finger stiff..is it arthritis?

I have been experiencing stiffness, pain and swelling of my left thumb and forefinger for a while now.  Sometime at night I would experience "locking" of my forefinger and can't flex it.  When I try to straighten it I would hear a pop and it hurt.  I had x-rays done and my doctor told me my results were normal.  But I still can't really use my hand especially when it's acting up.  My doctor isn't really helping me to find out what's wrong with my hand.  Should I be more persistant in getting my hand diagnose?  

[txsilver]

I would definitely pursue it further.  Ask for an MRI so they can see the soft tissue.  You might go straight to a hand specialist and bypass the doc who is not interested in your case.  Never be afraid to change doctors if the one you are seeing is not helping you, listening to you or is just not interested in your symptoms.