There are gloves, coolant I don't know of any, but I remember reading the posts of others that basically said that spending thousands of $$$ on getting them made and fitted isn't worth it because after a few weeks or months you'll just quit wearing them. You're hands are hot because there's probably inflammation going on in them (hello flare). Best thing I've found is to use Frankincense Oil as a topical. Mine aren't swollen and inflamed now but I think of the curling every night when I lay down to sleep as well as the constant "stretching and straightening" I do hundreds of times each day. Have the tendons slipped off the center of the knuckle yet? Mine have. If you find remedy please do share!

Oh boy, nonightshades2! Tendons slipping off the center of your knuckle, that sounds awful. I am completely new to this and I'm not 100% sure if I have RA yet, but all the signs point in that direction. Perhaps I'm in denial. My doctor says I have seronegative RA but I guess maybe I'm just waiting to see how things go? I don't know.... But, I recently had x-rays done of my hands to gather a baseline and I do have some erosion (small). I'm waiting to hear back from my RA doctor to see if this is just wear and tear or part of the RA. I just want relief for my hands at this point. I'll try the Frankincense oil and see how that goes. Thanks for your input.

Photograph your hands every week - I do this against a background of graph paper and hold the camera the same distance away each time. The photos give you an objective was to assess the changes. Sometimes when i'm feeling upbeat and positive I tend to downplay problems and the reverse is true when I'm in a pissy mood........so it's always a challenge when my rheumatologist asks how I'm doing. It can be so easily influenced by mood. This provides you with something concrete.

The graph paper helps to measure swelling. After I brought in my first round of photos, my doctor suggested the graph paper for future ones.

Really, Katie? Photographs with graph paper? If it helps you, that's great, but I'm awe struck.

NNS2? FFO? Really?

I don't understand your acronyms, Joline. The Urban Dictionary let me down, too. So whatever subtext is in your message is unfortunately lost on me.

And I'm not sure what's surprising about the graph paper; it's an easy way to show the amount of swelling in my fingers. Sadly, one finger has widened nearly a full square. I don't have the dexterity now to measure my fingers the way one might measure for ring size, but I can place my hand on the paper and check that way.

It also helps to show the deviation as the fingers begin to twist. My right ring finger has changed from straight to bent, and the graph paper shows it clearly.

It's like a police mug shot for my hands, you know how they photograph people standing next to a graph that measures their height? Only in my case, it's hands, and they keep changing.

It does help me, and it IS great. Thanks for your concern!

jolinejoline - this is supposed to be a place for help and support. I saw that I had 2 new messages this morning thinking I would have more feedback to a problem I'm experiencing. But, no....it was your message to Katie giving her a hard time for a suggestion she gave me. I'm looking for help, no nonsense. If you don't have any helpful suggestions for me and others, perhaps this isn't the forum for you.

Sorry, banc2000. I never finished my message, which might actually be helpful. Do you know about the "search" feature on this site (quotation marks because it doesn't work as well as it used to)? If you click on the magnifying class icon (upper right next to message and profile, you'll be presented with a line wherein you can type a search word or phrase. I typed "gloves for RA" and was told there were 13,578 results. Some of these will be meaningless to you, or perhaps outdated, but I'm sure some will be helpful. People have been talking above gloves for a long time. Good luck.

Katie, I was simply expressing surprise about graph paper photography for your hands. I hope Your deviations and swelling remain small and the your rheumatologists aren't hair-splitters!

The acronyms were just my petulant reaction to another reference to frankincense. There are dozens of articles that promote its anti-inflammatory properties, even a few scholarly articles and one person on this site that promotes its use. I simply have a terrible reaction to many essential oils, including FFO. Worse, yet, I had a massge with FFO infused massage oil, and found the reaction wasn't just to the aroma but included a rash. It might as well been snake oil! :)

Sorry for hikacking your discussion again, bannc2000, and I hope you find some good infor by searching old posts.

I didn't take Joline's response negatively. Graph paper never occurred to me either ........and it's not a bad idea. I used to measure the circumference of my knee with a soft measuring tape. But pictures do tell a lot.

