What should you do if you have extreme arthritis in your hands?

What can you do to stop the the tingling in the hands with Rheumatoid Arthritis?

• My doctor told me I had borderline RA in the summer and I sort of forgot about it. Now with a new job I am constantly stressed. So, I started getting tingling in my hands and my hands would have that "fall asleep" feeling when I went to bed at night. This has been going on for about a month. So, with online research I read this is the beginning of RA. And stress doesn't help it. So, is there anything I can do about the hands? I wake up with numb hands and it is uncomfortable to go back to sleep. The only way to get the blood flowing again is to shake my hands and then sleep with them hanging down off the bed. I am still young! How can I sleep like this for the rest of my life? Any suggestions? And today is the first day that it has lasted after I woke up. It is mostly the the left hand and I can hardly type! What can I do???!!!

• Answer:

  Numb, tingley sensation for me seems to be related to circulation. So, anything you can do to improve circulation would help: hand exercises (sqeeze a ball), warm-water soaks or just washing hands with warm water. Also, avoid things that would constrict your blood vessels, such as cigarettes and alcohol. Sleeping with cotton gloves to keep my hands warm also helps me.