Question: My husband awakes with swollen and largely immobile hands and stiffness in other body joints. He is 76 and grouchy- (not curable). Could this be rheumatoid arthritis which, we are told, usually afflicts females at a younger age?

My husband has had agonizing hand pain for the last nine months. Most noticeable during these past months has been the absence of night sweats that have been present in his sleep for many years. He has ruined more pillows and night clothes. He is no longer sweating at night and wondered if the sweat, not unlike urine, filters out systemic poison, sparing the kidneys. Since he began taking Trazodone replacing Ambien, his night sweats have vanished. He wonders if that medication - on its own - or interacting with his other meds could be causing the hand and foot swelling. My husband takes the following medications.
tamsulosin.4 mg 1 capsule daily 30 minutes following the same meal
tramadol 50 mg - 1 tablet daily as needed for pain
ydrocodone-acetaminophe 10-325 mg - 1 tablet 3 times a day
Duloxetine 60 mg (cymbalta) 1 capsule daily
senna-ducosate 8.6-50 mg - one tablet daily
lisinopril-hyrochlorothiazide 20-25 mg - one tablet daily
Voltaren 1% gel - topically on hands 4 times da day
trazodone 50 mg - take .5 tablet by mouth nightly
atorvastatin 40 mg - one tablet by mouth nightly
clopidogrel 75 mg - one tablet daily
nitroglycerin .4 mg - commonly known as nitrostat - one tablet under tongue every five minutes as needed for chest pain (only to be taken in an emergency)
amlodipine 10 mg, commonly known as norvasc - one tablet daily
lansoprazole 30 mg - one tablet daily
acetaminophen 500 mg every six hours as needed for pain
coensyme q10 10 mg capsule daily
comega-3 fatty acids-vitamine E 1,000 mg