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What are the common joint pain and swelling causes?

This Premium Q&A, reviewed and published, features a real conversation between an iCliniq user and a physician.

Patient's Query

Hi doctor,

About a month ago, I woke up with three of my fingers popping in the knuckles and fist. I put them under cool water, and it was better. When I went to my doctor, he said it was rheumatoid arthritis and prescribed some medicine. But those medications did not work. My blood test came back negative for arthritis.

I have been given shots. It started with a swelling. My right elbow is very sore to the touch, and I have no idea about it. My blood platelet count was 122 and low. I had a balanced diet for five days and repeated the test. Now, it is 118. I feel tired, but I do not bruise easily. I worked 72 hours a week for the last two months. My diet is not balanced, but my platelets made me concerned.

Please guide.

Thank you.
Answered by Dr. Sadaf Mustafa

Education:

MBBS

Professional Bio:

Dr. Sadaf Mustafa is an Internal Medicine Specialist. She can diagnose and manage complex and multisystem disease. She can treat chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disorders. She can provide preventive care and routine health assessments. She can help in the management of infections and autoimmune diseases. She helps in the interpretation of diagnostic tests and imaging reports. She can do medication management and adjustment for long-term therapies.

This doctor is not available for online consultations on the platform anymore.

Consult other doctors in the same speciality

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

It seems like two of your joints (fingers and elbow) are involved, which could happen in different types of arthritis. Some types of arthritis can cause low platelets. Kindly please give me the following extra information.

  1. How long have you had the finger popping?
  2. Was it the first time that you had this situation?
  3. Do you have any other joints involved besides the elbow and fingers?
  4. What is the name of the medication that you are taking?
  5. I want to make sure whether it is causing a low platelet count. Which arthritis tests did you have?
  6. Can you share the results?
  7. Do you take any other medications or over-the-counter medications?

Please follow up with the answers.

Thank you.

Patient's Query

Hi doctor,

Thank you for your reply.

I am having popping only in my fingers. I do get this issue only when I am asleep. Do they get this way?

They started about a month ago. I woke one morning, and they popped. At times, they wake me up feeling swollen. No other joints seem to be a factor. All others are good. I am on Bystolic for blood pressure and Lasix, a water pill, daily.

They did a blood test for rheumatoid arthritis. I am not on any over-the-counter medicines. I weigh 125.66 lb, and my height is 5 feet 11 inches. I also feel that this affected my sex drive.

Please guide.

Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Sadaf Mustafa

Education:

MBBS

Professional Bio:

Dr. Sadaf Mustafa is an Internal Medicine Specialist. She can diagnose and manage complex and multisystem disease. She can treat chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disorders. She can provide preventive care and routine health assessments. She can help in the management of infections and autoimmune diseases. She helps in the interpretation of diagnostic tests and imaging reports. She can do medication management and adjustment for long-term therapies.

This doctor is not available for online consultations on the platform anymore.

Consult other doctors in the same speciality

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Thank you for the prompt information. Here is what I would suggest. I advise you to get rheumatoid factor and anti-CCP testing (anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody). The rheumatoid factor alone is not enough to rule out rheumatoid arthritis. You seem to be having autoimmunearthritis and should see a rheumatologist.

Low platelet count could be due to autoimmune arthritis or due to Aspirin. If you take one, then I would suggest holding onto it. I would recommend a liver and kidney function test and to get ANA (anti-nuclear antibody) and double-stranded DNA antibodies to look for diseases like SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus). The reduced sex drive is due to Bystolic (Nebivolol).

I hope this helps you.

Thank you.

Medically reviewed by iCliniq medical review team
Published At February 15, 2017
Reviewed At June 23, 2026

Education:

MBBS

Professional Bio:

Dr. Sadaf Mustafa is an Internal Medicine Specialist. She can diagnose and manage complex and multisystem disease. She can treat chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disorders. She can provide preventive care and routine health assessments. She can help in the management of infections and autoimmune diseases. She helps in the interpretation of diagnostic tests and imaging reports. She can do medication management and adjustment for long-term therapies.

This doctor is not available for online consultations on the platform anymore.

Consult other doctors in the same speciality

Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Sadaf Mustafa
Dr. Sadaf Mustafa

Internal Medicine

Education:

MBBS

Professional Bio:

Dr. Sadaf Mustafa is an Internal Medicine Specialist. She can diagnose and manage complex and multisystem disease. She can treat chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disorders. She can provide preventive care and routine health assessments. She can help in the management of infections and autoimmune diseases. She helps in the interpretation of diagnostic tests and imaging reports. She can do medication management and adjustment for long-term therapies.

This doctor is not available for online consultations on the platform anymore.

Consult other doctors in the same speciality
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