More on my thumb

Two weeks ago I went back to my doctor for my thumb because it didn’t seem like it was getting any better at all. I was getting real frustrated with it, with the fact that I couldn’t use it, with the fact that it still hurt, a lot. Frustration to the point of wallowing bordering on depressing.

They did some x-rays and looked at it some more. Part of it had gotten better. The DeQuervain’s Tenosysnovitis they were worried about before was doing a lot better. But the next joint up was now manifesting as the cause of pain. What probably happened was that was always hurting, but the other stuff hurt worse the first time I went in, so it wasn’t seen as a big problem.

The doctor referred me to a hand specialist/surgeon. He told me there were three things that could happen. 1) I could just need more time in the splint. 2) It might require surgery if I had a partial tear in the ligament. 3) It could just be permanent damage and I’d never really get my grip back and I’d just have to learn to live with it.

That day, as frustrated as I was, none of those options seemed like a good one. Brett took me out to ice cream that night because ice cream always makes things better.42D

I saw the specialist yesterday (two weeks was as soon as I could get in to any on the list they gave me). Apparently the wrong joint hurts for him to figure out what was going on. I told him that area had hurt but was fine now and now it was the other joint that was really bothering me. I kept pointing at where it hurt and he kept focusing on the DeQuervian’s area. Not going back to that doctor if he doesn’t know how to listen.

But it does seem to be getting better, slowly. I do things around the house without the splint now, although I catch myself still compensating for my thumb. I opened my door last night with my fingers and not my thumb. And I was thinking about how if I’d had this injury 10-15 years ago, I’d be better by now, two months after the injury. But I’m not 15 or 20 any more. So maybe things are actually starting to slow down with my body and two months isn’t a completely unreasonable time to expect for it to get better.

Darn that patience thing.

Previous posts about my thumb: 2009 Injury Report (30 Jan 2009), If I could write (3 Feb 2009), An Ode to Thumbs (7 Feb 2009), I’m being decisive (18 Feb 2009)