I have no idea what it is, but it looks painful. So far, I haven't had any nodules. I hope you can find out what it is.

It looks and sounds from your description like a nodule. I had one removed many years ago from my wrist.

You may want to consult a HAND surgeon.

I just looked at the pictures, and they are pretty big! Although I met one woman using herbs to control her RA, and she had some on her wrists that were 3 inches across. Those were bad!

I had small nodule on my left up pinkie finger for years, but not as big as the ones you posted. When I was on Rituxan, it disappeared, along with these facial millia that I always get. I also have a thickening of the skin on my index and right pinkie fingers on the pad side. My GP has tried a lot of things to get rid of them, but we both suspect they are RA nodules. I'm gong to ask my rheumatologist next week or whenever I see him again if that is what they are. The index one gets sharply painful if I press on it, plus it is hard to use the finger anymore, which is really hard, being the right index finger

You can get them removed, but I have heard they have a tendency to come back. I hope you figure this out!

Thank you all for the replies. So are nodules like this caused by RA? I feel so overwhelmed right now, and I swear this Plaquenil is making me SO tired and foggy-brained.

it looks like a nodule, i have one on my L wrist, in my L eye, and about 30 around my elbows and on my forearms and on my right index finger as well. They can hurt if you bump them. Sometimes they go away but they always return. They are tender when they form.

I use pretty lace gloves to cover them and for support (compression) and help keep my hands warm.

Ouch, linzsey - the one on the eye sounds painful! My knuckle definitely hurts when I bump it.

it is on my sclera - on the eyeball. it only hurts when it flares up, but so far this one did not go away, however my scleritis is doing better right now. hang in there. I have had them on my vocal cords in the past and some people get them in their lungs as well. Make sure you let your doc know whats going on because sometimes they get busy and forget to check you thoroughly.

SAAM OM- did you bruise that joint?

I just looked at the joint at th bas elf my thumb and it looks like your picture. I think I bruised it.

Not that I know of. That bruised look comes and goes -- it's red sometimes, purplish other times. And if I push on it, the color goes away. It's like blood is pooling there. I think I hit that knuckle about a year ago and bruised it then, but it healed fine. The bump and discoloration just appeared recently.

Hi Saamom, welcome to DS. So sorry to hear you are newly diagnosed with RA. Thank goodness you found us.Those nodules or whatever they are do look like they would hurt, but glad they are not causing you too much discomfort. At this point I would believe that RA can cause just about any and everything. I would think if they were not too troublesome to just leave them be. There are so many other things that can become troublesome down the road with RA, that if the nodules are not bothering you, I would just leave the nodules alone. Good luck with everything and I hope the Plaquenil does work for you in due time.

Christine26 - thank you!! I truly appreciate the support and information I've received here!

Looks like a Rheumatoid nodule. My mom has them - that's how she just got diagnosed witih RA (and some positive blood tests) 3 years after I was diagnosed. Hers aren't painful either unless she presses on them. She has them on her pinky, on her toes, and on her knees.