Where do I go from here?

Guzzy

I have OA and last saw consultant last year when he did a carpal tunnel release. My X-rays showed that I have very little cartilage left on joints of right hand & he warned me pain was probably not due to carpal tunnel but would do this op first to rule it out. (I was also suffering from extreme pins & needles etc.)
In the pre-op consultation, he warned me I would need a Trapeziectomy later on - said I’m quite young (50) to have the cartilage damage and gave me an injection for pain relief which I found effective.
A year later and pins & needles gone but pain is incredible at night. I have been to the gp & he prescribed ibuprofen- which upset my stomach then the ibrofen gel but it’s not really helping & waking a lot because of pain so shattered. I asked about going back to consultant but gp said he can’t see how he can help - ‘he’s not going to operate on all the tiny joints in my hand’.
I forgot to ask him about injections - I was so down & getting myself muddled! Is this something I can ask for? Do I need to see consultant to access these? Thank you for reading 🙂

[Deleted User]

Hello Guzzy and welcome to the forum, I'm sure you will find lots of help and support here!

Pain that keeps you awake every night is not good, we need that sleep to cope with what's going to happen tomorrow.

May I suggest a call to our helplines? It's 0808 800 4050

There you will get 'tailor made' advice to keep you going and to help you move forward. Did you get a copy of the letter the consultant wrote to your GP after the carpel tunnel op? If not you could ring your surgery and ask for a copy of it ( the more help you can give re dates/name of consultant the better). It may be that he commented on the possible trapeziectomy.

Have you worked out why your hand is so painful at night? There are lots of non- medication things to try here like heat or cold, keeping the hand still - here's a booklet on pain relief

https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/assets/000/001/818/ManagingPain_web_original.pdf?1502875253

Please don't struggle on your own, keep posting and let us know how you are getting on

Take care
Yvonne x

helpline_team

Hi Guzzy and thank you for your post, I’m so sorry to hear about the pain you are experiencing at night and how difficult that can be to manage at times. As your current pain relief isn’t working it may be worth having a review of your medications with the GP.

It can be so easy to feel down and muddled when in pain so it’s understandable that you forgot to ask the GP about injections. Yvonne’s response seemed really helpful, I can only add that as far as I’m aware steroid injections into the wrist can be given for carpal tunnel which I believe you’ve had. Have a word with your GP to find out if these are only given by a consultant or if this is something the GP can help with.

You might like to take a look at our factsheet ‘Osteoarthritis of the hand and wrist’ which may be of interest to you: https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/do-i-have-arthritis/publications/671-osteoarthritis-of-the-hand-and-wrist

Please give us a ring if you would like to talk to us at any point on our Freephone Helpline: 0808 800 4050 (weekdays 9.30-5) here we can talk informally and in confidence.

I hope this is of some help.

Best wishes
Lynda

Guzzy

Thank you so much for your replies - will try and phone if I think I can do it without crying! I think it’s the tiredness & pain making me turn to mush when ever I have to explain which doesn’t help with the gp!