A totally new pain and severe misery tonight - OT

[Guest guest]

Hey y'all,

Today I went to an orthopedic surgeon to see what I could do about the

increased pain I've been having in the thumb of my left hand. I was

diagnosed with bi-lateral carpal tunnel after having annoying problems with

my hands and elbows two years ago. I've worn j-cock splints on them at night

and taken to wearing one on the left hand in the past few months because the

pain in the thumb area of that hand had become increasingly more severe.

It's gotten to the point that I can't open a door, twist off a cap, lift

anything,

button clothing, tie shoes, etc.,, without experiencing sharp jabs of pain that

lingers.

The meds I have for my CP do nothing to help this pain, so I started taking

Advil about two weeks ago and found that DID help most times, but only

temporary. So it was time to talk to a professional about the carpal tunnel

surgery, which is a simple procedure with a high success rate and only a brief

few days of recovery time. The plan was to talk to the surgeon, let him look at

the hand, and schedule surgery for after the holidays, since I use my hands so

much more this time of year putting up decorations, making decorations,

sewing, wrapping packages, arranging flowers, baking, rolling dough, etc.

The surgeon listens to my symptoms, reviews the report from the previous

doctor, looks at the results of the EMG and other nerve stimulus tests and

manipulates my hand into different positions that are meant to help diagnosis

the problem. The fleshy part at the base of my thumb was swollen slightly and

I told him that the thumb and first finger were the only parts of the hand that

ever hurt. He verified that I had Tinel's syndrome, which had been on my

report, but didn't get the expected reaction of pain with some of the other hand

maneuvers. He told me that while the carpal tunnel existed in a mild form,

that that wasn't what he believed my problem was. He said that I had a bad

case of basal joint arthritis in my thumb! He wanted to verify his dx. by

having

some x-rays done, which were done immediately, and yup.....that's what it

was! You could see the fluid and where my thumb joint was completely out of

alignment.

" Immediate, temporary remedy for this is a shot of cortisone " , he said, telling

me that the bad news was that this cortisone shot was one of the most painful

shots of all shots to administer. He said that I wasn't at the point where he

felt

surgery for CTS was necessary, if fact, he felt that if the thumb problem could

be allieviated, that it might be years before the CTS progressed to the surgery

point, and he certainly wouldn't do any surgery for it now. Did I want to try

the

cortisone? He told me again that it was bitterly painful and the choice was up

to me. Length of time of relief " could " be a very long time.....everybody's

different.....another one of those YMMV things, I guess.

I've got a really high threshold for pain, (don't we all?), so I said to go

ahead....let's just get it over with. My lord, it was the MOST PAINFUL thing

I've

ever had!!!! The 20 seconds it took seemed like 20 minutes, and it got worse

as he injected more cortisone. I was laying down and my legs jerked up off

the table, and I was howling so loud they heard me out in the lobby.....which

fortunately, was empty !!!! I had to have anti-couagulant shots in my abdomen

with a needle bigger than a pencil, (it seemed), when I was younger and had

thlebitis, and I thought those were the worst thing I'd ever experienced, but

those paled in comparison to this shot in the base of my thumb. WOW!!

Now tonight the whole area is swollen and hurts like sin! I'm typing one-

handed because I can't use the left hand at all. The numbing agent wore off

much too quickly for my satisfaction and I'm just praying that I'll be able to

get

any sleep. I have to figure out a way to protect that hand from any weight,

contact or pressure because it hurts just to touch it. My hope is that within a

day or so the 2 cc's of medicine will start doing what it's supposed to and

relieve the original pain - that's what it's supposed to do, anyway. I've heard

of other people getting cortisoine shots, but never heard anyone say that they

were painful......why didn'y somebody say anything, cuz this ain't fun tonight.

So if I seem grouchy, useless or short tempered with y'all tonight or tomorrow,

you'll know the reason why.......(wink). It takes so long to type with one hand

I

know I'll have to curb my usual longevity. My desire to always fill up a blank

canvas will just have to go unfulfilled until my hand gets back in working

order, and you'll just have to forgive my grouchiness and uselessness until it

does. (smile)

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

www.pancassociation.org/anthology#Heidi.html

Bluffton, SC

SC State & SE Regional Representative

Pancreatitis Association, International

Note: All comments or advice are based on personal experience or

opinion only, and should not be substituted for professional medical

consultation.

[Guest guest]

Heidi, there is a special massage for this, that people have had great

results with if the therapist is skilled. It's called NMT

(neuromuscular therapy)out of ST. 's.

http://www.stjohnseminars.com/

Helped mine a lot.

Eileen

[Guest guest]

Eileen,

Thanks for the info. I am scheduled to see a therapist this week and

will find out if she knows about this. The surgeon said she's really

fantastic with BJAL, so I'm hopeful that she'll help.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

www.pancassociation.org/anthology#Heidi.html

Bluffton, SC

SC State & SE Regional Representative

Pancreatitis Association, International

www.health.groups.yahoo.com/group/pancreatitis/

Note: All comments or advice are based on personal experience or

opinion only, and should not be substituted for professional medical

consultation.

