Hi Dawn,
I don't know if I'd call them sausage looking, but I have significant problems with my hands/various fingers and joints. My worse are the left hand ring finger, two thumbs, and the 1st, 2nd and 4th nuckle on my right hand. I haven't been able to wear my wedding band or diamond for months now. The ring finger middle nuckle stays enlarged, and is obviously larger than the others. Sometimes it gets so sore it will wake me out of a sleep if I bend it during the night. My thumbs both have "trigger finger"(?) and get so sore sometimes that it's hard to dress or just maneuver things. There are days that my whole hand will be swollen. I just did a prednisone taper because of my hands.
I hope that yours don't give you too much trouble. I have about 5or 6 areas that are persistent and my hands are one of them. I don't know any tips to give you as far as keeping it under control. AS pretty much goes where it wants to. I can however give you a couple of tips if you need some help with your surroundings if your hands continue to be a problem. Take care, Wanda