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Is It Safe To Have Cortisol Shots For De Quervain's Syndrome?
Question: I have had DeQuervain's Syndrome for well over 2 year and kept getting cortisone shots for it until it was just torture. My son suggested I see a hand surgeon. So I told the nurse that assists the doctor that my son suggested I see one. After a short time the doctor came in and said, "I hear you want to see a hand surgeon." He will only give me 2 shots at a time and charges my insurance $1,500. The doctor he referred me to didn't call for 2 mos. Did a office call with him and scheduled surgery for July 2, 2014. He prescribed oxycotin and said not to wait for the pain to take effect but to take them before the pain. The pres. said take 1 or 2 for pain. One didn't help so I took 2 and that worked. After taking occupational therapy I was doing good until near the middle or end of Sept. when the cortisone shot wore off and my 3 fingers from the thumb down to the middle one. I called the doctor that did the surgery and his response (from his nurse) was hang in there I'll see you in 3 wks. When I went in he proceeded to give me a shot in my middle finger which he said was a trigger finger. I begged for one in my thumb which he gave me haphazardly. Then he continued to yell at me saying I had arthritis and there was absolutely nothing anyone could do about it and I just had to learn to live with it, so get used to it. Today Dec. 11 has been the second time I have gone in to get more cortisone shots. My other doctor said I had trigger finger in my thumb and in my index finger. Of course I could only get my thumb done today. Next week I will go back for shots in my index finger. What is going on here? Was surgery botched up? Do doctors really have no feelings for their patients pain. I feel like I'm being bounced around just so they can collect money from my insurance and they don't give a damn about my pain. When I ask for some they just say no. Are there any caring doctors in the Green Bay area that can help me?
Brief Answer:
several thoughts
Detailed Answer:
First, there are real limitations based upon not actually being there. I cannot see if there is deformity.
Surgeons receive their pay for doing procedures. And cortisol shots are only a good procedure if many, many are done (they produce the money by being able to be done in high numbers). Therefore, there is a bias to do surgery even though survey's of patients clearly show that surgery is not an effective treatment for it. It is due to scar around inflamed tendons. Cutting the area will produce that; it is unlikely for cutting an area to lower the inflammation around it. No, surgery does not have to be botched since the success rate for surgery on this is lower than the success rate of NOT DOING IT (60% versus 90%!)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/0000
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/0000
Other diseases (rheumatoid, vascular, carpal tunnel) produce pain in a different distribution and overall diseases (rheumatoid) produce overall inflammation not localized to one spot.
Immobilizing the area and coritsone shots in the short run after surgery make sense BUT, cortisone shots AND moving the area to increase mobility gradually with physical and occupational therapy has multiple benefits. First, it loosens up the tendons, but more importantly it gets you psychologically conditioned to tolerate the condition better and is associated with a 90% success rate after 1-2 years.
Think physical therapist not doctor.
https://www.doximity.com/pub/william-van-dorp-md
this guy looks like a good combination of both, but I don't know him at all.
several thoughts
Detailed Answer:
First, there are real limitations based upon not actually being there. I cannot see if there is deformity.
Surgeons receive their pay for doing procedures. And cortisol shots are only a good procedure if many, many are done (they produce the money by being able to be done in high numbers). Therefore, there is a bias to do surgery even though survey's of patients clearly show that surgery is not an effective treatment for it. It is due to scar around inflamed tendons. Cutting the area will produce that; it is unlikely for cutting an area to lower the inflammation around it. No, surgery does not have to be botched since the success rate for surgery on this is lower than the success rate of NOT DOING IT (60% versus 90%!)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/0000
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/0000
Other diseases (rheumatoid, vascular, carpal tunnel) produce pain in a different distribution and overall diseases (rheumatoid) produce overall inflammation not localized to one spot.
Immobilizing the area and coritsone shots in the short run after surgery make sense BUT, cortisone shots AND moving the area to increase mobility gradually with physical and occupational therapy has multiple benefits. First, it loosens up the tendons, but more importantly it gets you psychologically conditioned to tolerate the condition better and is associated with a 90% success rate after 1-2 years.
Think physical therapist not doctor.
https://www.doximity.com/pub/william-van-dorp-md
this guy looks like a good combination of both, but I don't know him at all.
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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