The hand doctor shot my right thumb full of a steroid (after asking if I'd been vaccinated and boosted already, adding, "If they come out with a fourth shot, you'll want to wait a couple months. This stuff will interfere.").
It's a little scary -- who wants a needle stuck into their thumb, right near a joint? -- but they wash it with antiseptic and zap it with freeze mist first, and the worryingly-full feeling goes away in a few hours. The joint of my right thumb was still clicking and sticking last night, but as of this morning, it is at least not locking up and feels easier to move. Last time the shot took several days to take full effect and I expect the same this time.
If the "trigger finger" comes back, surgery is the next step. It was an option now (hand surgeons and their outpatient-surgery facilities are unsurprisingly not getting any extra workload from coronavirus cases), but I'd just as soon avoid extended time in medical facilities until we get through the omicron surge. The tendon runs in a little tube of cartilage, and when it swells up or gets bumpy and starts getting jammed up, there's no scraping it down. Instead, they slice the tube lengthwise and it will heal with clearance. The healing is not especially quick or convenient, being right there in one's hand and all, which is another good reason to put it off. I wouldn't be good for much in the way of actual work for a week or two, and on light duty for over a month.
Dealing with the hand specialist is remarkably smooth. This kind of problem is relatively routine and they treat it with an absolute minimum of fuss and bother.
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
4 comments:
As I age, I start getting arthritis in more places. While it's low on the pain threshold, it's always there. This was not explained to me when I was younger, and wish to lodge a complaint with management.
It will be so much nicer if your thumb behaves itself and settles down nicely. Good luck! One or another of my fingers sometimes has a hitch in rotating about the 2nd joint, but I understand that trigger finger is not to be sneezed at - especially when it's your thumb.
Speaking of someone that has had more 'procedures' during the Covid years than in the previous fiddy combined. The outpatient facilities are remarkably pleasant and efficient, considering. I imagine the hand one is similar. If that can help ease your mind any, I hope it does so.
I solved my trigger thumb by wearing a Futuro thumb stabilizer purchased at local drug store. I was told to wear it especiall at night. I hat shots.
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