I'm weighing up surgery on my thumb joints

I had both hands done. One last Aug and one in December. I am certain you could play piano again. I still type like 1,000 words per min

Hi Greg, I'm delaying surgery for as long as I can. 

I have found relief by using the following three methods. 

1. Arthritis hand cream

2. High grade beef Gelatin broth. 

3. Arthritis gloves....these work well but would interfere with your piano playing. 

I have been off pain killers now for nearly 6 months using the three methods above. 

My main worry about surgery is unintended consequences and if you read these pages you'll find plenty of those.

Cheers 

I tried all the methods suggested by Caringbah, and they had no effect at all for me, had the surgery on right hand 6 months ago and it is great now, just waiting for strength to build up a bit more before having the left one done.

Everyone has to decide for themselves I guess. For me, I can't sit on things for too long. I needed to have the quality of life back and I have that now. It was rough as I got out of one cast and went into another one. I am glad it is behind me now and very glad I did the surgery. 

I agree regarding the unintended consequences, but by nature, people only come onto these forums to report an issue.  There must be thousands of others not showing up here that have had no issues..  Really it does boil down to getting a very well qualified professional, and the chances of problems should be very much minimised.  We all know that there is always a small chance with surgery that things can go wrong, that is a fact. If you are getting a great result with your procedures, stay with it, as the last thing one wants is to be operated on.  As you know I tried your suggestions, and absolutely nothing changed at least for me, maybe my arthritic damage was too great to be helped with non surgical methods.

I believe if the problem gets to be big that eventually surgery will not work, so basically damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Hi

I'm sat waiting to go to theatre for my first hand to be operated on!

I teach woodwind & piano so hoping things are better post op recovery.

One specialist I consulted when I was researching my options plays piano, & says it should be fine once recovered.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Sending best wishes from San Diego, CA. Hope all goes well for you. I'm still thinking about what to do and when on both my thumbs. Will check back for your notes on recuperating. 

Thanks.

I need surgery on both sides, but starting with worst one first!

Still waiting to go to op room, but should be any time soon!

Good luck!

Best wishes for a complete and speedy recovery. Am scheduled for 9/25 so interested in your updates.

Good luck, I just got mine right side done on July 11, I hope is the best decision I did. I was unable to use my right hand, and rhe sad part is Im right hand. Waiting on my recorvery.????

Had op yesterday. Trapeziectomy with soft tissue interposition on L hand.

Have a full bandage & half plaster cast down to elbow. Arm elevated upright in sling held on drip holder whilst in bed

It's so good to hear that all is well! I thought about you a number of times yesterday...  Are you in the hospital? It's an outpatient procedure in the US.

Hope your pain level is well managed once the intraoperative meds fully wear off... 

Wishing you an excellent recovery!!!  

Good to hear hurdle 1, over! Know it's Ben a long haul for you but you are now on your way. Drip pole? Fashion your own? According to my pre-op instructions, it's a big deal to keep that hand elevated. Hope you're comfortable and up and about soon, and continue to keep us updated.

Carmen, am R-hand as well, scheduled 9/25. Have been practicing with left but it's annoying, am wondering how long it will be before I'll be able to use any of my other right fingers to assist? Does the right hand have to remain totally immobile? Are you pretty much pain free now?

Thank you

I'm in the UK. Often it's a day case but as I live a bit of a way from the hospital, plus I have some intolerances or allergies to certain drugs, including some pain relief ones, it was easier to keep me in overnight for pain management.

I had the special sling with my arm suspended upwards whilst in bed. I don't need this at home but just to keep arm elevated. I have to wear a sling whilst walking around etc for first few days.

I am now home & resting.

Hi Kathleen

I don't need to fashion my own pole at home. I have a sling to wear whilst walking & was told to rest on cushions whilst seated.

I'm just laying on my bed resting at home now & have put a cushion at my side with my elbow resting on the bed & leaning against the cushion in an upright position.

