I have something in common with the Lone Ranger. We both have a 'Trigger'. His was a horse. Mine is a thumb.
I have 'Trigger Thumb'. http://www.handuniversity.com/topics.asp?Topic_ID=28 .
Since about the first week of July, my right thumb has been hurting. I thought I had over extended it when I was helping the Hubster carry shelving from the foot of the drive way up and over and down to the basement. I wore a hand brace purchased from Wal-mart to stabelize it, until it rubbed a good size blister on my thumb. It didn't seem to help anyways.
Then, I thought maybe it was arthritis. I started taking extra strength Tylenol and exercising my thumb every day. I would wake up and it would be so stiff, so, I would run warm water over it, move it back and forth, etc., loosening it up.
In August I had a doctor's visit for some other minor thing, but mentioned my thumb, and the doc x-rayed it and declared it 'not broken' and no sign of arthritis. I wasn't convinced it wasn't arthritis. She did say if it was ,indeed, arthritis, it was in such an early stage of it, it didn't show up on the x-ray. I thought to myself then, if this is early stage arthritis, I truly dread the day I get advanced arthritis!
The rest of August and all of September, I kept waiting for the old digit to get back to normal. It didn't. It got increasingly stiff, increasingly swollen, increasingly tender and weak. And low and behold, the first joint of the doggone thing starting 'clicking' and 'locking'. I would have to 'unlock' it with my other hand. Whenever I exercise, the thing swells up bigger than a ballpark frank and gets as hot as one right off the grill. I popped extra strength Tylenol and aspirin ,and later, fiber tablets. I rubbed it in Aspercream and other analgesics . NOTHING HELPED MUCH!
After many tries to get an appointment with various orthopedic doctors, I finally got through to one in Snellville and set up an appointment. I saw Dr. Traub today.
He diagnosed me within one minute of walking into the exam room. Trigger finger. He reassured me that it was not an injury and not arthritis (not yet anyways). He said it is something that just happens, not because of anything I had done or not done. He informed me he was going to give me a shot.
Where? I asked. 'In your thumb, where it hurts'. He answered. Oh no! I am the biggest baby when it comes to needles. Do we have to? Where will you put it in at? Will it hurt? Yes, I have to in order to try to help you. I will put it in the thumb between your thumb and first finger. Yes, it will hurt. What are you injecting and what does it do? It is cortisone and it reduces the swelling and inflammation.
If you heard a loud scream and yell today,around 3:30pm, in the area of K-Mart in Snellville; That was me.
He inserted the needle and proceeded to push with all his might until the needle was inside the joint and hitting the bone and burrowing into the bone and surely felt like it was coming out through the palm of my hand. He then pulled it out, repositioned it and plunged it in again. I yelled so loud that Courage, who is normally not squeamish at all, jumped and nearly hit her head on the ceiling. The intern, or whatever he was, I am sure may have gone straight home to change his major in college. All I could think of is this,;Jesus withstood three nails in his hands and feet, and they were not to help him. I can take a needle because it IS to help me. But oh Lord! It hurt so bad.
The doctor was very nice though, and told me several times he was sorry for hurting me. He had a very good bedside manner which I think makes me feel better immediately.
Right now, my entire hand and wrist are sore, even after taking an extra strength Tylenol.
According to Dr. T, about 50% of people who have trigger thumb are helped with a cortisone shot and need no further treatment. The other 50% require surgery.
I go back to Dr. T in four weeks. We will see which 50% groupI am in. Please pray that I am in the former group who will need no further treatment.
I have 'Trigger Thumb'. http://www.handuniversity.com/topics.asp?Topic_ID=28 .
Since about the first week of July, my right thumb has been hurting. I thought I had over extended it when I was helping the Hubster carry shelving from the foot of the drive way up and over and down to the basement. I wore a hand brace purchased from Wal-mart to stabelize it, until it rubbed a good size blister on my thumb. It didn't seem to help anyways.
Then, I thought maybe it was arthritis. I started taking extra strength Tylenol and exercising my thumb every day. I would wake up and it would be so stiff, so, I would run warm water over it, move it back and forth, etc., loosening it up.
In August I had a doctor's visit for some other minor thing, but mentioned my thumb, and the doc x-rayed it and declared it 'not broken' and no sign of arthritis. I wasn't convinced it wasn't arthritis. She did say if it was ,indeed, arthritis, it was in such an early stage of it, it didn't show up on the x-ray. I thought to myself then, if this is early stage arthritis, I truly dread the day I get advanced arthritis!
The rest of August and all of September, I kept waiting for the old digit to get back to normal. It didn't. It got increasingly stiff, increasingly swollen, increasingly tender and weak. And low and behold, the first joint of the doggone thing starting 'clicking' and 'locking'. I would have to 'unlock' it with my other hand. Whenever I exercise, the thing swells up bigger than a ballpark frank and gets as hot as one right off the grill. I popped extra strength Tylenol and aspirin ,and later, fiber tablets. I rubbed it in Aspercream and other analgesics . NOTHING HELPED MUCH!
After many tries to get an appointment with various orthopedic doctors, I finally got through to one in Snellville and set up an appointment. I saw Dr. Traub today.
He diagnosed me within one minute of walking into the exam room. Trigger finger. He reassured me that it was not an injury and not arthritis (not yet anyways). He said it is something that just happens, not because of anything I had done or not done. He informed me he was going to give me a shot.
Where? I asked. 'In your thumb, where it hurts'. He answered. Oh no! I am the biggest baby when it comes to needles. Do we have to? Where will you put it in at? Will it hurt? Yes, I have to in order to try to help you. I will put it in the thumb between your thumb and first finger. Yes, it will hurt. What are you injecting and what does it do? It is cortisone and it reduces the swelling and inflammation.
If you heard a loud scream and yell today,around 3:30pm, in the area of K-Mart in Snellville; That was me.
He inserted the needle and proceeded to push with all his might until the needle was inside the joint and hitting the bone and burrowing into the bone and surely felt like it was coming out through the palm of my hand. He then pulled it out, repositioned it and plunged it in again. I yelled so loud that Courage, who is normally not squeamish at all, jumped and nearly hit her head on the ceiling. The intern, or whatever he was, I am sure may have gone straight home to change his major in college. All I could think of is this,;Jesus withstood three nails in his hands and feet, and they were not to help him. I can take a needle because it IS to help me. But oh Lord! It hurt so bad.
The doctor was very nice though, and told me several times he was sorry for hurting me. He had a very good bedside manner which I think makes me feel better immediately.
Right now, my entire hand and wrist are sore, even after taking an extra strength Tylenol.
According to Dr. T, about 50% of people who have trigger thumb are helped with a cortisone shot and need no further treatment. The other 50% require surgery.
I go back to Dr. T in four weeks. We will see which 50% groupI am in. Please pray that I am in the former group who will need no further treatment.
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