Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...

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What IS the lump on my finger joint, exactly?

katie
katie

My first symptom was a red, swollen finger joint.  Even after 6 months of meds, it still looks like a bee sting.  It's not as hard a bone, but not squishy soft either.  What exactly is it?  I know RA attacks joints, I've read up on synovial fluid etc - what I don't understand is what constitutes the actual lump.  Is it a fluid that could potentially be drained?  Is it something that's grown onto the bone that could potentially be scraped off surgically?  (Let me add parenthetically that I have a great rheumatologist and a plan to continue to tweak meds until we find the right fit.  I'm not posting because I'm unhappy with the medical care I'm receiving.  Just curious about what the lump itself is made out of.)

californialynn
californialynn
Not sure without seeing/feeling it. Can you upload a photo?
katie
katie
No, this site won't let me. (I also have to log in again every twenty minutes or so.......what a pain!) I thought perhaps there was a standard answer, that if you had a joint affected the 'extra' part would be consistent. But then, why should any one part of RA be consistent.......
californialynn
californialynn
Can you push it a little to the side? Or is it really stuck there?

Is it in/at a joint? Which one? Closest to the finger nail [call that joint #1]. Or further towards the wrist? I'm wondering if it's a nodule. Check out this site and look at picture and see if it resembles what you have.

https://www.google.com/search?q=image+rheumatoid+nodules&rlz=1C1PRFC_enUS713US713&espv=2&biw=1067&bih=473&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJ1vDhnvnQAhVP_mMKHXc1DZEQ_AUIBygC&dpr=1.5#imgrc=hpLVao59Qu-eaM%3A


When's your next rheumatologist appointment? That's the best place to get a diagnosis.

Do you have an orthopedic surgeon? I'm thinking it's something they gan aspirate in the office [if it's capable of being aspirated....i.e., it's not solidified]. But if so, I'd have an orth surgeon who does hands do this.

Sorry, not much help, but this is a crazy disease.....
MarleneJ
MarleneJ
I wonder if it is a nodule, too? I have had them on my knuckles, and right now I have some major ones on my finger tips. I think nodules generally start because there is pressure on them. So knees and the forearm are where they are found, although I have never had them there. I met a woman taking no meds, who had huge nodules (3 inches by 2 inches) on her arms. She was telling me how the naturalpath was helping her with RA, but wondered why the nodules continued to grow. Let's see! Because your RA is not under control?

Another thing is that you can get big osteo growths on your finger joints, especially the top joint. That happens after the joints have been damaged. I do wonder, why I never had them in 17 years, and they just popped up after a major med failure? In other words, it was a bit too much coincidence for me to believe it was just OA appearing in large deforming amounts in the PIPs. (Top finger joints!)