I'm weighing up surgery on my thumb joints

Posted , 148 users are following.

I have osteo arthritis of both thumb joints. I'm 70, still very active ( currently on a skiing holiday) and work full time in my business. My condition is getting increasingly painful. I get by with painkillers. I have seen a surgeon but I'm really concerned about the long recovery time. 

Has anyone here had basal thumb surgery and if so would you mind describing...briefly...what the surgery and recovery like and any complication. I would be most grateful.

Cheers. 

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  • Posted

    Sounds very interesting.  Some more info would be appreciated.  I am 2 weeks after my op and the swelling is going down but still quite a bit of pain, especially when the stitches were removed yesterday, one would not come out and he had to be quite forceful to get it, needless to say I was in agony. He wants to see me in 6 weeks, I trust this damn splint comes off before then. I am seeing a hand therapist, boy is that a license to print money!! So I gather they decide when it is time to remove the splint.

    Back to your original notification, this gelatin is it liquid or what?

    Cheers

    Peter

    • Posted

      The gelatin is granular...like jelly crystals. 

      There is a ton of info online....just Google " beef gelatin for osteoarthritis". 

      There are a lot of ways to take ....I prefer to mix it into a hot drink at bedtime..after 20 minutes I'm out to it and wake up not hungry and with minimal pain in my hands. 

    • Posted

      My pack arrived today, at present taking 2 tbsp mixed in water, reckon I should have more feedback within a week.  I am very hopefull I get similar results Peter.  I would prefer not to have to go through the procedure on my left thumb. It is not fun..!!!!
    • Posted

      Peter,

      ANy updates as to the progress with the Gelatin?  I finally get my hard cast off on the 22nd of this month and then I will  have a removable splint for four weeks as I start the hand exercises.....still some pain with the right hand...probably typing to much..trying to let it rest more for this final week.

    • Posted

      Judith, I'm 27 days now without pain killers...but whose counting...lol.

      I'm not entirely pain free but it's totally maneageable . I'd say on a scale of 10  my pain levels are between 1-2. 

      10 is the pain level I used to experience without pain killers. 

    • Posted

      Unfortunately after around 3 weeks using the gelatin, I can report no effect at all on my left thumb it is still as sore as ever, so unfortunately it does not appear to be working for me. Worth a try though. As far as the right one, I am full on doing exercises and weening off the splint. My therapist wants me to be able to touch the tip of my little finger with the tip of my thumb, that is a going to be a challenge as the closest I can get at present is around a cm away.  He also has  me using a square piece of sponge squeezing it to make a fist, that is relatively pain free, he reckons in 3 months I wont know myself, let me tell you that cannot come quick enough.biggrin

    • Posted

      Peter, you have to remember that you were taking Collagen NOT Gelatin. I took Beef Gelatin and only added the collagen after about three weeks and it did very little....maybe some mood improvement. 

      My 27 days without painkillers were due to Gelatin not collagen. 

    • Posted

      yeah maybe that is why it is not working.  I would have expected the joint formular to be better, It is from the same manufacturer after all.  Might be time to change to the beef Gelatin, nothing to lose but a painful thumb hey.cheesygrin

    • Posted

      Yep, I found out about the Joint benefits of gelatin by accident Peter. I originally bought it for gut health. Then I began researching it and lo and behold I found all these articles about how gelatin could ease arthritis pain and by the fourth day I found the pain in my hands was dramatically reduced by 80%. It was quite a surprise to me. 

      Totally agree that it's worth trying. All the reports I read stated that the effects  kicked in fairly quickly and that was my experience. 

    • Posted

      Thanks Peter, I will try the local distributor tomorrow, pretty sure that they have the green pack.cool

    • Posted

      can you send me orderin info for beef gelatin?  the green bottle i pulled up references gelatin and collagen, and it sounds like peter got the wrong thing?  thank you.
    • Posted

      Judith, I'll send you a PM with the link. What country do you live in? 

    • Posted

      Hi,Can u send link  to me also.?? ..had surgery Jan 9th on my left hand  moving very slowly.and I have a numb thumb. Now my other hand is starting to tweak! Need to get rid of that pain .dont want to do this surgery again! Ouch!!! I am also in the United States.

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