If anyone has ever had a steroid injection in their hand, please reach out as I have been struggling with this pain; I hate to say it on and off since 2019, it is now impacting doing exercise, opening doors as my left hand is so fragile, sore and tender!
I have decided to go for a steroid injection but wanted advice before I proceed. I am a bit of a coward when it comes to injection, as when I was first diagnosed, my consultant injected my backside, and I winced in agony!
Is it worth having this? Did it help?
I really appreciate any help you can provide.
As always, take care of yourselves -Hessie ๐
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Hessie5
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Hi hun...firstly are they injecting into a tendon? If so ask to freeze the area first so that you don't feel the needle. It hurts I won't lie afterwards, but make sure you rest hand as best as you can. Ive had a few in my wrist but last one was in 2015. The one in the butt cheek is a little pinch at first but hurts later. I hope you get some relief from it. Its different for everyone but I only got a few weeks relief if that but others a lot longer. Hope it goes well x
Thanks for replying - not sure where the injection will be, having an ultrasound first. Oh dear - I am dreadful with injection and pain - yikes! I have visions of the scan and me backing out ๐ - appreciate your feedback. Take care, Hessie ๐
You will be okay hun. Ive a huge fear of needles and all the nurses and doctors know this so they all distract me the best they can. Im such a baby ๐ถ lol
Hi poor you I know how you are feeling as I had exactly the same in my left hand especially, and I had steroid injections in both hands , it stung a little but it was fine , I just thought a little bit of discomfort for a min for a great relief on my hands , thatโs how you have to think , it was in my mind it must hurt being in your hands but itโs fine , you will be fine
Thank you for your helpful.feedback. I shall put on my big girl pants ๐ - fortunately, just the one hand I just can not imagine having this in both, how frustrating for you. I shall continue wearing the wrist brace and light exercise and go for it when they call. You have reassured me. All the best to you. -Hessie ๐
Hi there! I've had both of my wrists injected this year back in Feb 21. The injection worked really well giving me 95 percent of movement back into both wrists. My left wrist was particularly stiff (possibly as it was fractured some years ago) but it does feel better.
What we are trying to achieve now through medication is the effect of the steroid. My nurse assured me that this level of relief can and should be achieved with the correct meds.
I am newly diagnosed (12 months ago) and I'm injecting Methotrexate weekly and taking Sulfasalizine daily.
I'm not quite there in terms of relief but it's much much better.
Thank you - my single biologic doesn't seem to reach the left-hand inflammation frustratingly! I do have movement at present, thankfully, so grateful for that.
Thanks again for reaching out, and I do hope you get the right meds to help you. All the best ๐
Thank you - they are going to do an ultrasound first! - the frustration with steroids is the plastering the effect that later returns. Take care - Hessie ๐
I haven't had one before into the hand, but was offered them into each hand. I cancelled the appointment, as I was worried about the pain. I ended up starting a new medication a few weeks later, so I wanted to see if the improvement in my hands were due to the new meds. If I'd have taken the steroid injections I wouldn't have known if it was that or the meds. I picked the right choice as ive had an improvement. I was so worried about the pain, maybe if you talk to your nurse they can give you something to numb the area before.
Thank you for the feedback - you would think we would be used to pain with RA - I am assessing all the kind feedback so far - I am taking two steps forwards only to go back one ๐
Glad to know all is well with you! My best, Hessie
I feel for you, the pain is horrible and I remember I was stressing myself out over the decision to have the steroid injections or not. I know its only for a few seconds, but when you've not had them before it's scary. I'm a bit of a wimp with pain, I hope you manage to have them. Let us know how you get on x
I have had 2 injections in the same hand. I admit the injection stings when it is going in, but is bearable and lasts only a few seconds. Both injections worked very well and the effect lasted for years!
Thanks for your helpful feedback - now that is unbelievable. If that is possible, I shall go for it- .my thoughts were to get the injection which would enable me to exercise and hopefully help the hand heel and give me some relief from the constant tender and soreness I experience daily. Did it all unfold and get worse post the two years? As I read somewhere, it makes things worse. I just wondered how it is for you at present.
Both times, after having the cortizone shot, my meds were adjusted to bring my RA under better control. This certainly would have improved my hand, but MTX, for example, took a least a several weeks to show improvement, while the hand where i had the injection began to feel better within the week.
The past year I have been struggling with my RA symptoms since i had to discontinue MTX. I am on my third med now, which is Olumiant. I feel like I am getting some results though the benefit is very gradual, and that hand is actually better than the other one.
