the fact that he said 'you don't have the hands of an RA pt ' makes me wonder how much he knows about RA.  my rheumatologist told me i'd NEVER have hands that were disfigured because that is a thing of the past, the result of untreated RA. my hands hurt very bad too, and i couldn't hold a toothbrush or a hair brush or button my pants.  i started with migratory joint pain in may, got worse end of june, and went to the see the doc in early july. saw a rheumatologist who dx me in aug, started me on relefen (no relief) and on plaquenil in sept, prednisone in october and within a week, i was ALMOST normal....since prednisone (or possibly plaquenil finally kicking in), i can say i'm feeling normal again.  i still get little aches and pains and twinges, but since i went on prednisone, it has given me pain free days again.  as of the past 2 weeks, i've not even had soreness or stiffness in my hands. i can make a fist in both hands now.  couldn't do that with my right hand.  i don't even think about my RA anymore unless i get a twinge now and again.  i suggest you learn as much as you can about this disease, and tell the doc what YOU think.  that's how i did it.  once my PCP heard that i had educated myself about what i thought i had, he didn't have to do a thousand blood tests to rule things out. i think it saved alot of time.  when he referred me to a rheumy who couldn't see me for almost 5 months, i took it upon myself and found someone else who got me in 2 wks...there's no time to waste.  get on it and do the detective work yourself.  it saves alot of time, aggravation and PAIN....maybe suggest low dose of prednisone with your plaquenil, see if it works.  i've had no side effects, weight gain or any other stuff connected to pred, only BETTER days!!  good luck!