@Lon Tanner It is thought by my Dr. and I that the gradual degradation of my finger joints, as well as the small very itchy patches that appear near the joints, backs of fingers, arms by the elbow, are auto-immune of the Osteo variety, Arthritic Psoriasis. He thinks, and I think, but neither knows, for sure. No tests have been done, so far only surmising, and light treatment with steroidal salve, Triamcinolone Acetonide, 1%. I can't complain. Frank
@Bill Boggs Mine are not quite that severely deformed yet, but getting there. But, the 2nd. toe on my right foot has decided to migrate over to the left, and rests on top of my big toe. It causes no pain, fits in the shoe OK, and I walk OK. Hands offer moderate joint pain. Are yours painful? Frank
Two fingers have minor joint pain; the bent one the most. Every once in a while at night I'll wake up and its throbbing but it don't last long cause I'll whack it with a hammer. No, just kidding. The swollen knuckle does give me fits once in a while at night.
Wow Bill, yours is much worse than hubbys. But his are curling also. One thing that has helped him is 900 mg of Turmeric, and some CBD oil. Specially the Turmeric.
In the past few years, I have been experiencing some arthritic pain in my fingers. For a couple of years, I was able to settle things by twirling a baton from time to time, as that seemed to limber my fingers up again. That worked well for a while, but then it became too painful for me to twirl the baton. About a year ago, maybe a little less, I began noting slight swelling in some of my fingers, and it was diagnosed as arthritis. I am sure that this won't stave it off forever, but I have found that applying a hemp cream once a day helps a lot. I am not one of those people who attribute magical powers to the marijuana plant, viewing it as a sort of magic elixir that can heal every ailment and prevent you from getting the ones that you don't have. There seems to be an air of the snake oil salesman about many of the claims that I have heard about hemp oil and other derivatives. I do take CBD oil every day because I'd really rather not get another cancer, although I don't know if it is doing any good. If I don't get cancer, was it because of the CBD oil or would I not have gotten it anyhow? However, at least for now, the hemp cream has clearly helped. I can flex my fingers without pain and the swelling has even gone down noticeably. I have a feeling that it's not a cure, and that eventually my arthritis will worsen with or without the cream but, meanwhile, it does help.
I think this lady gave it to me. She lived with me almost eighteen years. Here's a portrait.She was eat up with this RA.