Ellie Olryan
27, Female

Ellie has come to see her general practitioner because of joint pains in her hands and feet.

She is 27 years old. She is currently on parental leave and is 3 months post partum. Her child is still breastfeeding, and is developing well.

She first noticed symptoms 8 weeks ago, but had attributed her symptoms to being tired as she is a new mother. She describes swelling and stiffness in her wrists, knuckles and fingers. The symptoms are worse in the mornings when she first wakes (in fact she comments that the discomfort in her hands is waking her from sleep around 5am). Her wedding ring has had to be cut off as it became too tight.

She also reports symptoms in her feet, and describes it like ‘having stones in her shoes’ when she starts walking.

She has been taking ibuprofen tablets from the pharmacy, which have helped her symptoms.