Rheumatoid Arthritis : Diagnosis and Symptoms
July 18, 2008
Early symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis can be difficult to assess, because the symptoms may go in and out of remission providing a challenge for your healthcare provider. Keeping a journal of symptoms may help your doctor to better diagnose the symptoms you are experiencing.
Symptoms for rheumatoid arthritis can differ from individual to individual, and there is no single test for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis. The most common complaint heard by medical practitioners is the daily joint pain and the significant level of pain, both of which can adversely impact your quality of life and ability to take care of even the most basic daily tasks.
If early warning signs can be identified before the common symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis appear, then doctors may be able to prevent the disease from progressing to the point where joint deformity occurs. But, much research is still necessary before this can happen. Currently doctors are only able to make a confirmed diagnosis after the early symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis appear.
Joint stiffness in the morning or after long periods of lethargy. The stiffness may last about an hour or may take several hours to go. Bumps or nodules appearing over the pressure points in the body like the knuckles, elbows, spine and lower leg bones. They may range in size from a pea to a mothball and develop in around one-third of people having rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms usually affect both sides of the body at the same time. Sometimes, three sets of joints are affected at a time. Low fever, fatigue, loss of appetite and malaise are the most common symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
Since rheumatoid arthritis is caused by the whole-body immune reaction to a problem that is localized, it can affect any joint/joints irrespective of the fact that they are weight-bearing or not. Also, it usually affects the smaller joints like the hands, balls of the feet, wrists or elbows. But there are quite a few exceptions to this.
Cox-2 inhibitors have also been used to treat the common symptoms for rheumatoid arthritis, but some have dangerous side effects and may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. The early symptoms for rheumatoid arthritis may be treated with corticosteroids, but these are not used for long term care, because they become ineffective and may lead to thinning of the bones, weight gain and diabetes.
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