painful elbow

Dee -- My left elbow was always my worst joint from the beginning -- 1981. At that time, drugs like plaquenil and mtx weren't prescribed until you'd gone through the entire range of NSAIDS which did little if anything to slow disease progression. At least now the standard is to get you on the disease modifying drugs sooner so you've got a better chance to preserve your elbow. Cortisone injections may help reduce the inflammation so you can straighten your elbow. And cortisone can be really effective at knocking back stubborn inflammation while the systemic drugs work on the disease.

In my case, cortisone did not help so I had a synovectomy and radial head resection on the elbow which reduce the pain for years. I finally had a total replacement in 2009 which has eliminate pain but my elbow has not straightened since 1980.

Good luck and happy holidays.
Albizzia

Have had problems with my elbow for approx. 3 years. Recently found out it had been fractured a few years ago, but was treated as a flare when it was not. Have since switched doctors, but now I have a permanent contracture in my elbow. It seems to flare from time to time but usually goes away within 3 days without a dose pack.

I would suggest an x-ray. Wish I had gotten one years ago, because my old rheumy treated it as a flare without checking it at all. Love new rheumy, though.