Feeling achy all over the body, especially in the morning has been the norm for you, and it has been the same for so long! You barely budge your fingers, and there is a feeling of tenderness in your feet. It takes a few minutes to comfort your movements, because every movement is immensely painful, at least until you get a hot, long shower.
What the hell is happening?
“If you are still young, and constantly suffer from swelling, tenderness, and stiffness of the joints, yes, there is something wrong – and you are not sure about it” – says Vivian Byker, MD, a rheumatologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. At the same time, older people with the same problems think that they know, what’s happening with them. “They assume that it’s arthritis” – the type related with age, known as “osteoarthritis”, she comments. But what people usually don’t understand that arthritis is of different types. In this write-up, we are talking only about rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
What exactly is rheumatoid arthritis?
RA is an autoimmune disease. It means, for some reason, probably due to a combination of environmental and genetic factors, and hormonal changes, your immune system starts acting against your body. Instead of destroying disease-causing agents, they start an assault against infection-fighting white blood cells and healthy tissues around the joints. And that assault from the immune system causes inflammation, subsequent pain, and other symptoms of the affected joint(s). You will notice the puffiness, swelling, and stiffness of the joints.
RA symptoms may keep changing with time, and that’s the biggest challenge while diagnosing, especially in the initial stages. In the beginning, you may feel pain in your wrists or soreness around the shoulders for a few weeks, before they go away. You might even think that you are suffering from the flu. And just when you start thinking that you are all okay, another wave of inflammation and pain hits you badly. And that’s when you feel that something is going wrong with your body. Let’s discuss some important symptoms of RA you should not ignore at all.
Joints pain
Wrist pain in particular is one of the strongest clues while diagnosing RA
One of the early and defining symptoms is joints pain. And the pain may affect any joint of the body, usually starting with small joints of ankles, fingers, and wrists. You may feel aches and soreness of knees, hips, and shoulders too.
The joint pain is usually aching, throbbing, sharp, tender, and/or shooting, sometimes, may even affect the surrounding nerves. According to a journal published in “Nature Reviews Rheumatology”, “The RA pain can be “localized or widespread”, “intermittent or constant”. Wrist pain is one of the major features of RA because regular osteoarthritis doesn’t affect the wrists.
Stiffness
Stiffness, especially lasting for more than half an hour is a classic sign of rheumatoid arthritis. People usually feel stiffness while leaving the bed, but some people even feel it throughout the day. And, some people even complain that the morning stiffness eases during the day, but comes back again in the evening. Some people even get affected by the stiffness after sitting for long hours – a phenomenon called “gelling”.
It doesn’t matter, when and how you suffer from the stiffness, if it remains for more than half an hour, and doesn’t improve after five to six weeks, you should not waste any time meeting with a doctor.
Swelling
RA patients may also get affected by swelling, often the joints close to the hand, including finger joints and wrists are affected. You may feel the swelling of joints, especially if you are sitting regularly for a few hours. At times, you might “feel” the swelling, but may go unnoticed from the doctor(s), Not sure about the swelling? You can check it by slipping on your regular shoes. If there is swelling, you might find it difficult to fit your shoes.
Radiating warmth
Warmth is not the obvious sign of RA, but the radiating warmth can be. If you feel inflammation with warmth around the joints, place the back of your fingers on the inflamed joint and then on a different bone. If the joint is warmer than the skin of nearby bone, that can be a sign of rheumatoid arthritis – especially if there are some other symptoms including stiffness and pain.
Joint dysfunction
Rheumatoid arthritis can disturb your daily routine, especially if you are noticing flare-ups around the joint(s). You may feel the pain while typing on a keyboard, slicing meat, opening a carton. If your knees are affected, you might find it difficult to go upstairs. You may even have to use a chair lift!
Fatigue
Almost everyone suffering from RA suffers from overwhelming fatigue. It’s a common problem associated with a lot of other autoimmune diseases. Most of the time, people don’t get proper treatment on time either due to busy life or simply due to ignorance. And that’s when fatigue can become chronic. But the good news is, once the RA is under control, fatigue also fades away.
Must Read: Health benefits of Ragi
Feeling like having a bug
RA is not only about aching joints. You may feel achy and tired all the time, and you may even feel that you are having a bug. There is a strong sense of unwellness. You won’t feel fresh, even in the morning, you will feel that something is wrong. There is a feeling of annoyance and irritation. And if you keep feeling crummy for more than five weeks, you should talk to your doctor straight away. You might be suffering from some degree of depression as well!
Loss of muscle(s)
It is one of the serious complications associated with RA. Patients with chronic RA may suffer from a significant loss of muscle density and muscle mass. If you feel a lack of strength or a loss of muscle mass for a few weeks, you must discuss it with a doctor. In case of loss of muscles or excessive weakness, treatment won’t be enough for proper recovery. Your doctor may suggest a rehab program as well.
Depression
Depression is a lot common in patients of rheumatoid arthritis than those who are not suffering from it.
Depression is one of the most common features of almost all types of chronic conditions, and RA is no different. But, unlike a lot of other chronic illnesses, depression is one of the early signs of rheumatoid arthritis. Depression can also be a systemic manifestation of inflammation. It is not that you are unable to put yourself up by your bootstraps, instead, inflammation has affected your neurochemistry!
Skin Nodules
Firm, fleshy lumps develop beneath the skin in almost every one of the four people suffering from RA. These skin nodules appear usually at bony pressure points in your body, such as elbows, heels, and knuckles. These nodules are harmless but can be painful at times. If gone unnoticed, they may even limit the function of your body or may become infected. Thanks to the advancements in the medical field, the severity of RA is controlled to a decent extent, and the incidence of nodules is also decreasing every passing year.
Irritation of the mouth or eyes
An autoimmune condition is known as “Sjogren’s syndrome” is also noticed in some people having rheumatoid arthritis. In this condition, your immune system starts attacking the moisture-producing glands of the body. In case if it is accompanied by RA, it is called “secondary Sjogren’s”. In addition to other common symptoms of RA, people with secondary Sjogren’s may suffer from inflammation of the salivary and tear glands. And this may result in the dryness of eyes as well as mouth. But, it’s not as severe as primary Sjogren’s.
Organ, nerve, or skin damage
As we have already discussed, joint complications are common in RA, but other body parts may also get affected. When the blood vessels are inflamed, you may suffer from skin ulcers also. And when there is inflammation of nerves, you may feel weakness or numbness of your limbs.
People suffering from RA are also at risk of developing heart diseases. And they may also get affected by various complications of the lungs such as interstitial lung disease, which may be responsible for shortness of breath.
Prolonged RA can also be associated with the development of metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions with complications like elevated blood sugar, increased blood pressure, and abnormal cholesterol levels – and increases the chances of diabetes, stroke, and heart diseases.
These are some of the symptoms of RA you should not ignore at any cost. Yes, most of them all of them are linked with some other health conditions as well. But you should not ignore the probability of development of rheumatoid arthritis either. Proper and timely diagnosis is one of the major factors for a successful treatment. Otherwise, your health may get deteriorated very badly. If you notice any of these symptoms for more than a few weeks, don’t bother discussing it with your doctor. If you are not suffering from RA, your doctor will assess your health to check out other possible causes, and you will be able to get proper treatment on time.
Reference
https://www.prevention.com/health/health-conditions/a19840908/rheumatoid-arthritis-symptoms/
