Hi

Do you think you may have psoriatic arthritis? I have had this disease for just over three years, it affected my fingers, and toes at first, it is now in my knees, ankles, toes, hands, elbows and neck. My hands have steadily got worse and I found typing all day at work a bit of a struggle. My fingers sometimes locked as I was typing. I have been on all the dmards and am presently on leflunomide (arava). I wear splints on my wrists as at present being tested for carpal tunnel in both wrists. I am replying to your post as the best thing I did was to give up the job. I only type now at home on good days. Arthritis is a painful, depressing disease and not really understood by people who do not have it. My hands are started to claw a little and I am 49, I hope the dmards stop it getting any worse. My knees and elbows this weekend have been extremely painful and you get really fed up with it. Try splints on your wrists, and keep them warm. I have found getting cold makes things a lot worse. If you have any other questions, please ask.

Ronnie :wave:

[QUOTE=Ronnied;2993873]Hi

Do you think you may have psoriatic arthritis? I have had this disease for just over three years, it affected my fingers, and toes at first, it is now in my knees, ankles, toes, hands, elbows and neck. My hands have steadily got worse and I found typing all day at work a bit of a struggle. My fingers sometimes locked as I was typing. I have been on all the dmards and am presently on leflunomide (arava). I wear splints on my wrists as at present being tested for carpal tunnel in both wrists. I am replying to your post as the best thing I did was to give up the job. I only type now at home on good days.
Thanks for your reply, Ronnie. And thanks everyone who has replied to this post. :wave:

I don't think I have psoriatic arthritis, since I've never had psoriasis or anything like it. I know that in rare cases the arthritis precedes the psoriasis, but that's not very common. But who knows.

Did you give up working altogether, or did you get a job doing something else? I'm single and I worry about how I would manage if I had to give up my job or work part-time. I've thought about whether I could do something else that involves less computer work, but almost all jobs these days involve working on the computer. I can't do jobs that would require me to walk a lot or stand all day, since I also have pain in my feet, knees and toes. So I'm sort of at a loss as to what to do, although many days I feel like I can't go on.

Anyway, I'm going to try the advice that has been suggested here, such as the paraffin thing (never heard of it before, but am willing to try). Hopefully something will help! :)