I often wonder myself whether it's RA, OA, Fibromyalgia, or a combination of all of the above that keeps me wondering what to do next. :/ I finally decided the best route for me to take was to get to a spine and pain management center that can (hopefully) keep me comfortable without surgery and heavy narcotics. I just want to remain active and independent for as long as I can....it takes so long to be seen by a specialist these days. I have to pray for patience daily when I'm in a flare...it's been pretty tough going since the cooler air of Autumn returned. Knowing that I'm not the only one helps so much. Take care and be blessed RA/OA/FM/Chronic Pain sufferers! Try to make Thanksgiving entertaining as simple as possible! :)

Great answers everyone. Unfortunately now both hips hurt so bad I can hardly sit, bend over or down or walk and throw in my good shoulder. Lol. I am feeling twinges of pains in my joints in my fingers so maybe I am having a flare. You think I would know this by by now but with this disease you never know.

For me, I can tell in my hands and wrists because they swell up and are warm to the touch. Sometimes they even look red. But others aren't so easy to tell.

Heavens I don't know. I have hand a foot pain daily. I know that's RA However the roving pain in other places is just as painful. I'm not sure. RA can damage so much and so many systems in the body I'm overwhelmed most days. It's crazy.

When my hip pain started, I thought it was my back, but went to an orthopedic specializing in spine surgery ... he diagnosed the problem to be my hip. So every time I would walk the pain was excruciating. Why? Bone on bone rubbing against each other. Both hips were diagnosed as Osteoarthritis, not cause by RA. Hips were replaced 2007 and 2008. The same diagnosis giving to both shoulders. Replaced 2005 and 20012.