by Bkworm » Mon Mar 13, 2017 8:08 pm
Hello randomhuman,
Welcome to the forum. I am not real certain exactly what dactylitis actually is beyond swollen digits. Will share my experience with RA in hopes it will be of some help to you.
My RA was diagnosed in 2010. At the time of the diagnosis I was wearing my rings on a chain around my neck because my hands swelled so much at night I was afraid I would wake up some day and have to have the rings cut off. I also had trouble getting shoes to fit or even be able to put them on in the mornings. My toes and feet as well as my hands were swollen constantly. Had never had a problem in these areas until the RA started. After I started this way of eating (WOE) in 2013, the swelling gradually went down so I went back to wearing my rings. In addition, I have lost 90 pounds over the past four years and still working on more. I have never had the swelling in my hands and feet again. I do have some disfigurement in the joints of my hands and feet, but nothing terrible. My toes look different to me but no one else has ever noticed them or commented on them. My hands were so bad to begin with I had to stop using a mouse or stylus with my computer and quit the career I had been involved in for over 10 years. I would wake up screaming at night with the fingers "triggering" into the middle of the palm of my hands.
If I happen to get into some food that I shouldn't, such as when eating at a friend's house or at a restaurant, I do still experience some pain in my hands and feet. However, have never again experienced the severe swelling of the first three or four years.
I only saw a rheumatologist three times after the RA diagnosis. He prescribed Methotrexate and Folic Acid and intended to start me on Enbrel at the next visit. I did have the prescriptions filled but never took them. Feel blessed to have found this WOE instead and have never looked back.