?

We encourage you to contact our office directly with any questions you may have regarding joint pain. We will do our best to answer your questions in a thorough and courteous manner.

Feel free to email us at service@mendmeshop.com. Emails will be answered promptly between 9am and 5pm (Eastern Standard Time) on weekdays.

Alternatively, for those located within the US or Canada, you may contact us on our toll free number 1-866-237-9608. If you live outside of these countries, call our local number at 705 445 3505

Our Office Hours

Monday to Thursday 8:00am to 9:00pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Saturday 12:00pm to 5:00pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Sunday 12:00pm to 9:00pm (Eastern Standard Time)

We wish great you a great day and we look forward to hearing from you.

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