Early rheumatoid arthritis tends to affect your smaller joints first — particularly the joints that attach your fingers to your hands and your toes to your feet. As the disease progresses, symptoms often spread to the wrists, knees, ankles, elbows, hips and shoulders.

What were your first signs of rheumatoid arthritis?

The early warning signs of RA include:Fatigue. Before experiencing any other symptoms, a person with RA may feel extremely tired and lack energy. Slight fever. Inflammation associated with RA may cause people to feel unwell and feverish. Weight loss. Stiffness. Joint tenderness. Joint pain. Joint swelling. Joint redness.More items

When does RA usually start?

You can get rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at any age, but its most likely to show up between ages 30 and 50. When it starts between ages 60 and 65, its called elderly-onset RA or late-onset RA. Elderly-onset RA is different from RA that starts in earlier years.