Worsening pain - surgery not for another 3 months
I started experiencing pain back in September of 2025. I went to physical therapy for a while and was released at the end of October 2025. The pain was very minimal and I only needed to wear my brace at work when I was using the 10 key and when I slept. The pain gradually got worse from Jan/Feb of 2026, then got nearly unbearable in May of 2026. I got a cortisone injection on June 1st, but a week later I was in even worse pain. I am unable to get surgery until 3 months after the injection, and even then I couldn't get on the schedule until September 28th. My pain has begun to radiate all the way up to my shoulder, and doing anything at work makes it worse. I was in tears the other day from using my letter opener 4 times first thing in the morning. I can't even wash my hair on my own because the pain has gotten so bad.
I am desperate for any advice. I have tried everything - physical therapy, tylenol and ibuprofen, ice, cbd ointment, penetrex, voltaren, paraffin wax, epsom salt soaks, essential oils - but the only thing that seems to help are salonpas patches. Even then, the patches only help my wrist and not the rest of my arm. Has anyone else with DQT experienced this, or does anyone know of another problem this could be leading to? I'm very concerned that I might be causing irreparable damage by doing simple tasks like typing an email. And, yes, my Dr did officially diagnose me with DQT.