I'm with you on the drug intolerance. I had general anesthesia, but they also did a nerve block so I wouldn't feel pain when I woke up. The arm felt dead till the next day and I had no control over it at all, so when it was elevated on pillows, it kept falling on my head :-D  I was relieved when the block wore off and I was no longer smacking myself!  

Eat good foods, rest, and if you are taking narcotics, remember to take a mild laxative or stool softener.  I'm an RN, so worry about things like that...      

Hi Devonia -- just checking in, wondering how you're doing. I'm sure you've started physical therapy by now -- hope you're progressing well and getting good reports from your surgeon and therapist.  

Hi

Not started PT yet, except for some simple finger movements as I'm still in a full cast. 

I had a 3/4 cast with heavy bandaging for the first week & had to keep arm elevated as much as possible. 

Then I went back to the hospital & had that all removed. A quick check by the the hand specialist & then I had a full cast put on. This will be in place until August 31, so a total of 6 weeks post op. 

I'm not yet 3 weeks post op. 

I go back on August 31 for this cast to be removed, see the specialist & then go see the physiotherapist for my 1st session. 

Wow -- your surgeons are more cautious than the one I used.  I was in a splint for a few weeks (no cast), started simple hand therapy one week post op, and went back twice a week for the next month. 

Well you sound like you're doing OK, so that's good.  Post back when you're making some headway with using the hand and let us know how you're doing.  I'll be thinking about you!!!  

Ginger  

I think every surgeon has their way of doing this procedure, plus I'm in the UK so things are different again! 

The full cast is causing a few issues as my hand is set at a slight angle. so certain positions are not possible. I'm trying to use the fingers on the operated hand for holding things, but can't put too much pressure on them as I soon know about it!! PT told me pre op to bend my fingers down towards cast several times each hour to keep mobility, and even though I'm doing that the index finger is getting quite stiff. I think it had some arthritis developing anyway. My fingers are pretty flexible normally as I have hyperflexible joints, which probably contributed to me developing thumb issues. I also have a very lax mid joint on the thumb that has had surgery. I had a minor procedure on this around 20+ years ago. Will be interesting to see how that affects my recovery.

My shoulders ache! Lots of shoulder rolls but feel like a good massage is what is needed.

I also have a sore area to touch on forearm just above the cast. Again probably due to the angle of my arm and trying to do stuff. I know I have been doing a bit much so trying to stop ;-) 

Have to elevate arm when walking around due to the cast and also wear a high sling if needed, and when out to protect my arm. 

Sorry if that sounds like a long moan. but I'm generally doing well. Been told to up my meds again a bit whilst I'm more active as had a few evenings/nights with very sore hand, lots of tingling and swollen.

 

Venturing out alone today to get toe nails painted!! Cab booked so just need to find something to wear over the cast to keep it dry, as we are having a typical British summer here. I was hoping for warm days so I could sit in the garden and recuperate but Netfilx is my friend right now :-)

Hang in there.     You are on your road to recovery.   There are many ways to do this surgery I have found out.   And the good news is all of them have high success rates.  

I am going to get mine done soon.  

Wondering how you are you doing a month since your surgery. Hope you are progressing and getting use of you dominant hand back. Mine is scheduled and always eager to hear tips on not having use of dominant hand.

kathy

Even here, surgeons are very different. I'm glad mine doesn't do a full cast and pushed me early into therapy -- I'm too impatient to rest long... The hand therapist made me progressively smaller and smaller splints to keep the joint in proper position as it healed, and I was quite respectful of the restrictions placed on me. If I was in a cast, I'd be like you--using those fingers as much as possible!  

My joints are also hypermobile, and I also had an earlier procedure on my thumb, which was behaving foolishly 30 years ago. I don't think it had any effect on the outcome of my 2014 procedure. 

You didn't sound moany -- just reporting the truth. Hope you'll soon book a massage to get some kinks worked out, and good idea/self-care getting a pedicure!  

This surgery and recovery are not for sissies!  They're hard, which is why people tend to wait so long before signing on... The alternative for me, though, was completely unacceptable -- to lose use of the thumb.