My thumb on my right hand started by getting stiff, then locked. A doctor gave me a shot somewhere in my hand and by next day it was ok. That was about 6 yrs ago. About 3 weeks ago my left thumb did the same thing. The original doctor is gone. New doctor gave me a shot, but no luck. I'm sure I had a steroid both times. Evidently there are different kind of steroids. I'm waiting to talk to the doctor again

Hi -

i started waking up with stiff fingers in a claw like position in the morning shortly after I started taking lipitor. I have stopped taking lipitor for 5 months now and still have the stiffness in my fingers. Sometime it starts at night - right hand more so than the left. Now they are just stiff and I cannot close it into a fist and my right ring finger has developed into a trigger finger. There is no swelling or discoloration and I am concerned as this has not stopped. I told my doctor about it and he ran both blood and urine tests and found nothing.

Does anyone know about this?

I too have been waking up with my fingers really stiff. My doctor says it is probably arthritis, but didn't seem too concerned about it. It started suddenly and involves both hands. Every morning my hands are so stiff it takes awhile to loosen them up. I read somewhere that it has to do with fluid retention in the arms and hands while you sleep. Now my fingers are sore all the time. I wish I knew what is causing this and if there is anything I can do to keep it from getting worse or to stop it! :?:

Dorothy,

after six months of temp work helping a company move their corporate offices, I started waking up with stiff fingers every morning. It would take me several minutes of gentle movement and knuckle popping before I could make a fist and have full range of motion.

I tried changing my diet (eliminating dairy and red meat), strengthening exercises and massage, with no success.

Since my fingers were fine during the day, I began thinking it was a build-up of (sinovial?) fluid during the night. So I tried keeping my hands in loose "fists" while I slept, since that is the range of motion I was looking for. Every time I woke up, I just reminded myself to keep them that way (it was actually pretty easy to do). The next morning I was surprised to wake up with no stiffness and full range of motion.

This is now the morning of my fourth day after trying this technique and the stiffness has not returned. I am also massaging my hands and fingers for five or so minutes each night with ayurvedic oil, but even on the nights when I am too tired to do that, the closed hand position has helped tremendously.

My educated guess is that sleeping with the fingers extended must somehow cut off the circulation in the hands and lead to pooling of fluid.

I suppose if you were not a light sleeper, you could resort to putting sock over your hands to keep them closed. That might sound funny, but I was willing to try almost anything to wake up without the stiffness!

I would be curious to hear from anyone who tries this.

Btw: I am a fifty year-old mail, otherwise in good health, but with a family history of arthritis, particularly in the fingers.

The copycat

My fingers are getting stiff and it is hard to make a fist. What do I need to do?

I bought a new house about 5 months ago, and I started doing all the landscaping my self. digging the ditches for drains, sprinklers, and a wall I built out of large blocks (50lb each). I started noticing the stiffness in my fingers after putting in the sprinklers. I figured it would go away, I even theorized that it might be because of all the pipe glue that went on my fingers . Anyways I spent the better part of the summer working on my yard, and now the pain will not go away. Oh I should mention that my regular job is software development, so my fingers never got to rest.

Can anyone tell me is this just over use or signs of something else. Like you guys the stiffness only last for an hour in the morning, and one of my fingers gets locked. I'm 31 yrs old.

my fingers started hurting about 6 months ago. had to quit my job because of it (and other joint problems)

I wake up with swollen, painful stiff fingers. my fingers hurt so bad they feel broken some mornings!

...but yet my blood work is normal. blah

I'm seeing a specialist next month

I had stiff fingers and ankles until I started taking a special juice everyday. Now I don't have stiffness nor pain. The pain killers gave me an ulcer, but the juice doesn't bother my stomach and also keeps my cancer in remission.

I used to wake up with stiff fingers and ankles. I began taking Acai juice a year ago and I don't have any stiff fingers anymore.

I noticed that I could not close my right index finger. It is starting to affect the next finger as well. Doctor said it was carpal tunnel or a form of tendonitis. Could be, as I type a lot and use my hands frequently for crafts.

I notice that as the day goes on, the finger loosens somewhat. I can force the finger into a closed position, but feel tendon pain when I do so. I can close the finger normally after forcing it.

I'll try the Acai juice if I can find it.

Thanks!

My girlfriend is close to your age and is having the same problem. I was wondering if the specialist you saw, if you've already gone, has determined the cause.

I didn't think arthritis was something people in their 20's could get.

Hi, I am Bowesy. I wouldn´t bother with acai juice if I were you, it is the biggest con I have come across, it is merely conscentrated fruit juice and make no difference to stiff and painful fingers - at all! It's my view there is an opportunist putting this on a site, preying on people who are desperate for help - as I was and still am - to encourage their sales , probbaly as an agent. Thirty-four pounds for two bottles including postal charges. Ridiculous!. Don´t wast your money love.
But if anybody does know of a non-quack remedy I'd be thrilled.

I have the same stiffness and pain in my fingers but mainly in my left index finger. I went to the Dr. I got X-rays of my hands and it came back normal, all my blood work was normal also. So, I decided to go to a holistic Dr. he told me to take cod liver oil and other supplements that my body was lacking. My fingers don't feel as swollen in the morning anymore, but my index still hurts, so I took a class on EFT (Emotional freedom tech.) I see a big difference in the pain, it has not gone away completely but I am still doing the EFT. I am hoping it goes away soon.

You should restore your metabolism and clean capillaries.

As far as I know no any medication can really treat,

only Zalmanov emulsion can help.

Regards

I have the same problems mentioned here as everyone else and mine too seem to happen overnight. I wake up with stiff fingers. I have been going to someone who specializes in alternative therapies, and she put me on some supplements and minerals. She suggested that my thyroid is not functioning properly. Upon further research, I found that magnesium deficiency is responsible for alot of thyroid problems and stiff joints(my knees when stiff too, they are alot better now). I take magnesium/calcium supplement, and a supplement that contains nanokinase, which regulates thyroid function. I have noticed improvements but its not overnight. Please research thyroid disease symptoms. I found that repetivive stress(i am a hairstlyist) has alot to do with it also.

My problems in this area began four years ago with many of the symptoms you are posting: painful joints, swelling in my hands and feet. Four years ago all my blood work came back negative but I recently went in for more blood work for other things and they added the RA test again just to check (because my knees are now being affected and my toes cramp and curl up) and this time it came back positive.

I guess my point is, if I were you, I would have blood work done every year or two just to see if anything changes. It would appear that sometimes it doesn't show up in a test right away.

Many of you seem to have the same condition as I do - a stiff, almost immobile finger. When it first started, it was bad when I woke up, and then got better during the day. After about 6 months, I find it is bad most of the day, and usually only improves after intense aerobic exercise - exercise which does not usually involve use of my hands! After looking online quite a bit, I think what I have is called "trigger-finger" and it is described, and treatment recommended, at:

www.mayoclinic.com/health/trigger-finger/D S00155

I have the same symptoms as all of you do, I read that the aspartame in diet coke can cause methanol toxicity which cause these side effects. If you are a diet coke drinker, look at this web site it might help. MS, Lupus and Diet drinks.

My fingers are really stiff in the morning (both hands now) and take about 45 mins to get better so I won't drop anything. It is not arthritis. Docs say cortisone might make it better but I need to know what it is and heal it myself. Scan showed fluid at the base of the bad fingers which gathers at night. Glad to hear there are others with this condition. I thought it was just me!!