Hi everyone , not sure if anyone could advise in their experience..
My wife has had a bit of a flare to the hand and we’ve been using plenty of ice and copper gloves to bring down the swelling which has seemed to work well. However her Palm is still feeling tight and it’s caused numbness in her thumb, index and no her middle. Two docs and rheumatology nurse think it’s down to pressure from swelling on nerve subsequently causing carpel tunnel. She is booked in at her doctors for a steroid injection on Tuesday however it’s causing her great stress. Has anyone just gone to their local a&e in a time of need and had the a&e doc administer a steroid injection to relieve? Is this even possible? Thanks
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Binkyboy
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I went to local drop in centre when hands n wrists first started (didn’t know it was RA then). A&E here entails hours of waiting. They gave me splint, naproxen and decent painkillers (said tenosynovitis Don’t know about steroid shot but it’s worth a go. Good luck
Hiya Binkyboy. I don't know if you realise but you've duplicated your post. You may find it better to delete the other so all your replies are on just the one.
I've had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome a few times, operated on once. It is caused by inflammation causing pressure on the median nerve. I've never had a steroid injection for it just NSAIDs but often the first thing offered is a wrist sprint, worn particularly at night when the symptoms tend to worsen. You can buy them but ask advise for the best one, mine have a metal rib which can be altered for comfort or taken out if necessary. I was already under Occupational Therapy to help my hand strength but when they saw I had CTS they supplied both wrist splints. The first time I had CTS whilst I was waiting for my op the pain advanced to my shoulder & I found the best thing for some relief particularly at night was to dangle my arm down the side of the chair & also in bed, she could try that. My most recent CTS was due to a med, affected me bilaterally. Once my inflammation was brought down & the med was stopped my CT symptoms subsided so no need for a release op that time.
Does your wife also have tingling or pins & needles? CTS usually affects all but the ring finger so if it's that advanced she does need to see someone, maybe not A&E as not sure it's an emergency but her GP or a walk-in centre if she can't get an appointment before the weekend. She could maybe ask the advice of a Pharmacist, they'll advise about what's available to her re an NSAID & pain relief to put her on if all else fails. Remember to take a list of her other meds though wherever she goes so whoever she sees is aware of any that could contraindicate.
I hope some of this helps & your wife finds some relief soon.
No, she can rest assured many of us here have had it, sometimes recurring according to disease activity. It can be quite painful too.p so do mention the dangling arm thing!
No more heels is right. I think most of us have suffered carpal tunnel more than once. Steroid injection into the carpal tunnel definitely helped me. It was carried out by my GP and worked for quite some time. Dangling arm down the side of the bed, ibuprofen gel rubbed into the area sometimes help. I think a&e may not oblige if it's at all like our a&e. Certainly numb fingers and tingling are common symptoms due to nerve compression. It's very uncomfortable and makes it difficult to sleep. The steroid injection will relieve the problem. Good luck!
Hi I was originally diagnosed with carpal tunnel first and only when my hands and wrists really became swollen did they say RA - turns out all the swelling was causing the carpal issues. I had a steroid injection from my GP which helped for a bit but it only really got any better once the swelling was brought under control (a bit!).
My diagnosis remains RA, secondary fibromyalgia and secondary Carpal Tunnel. Hope this reassures her she's very far from alone ((hugs)) M x
I had the same and have just had carpel tunnel surgery which has helped a great deal, ask about having a nerve conduction test, this will tell them if the nerve is trapped. X
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