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← Return to "Quality of life"......a gift that just keeps on giving.
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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
Elizabeth - I'm on the Chris team - arthritis has been attacking for years, diminishing the use of my hands. But I refuse to surrender - I have had surgery on both thumbs and one wrist, coming up on the other. Also numerous injections, lots of PT, hip replacements, knee surgery, bone spurs scraped...
I urge you to see if you are still a candidate for CMC joint surgery using either Chris' "anchovy" technique or my "tightrope" technique. I feel as if I've gotten my life back, even though not complete strength. My friend waited too long, and had to have full fusion to ease the pain.
As for the wrists, the same is true - 10 years ago, another friend my age & I were both suffering greatly - I chose to go through corrective surgery, which was disruptive, but gave me my hand back. She chose to wait, thinking that at 60 she was "too young" for arthritis, taped & splinted to get by - by the time she decided she couldn't stand the pain the bones ends were completely destroyed, she had to have the wrist/forearm fused...
Sue
Replies to "Elizabeth - I'm on the Chris team - arthritis has been attacking for years, diminishing the..."
Sue, for years I went to one of the top ortho clinics here, got hundreds of steroid shots in my finger/wrist/thumb joints. I asked repeatedly for some more permanent and proactive help, surgeries of some kind? Medications to slow the process and/or relieve the pain? PT? Nothing. I was told I was getting all they could do.
I finally did have a hand surgery to hopefully increase the use of my right thumb and reduce the pain. Very difficult surgery. No difference at all. Still can't lift the thumb up off a flat surface or use it at as a thumb!
I made the decision they were not interested in solving my problems, they were not interested in treating the arthritis. Nope. About that time, I stopped all shots in joints, as I think they were, in my case, not resolving any issue but temp pain relief. Torn rotator cuff - no surgery to repair as I have a balance issue and the recovery would be too difficult! Humpf!
I refused cervical and lumbar surgery for multiple herniated discs, etc. Got shots for years. Stopped.
That's when I determined to go off pain meds, everything I could, and find the best pain relief and/or repair/or whatever possible......the good Lord soon pushed me to Mayo for MS diagnosis or to determine what was happening neurologically. Praises........I'm now here with you folks, have far less pain, getting true diagnoses and treatment....and, sadly, finding more issues! But, with solutions as well!
Signing off for the day. Very tired and need to rest.....oh, tomorrow will share my Best Buy purchases....HP 17.3" laptop! + other....Blessings, all. Elizabeth
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@sueinmn, Because of increasing hand arthritis, I copied your response to @ess77 into a word doc to save for future reference. Thank you for the encouragement not to procrastinate, which I can sometimes be prone to do and also for the types of surgery techniques available.
Like your reports of friends' delaying surgeries earlier, several of mine have had hip replacement surgeries, done the needed rehab and regained much better mobility. However, one refused to do prescribed physical therapy afterwards and now is so crippled she can hardly navigate with a walker. I shudder to think what my life would be if I hadn't agreed to the long p.t. prescribed following my seven fractures several years ago.