Will It Work?

Today I finally got to see a doctor about my left hand. They did x-rays that showed nothing unusual and upon examination we learned exactly what we already knew. I have stenosing tenosynovitis or trigger finger. In this case it happens to be trigger thumb. The reason I already knew this is because I had surgery for the same condition on my right hand about ten years ago.

The doctor was very nice and actually listened to my concerns. Then we discussed the options , either a steroid injection or surgery. We decided to try the injection first. If it works I could get relief for an unknown period of time. If it doesn't work, we'll operate.

The injection is pretty uncomfortable as they inject directly into the inflamed tendon. Ouch!! Then the thumb fought back, it got hot and swollen. But now two hours later the heat is gone and some of the swelling is down. It's still a little numb but that's good. This photo is from Google.

I need to pamper it for five more days, wearing my brace to keep it from bending, then he said to go for it and test it out. He says after those 5 days I can knit and cross stitch and whatever else I want to do. If after two weeks I'm still having pain, we'll schedule surgery.

 Sounds like a plan to me.