Posted 3/8/2015 12:59 AM (GMT 0)
My middle, ring and pinky fingers on both hands triggered and were locked down. The orthopedic surgeon said his first course of treatment would have been cortisone, but couldn't because I had previous reactions to caine family local anesthesia, so couldn't inject cortisone in the office. He decided to do surgery since trigger finger treatment had to occur in hospital setting. He said he would do my right hand first and then my left hand. Surgeon said it would be simple and I would not require occupational therapy.
I was surprised when he removed the bandages. Instead of the small incisions he described, he had cut a 1" incision into my palm for each of the middle and ring fingers. He said my trigger finger was worse than he expected and so he did not perform surgery on my little finger because he thought it was too much. And he wrote me a referral for occupational surgery. I asked about surgery for my left hand and he said after your occupational therapy we can talk again. I started wearing a splint on my left ring finger day and night to prevent triggering.
To make a long, long story shorter, while in therapy, I said that my left shoulder was really bad. The orthopaedic surgeon affiliated with the therapy center discovered that I had multiple bone spurs and rotator cuff damage; and, when he looked at my hands, he told me I had Dupuytren's Contracture and carpal tunnel in both wrists. The first orthopedic surgeon did extensive x-rays and MRIs on both hands - but his notes don't mention anything except trigger finger. Did the trigger finger cause the Dupuytren's?
By the by: for my shoulder surgery I had general anesthesia and it didn't go well either, removed a bone spur on clavicle and another on scapula, repaired torn rotator cuff and removed one bursa and 1/2 of other bursa, gave me cortisone injections in 4 fingers and both thumbs. I woke briefly after surgery and stopped being responsive, the hospital neurologist was called to determine whether I had a stroke. It was determined that my MS was causing my inability to talk or see or recognize family members and I spent 48 hours in ICU. Doubt that orthopaedic surgeon will ever perform surgery on me again either.
My fingers, hands, shoulders and knees are in constant pain, but I can not take NSAIDs because they cause bleeding in my stomach, and no one will prescribe stronger pain meds that I can tolerate because everything is listed as a narcotic now.
I have MS (15 years diagnosed), Sjogren's Primary, osteoarthritis, and Fibromyalgia. When I lived in Seattle I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis; but my PA rheumatologist says those diagnoses are not supported by my labs.
Oh, forgot to mention that I have fallen on stairs twice in past 5 years resulting in a crushed toe that is fused with no mobility and multiple pelvic fractures the other time. And had my gall bladder removed, and my throat stretched 2X, what else?
But back to my original concern, is my osteoarthritis at the root of all my orthopaedic issues? And what can be done for the chronic pain. My rheumatologist in PA says my orthopaedic conditions are not supported by my lab results and there isn't anything other than the 270 mg. gabapentin and 400 mg of hydroxychloroquine a day to prescribe. I take Copaxone, baclofen, oxybutynin and clonazepam for my neurological conditions; and nystatin because of all the other meds.
But it is the physical pain that is most difficult.