Wellness

[QVCPhobe]

I am 64 and I noticed last month that my middle finger was stiff when moved.  I went to the doctor and the hand was given and ultrasound and I was given a cortisone injection last week.  I am still experiencing some stiffness and there is a tiny amount of swelling at the injection site.  How long does it take before I can know that the injection was effective.  I understand that the condition is fairly common,  I thought that I caught the condition early because I could move the finger; it was just stiff.

Thanks.

[gizmogal]

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/trigger-finger/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20365148

https://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/guide/trigger-finger#1

http://www.assh.org/handcare/hand-arm-conditions/trigger-finger

[sweetee2]

My granddaughter was born with trigger thumbs. She had to have surgery on them. They had to cut the sheating around the tendon to release her thumbs so they could straighten out.

[chrystaltree]

Ask your doctor but most people who have that choose the surgery.  If's very minor bandaid surgery.  Just a snip of the tendon and you're cured.

[chickenbutt]

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@QVCPhobe wrote:

I am 64 and I noticed last month that my middle finger was stiff when moved.  I went to the doctor and the hand was given and ultrasound and I was given a cortisone injection last week.  I am still experiencing some stiffness and there is a tiny amount of swelling at the injection site.  How long does it take before I can know that the injection was effective.  I understand that the condition is fairly common,  I thought that I caught the condition early because I could move the finger; it was just stiff.

Thanks.

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The cortisone shot should provide relief pretty quickly, assuming the doctor did it in the right spot (that's important!).    I had it last fall, during treatment for my broken arm and it helped a lot - for about two months and then I had a lot of pain and trigger problems, just as before the shot.

I kind of thought about surgery for my trigger thumb and heard a lot of bad about it.  I am not in a position to have any type of surgery anyway, so I was pretty sure that was not going to happen.

  I just ended up fixing it myself.  I did one of those aluminum, padded, thumb splints for a while and then I massaged the joint and stretched it VERY gently a couple of ways for a while.  Next thing I knew, the trigger thumb was completely gone.  It's been about 8 months now and it's still gone.    Mine was pretty bad for quite a while, too.

[blondegirl]

I had surgery - piece of cake. Drove myself there and home. Sometimes cortisone shots don't do anything. And sometimes you are like me - and you react badly to cortisone so after the first shot I was not trying another. Before I went to the doctor I tried a brace, etc. but it did not work. The way it was explained to me is that overtime the tendon becomes like a frayed rope and it thickens and no longer is able to smoothly move through the hole it goes through. Mine was actually a thumb and I was not about to fool around with it for longer than I did because it was causing dexterity issues. 

[willdob3]

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@QVCPhobe wrote:

I am 64 and I noticed last month that my middle finger was stiff when moved.  I went to the doctor and the hand was given and ultrasound and I was given a cortisone injection last week.  I am still experiencing some stiffness and there is a tiny amount of swelling at the injection site.  How long does it take before I can know that the injection was effective.  I understand that the condition is fairly common,  I thought that I caught the condition early because I could move the finger; it was just stiff.

Thanks.

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@QVCPhobe

I chose not to get the shots because I didnt want the cortisone in me. I was told that surgery was the only way to correct the problem.

I accidentally found info online about the problem being a vitamin B deficency. I canceled surgery to see if supplementation would help. Supplementing Coenzymated B-6 AKA P-5-P resolves the problem and very quickly, too.  

[Azcowgirl]

I too was told surgery was the only option for my trigger thumb. I decided to try and see if it might heal on its own, and several months later, it resolved itself completely. 

[FranandZoe]

I had the surgery on three different fingers.  This was after getting cortisone shots a few times in each.  Mine would lock when I'd hold them like I was making a fist.  

I even had the same surgery on my wrist.

[Shelbelle]

I know of several people who have had surgery for this, good results.