But you are on DMARDS, right?

I hope no one is ever discouraged from taking any measurements or data possible to help track the path of this disease. We've discussed taking photographs to measure progression before. Slipping a piece of graph paper onto the table before you put your hand on it and take the picture so you have an objective frame of reference doesn't seem silly at all to me. I'd sure like for there to be more data to go on than just the nebulous "How do you feel?" question. I will track and measure anything I can to add a little hard data to the mix!

Beth, I know there's gloves with built in warming agents used by hunters and athletes, so it's not unreasonable to think there might be something out there with a coolant. Seems that sports medicine specialists might have something. And I can understand the idea of a glove that straightens fingers out at night - I've wondered the same thing. Like, orthodontia for my hands!

Thank you, jolinejoline. I appreciate your feedback. I will definitely look through the results you mentioned.

Californialynn - I'm not on any medication yet. I guess I'm still a little bit in denial because my doctor says I have seronegative RA. I guess I struggle with black or white thinking....like, because there isn't one definite result that points to RA, then I don't have it. But, instead, I have a bunch of possible results that could point to RA, but it's not 100%.

Katie - orthodontia for hands is perfect, lol. I'll check with some of the local PT companies to see if they have built in coolants or something that might do the same thing. Thank you!

Sero-negative RA is serious! I have it, including deformities, reconstructions, and yes, the tendons falling off the knuckles. My pinkie in the right hand is especially bad! Finger exercises from an RA physiotherapist have helped strengthen the muscles. It is excruciating when the knuckle falls under the hand.

I wear wrist guards at night, and to do work around the house and garden. I have 5 pairs, some strong, some cushy, and some give less support. That might help you.

Sero-negative is usually worse in hand and feet, whereas sero-positive is more the bigger joints. Of course, when you get really bad, with sero-negative, it hits all the joints. Which is why you need to get on a DMARD right now! Pain is a sign of damage happening. Damage cannot be fixed, surgeries never give you back perfect joints.

The new protocol is to hit it hard at the beginning. Then it will be less severe in the long run. That didn't happen to me, 20 years ago, now I am ultra severe. My rheumatologist says I amd the worst case of RA he has ever seen. Not a trophy

I have seronegative RA. The ONLY thing that helped me was getting on DMARDS fast. I was diagnosed in the early 90's. I've since been tested multiple times and still have seronegative RA. I also have one of the leading rheumatologists in the US.

Things are black and white to me, too. But here's how I saw it:

I have a problem that's interfering with my life.

I want my life back. DMARDS are the only credible answer.

Whatever your fear is about the drugs, you need to get over it. You have to knock RA down fast, the earlier the better.

Voice your fears here. We members can help you get over it.

Here is what I know so far:
*My hands/wrists started hurting all of a sudden in November, and I developed trigger thumb out of the blue. I had a cortisone shot for my trigger thumb and that helped, and hasn't been a problem since. However, my hand pain/swollenness/stiffness hasn't gotten better; it's gotten worse.
*My fatigue is like a roller coaster. Some days I fall asleep at my desk at work which is awful to say, but I can't even help it, it's extreme. Other days I do a little better and have more energy.
*My hs-CRP (low level inflammation) is 9.6 (high) which my Doctor says translates to normal in CRP, like around 0.08.
*I have a lot of hypothyroidism symptoms as well (weight gain, fatigue, always cold, no energy, memory loss, etc.).
*Elevated TPO antibodies which from what I read can be high with RA.
*Recent x-rays of my hand show some small joint erosions.

I feel like there are a lot of subtle signs but I wish there was one specific test that would say "yes, you have RA!" I hate taking medication, but I will once I know for sure I definitely have RA. I guess I'm just waiting for a sign or something.

My hand pain just began about a month ago. The RA seems to be progressing rapidly, this is just the newest pain. I've made quite a few messes since then. I get sharp pains on top of constant pain in my hands and it causes me to lose grip. I don't even know how to explain it to anyone. A few even look at me like I'm just being dramatic. I wish it were that simple. I could use some advice to help my hands.

Going to a doctor is a better solution.