Question about swelling in fingers

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

I wanted to ask a quick question of those of you who have dealt with RA for

a while. I was just diagnosed 4/26/04. The first symptoms I had were that

all my fingers on both hands and my hands themselves swelled up and were so

painful that I couldn't hardly stand to use them. Two weeks after that my

toes and feet swelled. I saw my RA Dr. a month later. I have been on

Methatrexate, Predisone, Motrin and Folic acid since then. I was told by

the Dr. and later his nurse that the swelling would go down and my hands

would be usable again.

The swelling has decreased, but I am still unable to make a fist and

completely close my fingers. This makes gripping somethings rather

difficult. I scare myself using a sharp knife. I can't hold change in my

hand because if I turn my hand sideways the money falls out. My question is

this, Will the swelling go down all the way or should I just learn to deal

with my hands being this way. I want to be positive but it's getting harder

as time goes on. My Dr. increased my Methatrexate to 15mg a week from 10mg.

I just start the increase dose this week. Will it just take more time?

Thanks for all your information,

Joan