[Guest guest]

>Hi Heidi-

Your experience sounds positively gruesome but I believe you will

find relief shortly, if you have not done so already. Those shots

can work miracles, from what I have heard. So sorry about your

ordeal but am wishing you a pain free, flexible and productive

thumb

> Hey y'all,

>

> Today I went to an orthopedic surgeon to see what I could do about

the

> increased pain I've been having in the thumb of my left hand. I

was

> diagnosed with bi-lateral carpal tunnel after having annoying

problems with

> my hands and elbows two years ago. I've worn j-cock splints on

them at night

> and taken to wearing one on the left hand in the past few months

because the

> pain in the thumb area of that hand had become increasingly more

severe.

> It's gotten to the point that I can't open a door, twist off a

cap, lift anything,

> button clothing, tie shoes, etc.,, without experiencing sharp jabs

of pain that

> lingers.

>

> The meds I have for my CP do nothing to help this pain, so I

started taking

> Advil about two weeks ago and found that DID help most times, but

only

> temporary. So it was time to talk to a professional about the

carpal tunnel

> surgery, which is a simple procedure with a high success rate and

only a brief

> few days of recovery time. The plan was to talk to the surgeon,

let him look at

> the hand, and schedule surgery for after the holidays, since I use

my hands so

> much more this time of year putting up decorations, making

decorations,

> sewing, wrapping packages, arranging flowers, baking, rolling

dough, etc.

>

> The surgeon listens to my symptoms, reviews the report from the

previous

> doctor, looks at the results of the EMG and other nerve stimulus

tests and

> manipulates my hand into different positions that are meant to

help diagnosis

> the problem. The fleshy part at the base of my thumb was swollen

slightly and

> I told him that the thumb and first finger were the only parts of

the hand that

> ever hurt. He verified that I had Tinel's syndrome, which had

been on my

> report, but didn't get the expected reaction of pain with some of

the other hand

> maneuvers. He told me that while the carpal tunnel existed in a

mild form,

> that that wasn't what he believed my problem was. He said that I

had a bad

> case of basal joint arthritis in my thumb! He wanted to verify

his dx. by having

> some x-rays done, which were done immediately, and yup.....that's

what it

> was! You could see the fluid and where my thumb joint was

completely out of

> alignment.

>

> " Immediate, temporary remedy for this is a shot of cortisone " , he

said, telling

> me that the bad news was that this cortisone shot was one of the

most painful

> shots of all shots to administer. He said that I wasn't at the

point where he felt

> surgery for CTS was necessary, if fact, he felt that if the thumb

problem could

> be allieviated, that it might be years before the CTS progressed

to the surgery

> point, and he certainly wouldn't do any surgery for it now. Did I

want to try the

> cortisone? He told me again that it was bitterly painful and the

choice was up

> to me. Length of time of relief " could " be a very long

time.....everybody's

> different.....another one of those YMMV things, I guess.

>

> I've got a really high threshold for pain, (don't we all?), so I

said to go

> ahead....let's just get it over with. My lord, it was the MOST

PAINFUL thing I've

> ever had!!!! The 20 seconds it took seemed like 20 minutes, and

it got worse

> as he injected more cortisone. I was laying down and my legs

jerked up off

> the table, and I was howling so loud they heard me out in the

lobby.....which

> fortunately, was empty !!!! I had to have anti-couagulant shots

in my abdomen

> with a needle bigger than a pencil, (it seemed), when I was

younger and had

> thlebitis, and I thought those were the worst thing I'd ever

experienced, but

> those paled in comparison to this shot in the base of my thumb.

WOW!!

>

> Now tonight the whole area is swollen and hurts like sin! I'm

typing one-

> handed because I can't use the left hand at all. The numbing

agent wore off

> much too quickly for my satisfaction and I'm just praying that

I'll be able to get

> any sleep. I have to figure out a way to protect that hand from

any weight,

> contact or pressure because it hurts just to touch it. My hope is

that within a

> day or so the 2 cc's of medicine will start doing what it's

supposed to and

> relieve the original pain - that's what it's supposed to do,

anyway. I've heard

> of other people getting cortisoine shots, but never heard anyone

say that they

> were painful......why didn'y somebody say anything, cuz this ain't

fun tonight.

>

> So if I seem grouchy, useless or short tempered with y'all tonight

or tomorrow,

> you'll know the reason why.......(wink). It takes so long to type

with one hand I

> know I'll have to curb my usual longevity. My desire to always

fill up a blank

> canvas will just have to go unfulfilled until my hand gets back in

working

> order, and you'll just have to forgive my grouchiness and

uselessness until it

> does. (smile)

>

> With love, hope and prayers,

> Heidi

>

> Heidi H. Griffeth

> www.pancassociation.org/anthology#Heidi.html

> Bluffton, SC

> SC State & SE Regional Representative

> Pancreatitis Association, International

>

> Note: All comments or advice are based on personal experience or

> opinion only, and should not be substituted for professional

medical

> consultation.

>