Not sure where to put this...finger pain

[RNRita]

For about 2 weeks I have been woken from sleep by my fingers...all joints, bilaterally, have extreme pain. It hurts so badly to try to move them from a fist to straight and back.  When I get up in the morning, it takes a bit before they calm down.  I went to the doc and he can't figure it out.  No swelling, nor inflammation.  I don't use them in any odd way during the day.  This is odd because this started out of the blue and it is all joints in both hands.  How can that be?  Anyone ??????

[RNRita]

Thanks for the answer.  I am a nurse and know that RA has certain symptoms to watch for.  The thing that is puzzling both me and my doctor is that there is no swelling of any kind, nor fluid. Just pain.  Now aching all day.  This seemed to come so fast that I cannot understand what could be wrong.  

[GettingOlder]

Diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), in the early stages, can be difficult. There is no single test that can clearly identify rheumatoid arthritis. Instead, doctors diagnose rheumatoid arthritis based on factors that are strongly associated with this disease. The American College of Rheumatology uses this list of criteria:

1.Morning stiffness in and around the joints for at least one hour.
2.Swelling or fluid around three or more joints simultaneously.
3.At least one swollen area in the wrist, hand, or finger joints.

If this persists you should see a doctor before it gets worse. Best wishes!