u/bgssrgvh

Surgery was at 7am this morning. Ulnar nerve release, transposition, and a volar plate capsulodesis in my thumb. I had a nerve block so they didn’t give me any pain meds and said as soon as I fell it start wearing off, start the pain meds. I was discharged and found out that apparently my insurance requires special approval for pain meds and it’s taken literally all day to get my meds approved and filled. The nerve block was gone within 5 hours so nothing is fully touching the pain now because I was already in massive amounts of pain when I finally got meds.

I’ve have several surgeries and this is by far the most painful omg. Pls send any tips that help.

Has anyone here had any luck with the Watson Protocol for shoulder issues? I’ve had problems with my left shoulder for years, included snapping scapula, a complete dislocation, a million partial dislocations after two rounds of crutches, and now some new pain that started after an elbow MRI in a terrible position two months ago. I think I have a torn labrum but we’re going the PT route even though I’ve rehabbed this shoulder extensively (on my own and officially with a physical therapist) for years. I’m with a new doctor who wants me to try the Watson protocol to stabilize my scapula and hopefully then smooth everything else out. Has anyone tried it and had any luck?

Has anyone had a volar capsulodesis on their MCP joint in their thumb? My thumbs regularly dislocate and the pain is getting to be too much. I’m also losing way too much function and need to do something. I’ve seen two hand specialist. The first said the only option was a joint fusion and he wouldn’t do it yet because I’m too young. The second offered the volar plate capsulodesis, and said it will not be a long term fix but it will buy me a little time (maybe a few years) before I’ll need a fusion. I’m leaning toward the capsulodesis but would love any feedback if anyone has experience!

I’ll be having it done with an ulnar nerve transposition

I’m back to cry some more after another sad doctor appt.

Saw a hand surgeon to hopefully get info on getting some thumb stabilization. He said typically he’d go for UCL reconstruction with active brace but in my case he won’t even recommend it because it will fail. I’ll just need to wait until I decide the pain is too much and then get a joint fusion, so basically I need to decide when pain outweighs function because I’ll lose a ton of function.

Has anyone had a thumb UCL repair? I’ll take good or bad experience. Did it last, did it fail? If it lasted, how long? I almost want to give it a chance just to get some relief. And has anyone gotten a fusion? I’m 33 so he said he wouldn’t do it yet because I’m too young but I’m tired of being in pain and I’m starting to have trouble working.

Diagnosed in December after nearly a year of symptoms: full arm numbness, increased tightness in the sides of my neck limiting movement, drop in oxygen sat when lifting my arms, feeling like the blood was draining from my arms, coldness in my hands when arms/blueness in my nails. I went to an orthopedic surgeon and he thought I had TOS. I also have cubital tunnel syndrome, so he gave me the option of seeing a vascular surgeon who would ONLY treat TOS but is top of the field (Dr. Freischlag) or a hand & nerve surgeon who would treat the TOS and the cubital tunnel, so I went with the second option (I realize now I’m an idiot).

New Dr confirmed TOS, sent me to OT, and cleared me at the follow up, and now 3 months symptoms are horrible. I’m doing a lot more research and realizing I don’t even know what kind of TOS I have because I was never even told there are different kinds, I never had imaging aside from a brachial plexus MRI with my arms down by my side (which is the only position I don’t have symptoms in), and there we’re literally no treatments offered aside from OT. I’m assuming I have nTOS but I do have a recorded drop in oxygen sat when I lift my hands up (lowest recorded is 82% in my left arm and 78% in my right arm) and the ortho I saw said my radial pulse dropped significantly during the Roos test. Can that happen with nTOS in anyone’s experience? Google is giving conflicting info. I have a lot of other medical problems going on and I’m trying to decide if I need to find another doctor because I don’t trust my current one anymore

I finally had bloodwork done yesterday after months of feeling awful and my ferratin came back at 27 and hemoglobin 14.3. I know it’s not terrible but I’m sleeping 12+ hours when I’m on my period, I’m constantly exhausted, shaky, I can’t think, I’m crying all the time, I feel horrible, and this is at least the 6th month in a row I’ve missed work during my period because I literally cannot get out of bed. I have a connective tissue disorder and a lot of orthopedic issues currently so I’ve had two major surgeries in the last 1.5 years and I’m due to have knee surgery at any time (waiting for a rescheduled date). My symptoms have gotten much worse after each surgery so I’m a little worried about recovering post op, especially going into surgery feeling as bad as I currently do. My PCP told me to start a supplement but I’m wondering if anyone had any luck asking for an iron infusion when you were around the 27 level?