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"Quality of life"......a gift that just keeps on giving.
Aging Well | Last Active: 2 days ago | Replies (250)Comment receiving replies
Well, Chris, I love your 'Quality of Life....'message. I also love the gifts you're giving yourself. Good for you! Question: tell me about the thumb surgery. I have extremely limited use of both now my thumbs. The right thumb has been useless for several years. The left thumb is just this year decided to give up! A hand specialist at Mayo discussed thumb joint replacement surgery re the right thumb. He said it's at least a 2 hour surgery, fairly difficult and requires a long recovery.
He completely took it off the table. So, I wear hard braces at night on both hands/wrists. They do help w/pain, but I am clostophobic, use a c-pap nightly with no mask!!!! but nasal pillow that's wonderful. However, to use that machine/head gear and wear hard braces on both hands is a bit much. So I rarely wear them as I must use the c-pap.
I don't think any truly elective surgery is a good idea for me at this time. But, I wonder if you're talking about something different? I'm getting along, have found different utensils/openers/holders, etc for my hands so I can get along. I can't pick up anything, open anything, any crafts is a ridiculous thought!
Just interested......Blessings, Chris. Elziabeth
Replies to "Well, Chris, I love your 'Quality of Life....'message. I also love the gifts you're giving yourself...."
@ess77, Your post of how extremely limited your use is of both painful thumbs and also the help c-pap nasal pillow provides is truly both humbling and inspirational. Humbling because you just "stated the case" with not a whit of whining..which I would certainly feel justified in doing! and inspirational because of how you "get along" with the accomodations you've found and use to help.
With increasing arthritis? in my right thumb and hand, I've begun to more than ever appreciate all my thumbs facilitate and have so long taken for granted.
Big hugs to you, Elizabeth, for your positive, can do spirit and determination despite the huge obstacles you are confronting! Have you had to re-train yourself to keyboard as well as all the many other "work arounds" you use?
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Good afternoon Elizabeth @ess77, Thanks for your inquiry about thumb surgery and care. I have arthritis in my thumb joints. As I was told by my orthopedic surgeon......make do with the thumb until you can't function or you are in pain most of the time. When the time came....he helped me with the hand surgeon and was my cheerleader. I had an anchovy surgery where a ligament in the wrist area is rolled into a replacement for the joint, Worked well.....not a lot of recovery pain but you do need to have a good hand OT.
This week I saw the other thumb under the scanner and it has lots of arthritis spurs. It is time. So.....the process begins with an injection in the thumb joint his week, some OT starting next week, and then we'll see how long that medication injection lasts before considering the appropriate time for surgery. They now have several new "replacement" parts for thumb surgery.
May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris