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Rheumatoid arthritis usually comes on slowly. You may first notice that your joints feel a little stiff, especially in the mornings. Later, your joints may begin to swell and feel painful.

The disease usually affects the small joints in the fingers but also may affect the joints in the feet. It tends to happen in similar areas on both sides of your body.¹

At the start of the disease, you may feel tired and lose your appetite.¹ This is because rheumatoid arthritis can affect the rest of your body, too.

The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis can come and go. So that means that you will have good weeks and bad weeks.

The main symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are:

• Pain
• Stiffness
• Joint swelling
• Lumps under the skin.

Here's an overview.

People describe the pain of rheumatoid arthritis as aching and throbbing. The amount of pain varies from person to person and also from day to day. Oftentimes the mornings are the worst. The pain often eases after half an hour or so as your joints get moving. ¹ The pain tends to be worse after you've been sitting for a while.

If you have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, then it is normal to feel anxious about being in pain. But there are lots of ways that you can control your pain. Your doctor will give you painkillers but other things, such as exercise, can also help.

If you want to read more about how you can control your pain, see Managing pain.

Joints that are affected by rheumatoid arthritis often feel stiff. The stiffness is usually worse first thing in the morning, and you may find it difficult to move around. But once you get going, the stiffness can get better.²

Doctors aren't sure what makes your joints feel stiff. But it is probably because your cartilage becomes rough. This stops your joints from moving smoothly. (Cartilage is the material covering the ends of your bones in your joints.)

Your joints can swell up in rheumatoid arthritis. Usually it happens in the small joints of your hands, wrists and feet. In your fingers, it can affect any joint, except the ones closest to your fingernails (except in the thumb). Your joints can feel warm when you touch them and look slightly red.

The reason your joints swell is because the lining of the joint becomes inflamed and makes too much fluid. This fluid, called synovial fluid, then makes the joints swell.

Sometimes rheumatoid arthritis can spread to other parts of the body.³ One of the most common areas it can affect is your skin. About 1 in 5 people get firm lumps under the skin, called rheumatoid nodules. These lumps are often on the back of the elbows or on the finger joints. You can have them removed by surgery if they bother you.