I've had a few in different places, including the hand and they have all worked apart from 1 where I didn't rest the area for the first 48hrs afterwards. Not the most pleasant of things, but for me the gain was worth it.All the best.
Hi there. I have had many injections in my wrists and fingers, in fact many joints in various parts of my body. Some of them hurt more than others but most of them last for seconds. It's a no brainer compared to weeks or months of pain. In my experience 99% have been successful. The worst jabs for me were in my ankles and one through my instep under xray. They were very painful but very successful. I would not worry about the pain in fingers. It is just a stinging feeling for literally a few seconds. Well worth it. All the best.
Hi I had two injections on top of my hand a few months ago, she asked if I was ok with needles, I said not too bad. I canโt lie but I found it very stingy but it was only for a few minutes and I thought it would be worth it as I was in so much pain. I know everyone is different but I heard from a member that you can have a flare with the injection and I guess was the unlucky one as my pain was awful. It also didnโt work for me. I was put back on oral steroids and they helped take the swelling down but my hand is still not right, the movement is still not there and itโs still painful but not as bad. Sorry this is a negative post and Iโm sure you will be one of the lucky ones that it works for you. Best wishes and Iโd go through it again if there was a chance that it would work next time.
Thanks for your helpful response - I am gathering it is a painful experience - but how very annoying when it fails ๐ The thought of an oral steroid could be an option; I did take prednisolone a couple of years ago, not so keen to retake it. I shall see how I feel on the day - make sure to eat a good hearty meal. I hope your hand improves more each day. All the best. -Hessie
I've had several injections into different joints, I won't lie, they do hurt, but that is worth it for the relief you can get. The first one I had in my right elbow not long after I was diagnosed. I had shattered it the elbow a couple of years earlier in a fall and it was painful ever since, but it had got to the point where I couldn't straighten my arm. Which you wouldn't think was a big deal, but it made walking agony, where do you put your arm if it's not down by your side? Anyway the consultant injected it, I rested it in a sling for 2 days and 10 years on, it hasn't given me any problems since.
They tell you to rest, this is very important, try not to use the hand for 24 to 48 hours after it's been done, this helps the steroid to stay in place and not move away from the affected area. So if you can get someone to help you with as many things as possible (driving home, cooking, eating etc) that will help. I've had some where I haven't rested as much as I should have and they aren't as effective.
As for the needle itself, don't look, find something on the wall to focus on and think about something else. It'll be done in no time.
Thank you, Yebam - good to know the things you should and shouldn't do. It sounds like you had a positive experience in terms of problems receding. Did you have to exercise your arm? I shall take your comments on board and hope that I need the one injection to enable me to strengthen the hand as right now, I can't even do a press up or lift my weights.
There has been no need for any exercise for me after any of my injections, so hopefully the same will be true for you and it will allow you to get back to doing the things your want to do.
I do sympathise with you immensely my left hand is also very bad & im in such a lot of pain with it now as we speak I have my nurse tomorrow Iโm praying for a Kenalog injection however I actually had my thumb injected with the steroid it was very painful & I found it didnโt help one bit jag in the backside done more I do this helps & your feeling better soon ๐xx
Thanks for the kind advice - it's incredible what we once took for granted - I have put up with this pain for too long, and it's prohibiting my life, so time to find another way. I pray everything works out for you with what you are going through right now - and shall keep everyone updated with my left-hand journey to better health ๐- take care, -Hessie
Thank you so much I hope you get some relief what ever they choose to give you I myself am praying tomorrow will bring me a wee steroid jag a lease off life for a wee while good luck xx๐
Hi Hessie, Iโve had the injection in my left hand because the pain was unbearable. Yes the injection wasnโt at all pleasant, but worth having as it has helped me big time. Like you I donโt like and am frightened by the thought of needles. It is important that you totally relax, I held a nurses hand and he talked to me. Hope that helps so go girl and have it ๐
Thank you - reading all the comments, the injection impacts people in different ways. I can only hope and pray it works. Right now, the pain outweighs the thought of the needle as I could do with a day without the sore joints and pain. I need to get back to weight-bearing exercise! Hopefully, with some gentle exercises, it should improve where I do not need another one. Thanks again for the inspiring comments - right, let's do this ๐ do take care -Hessie
I had it in my hand at the bottom of my finger in the fleshy part palm side up, hurts like hell but only for a few seconds but well worth it for the results.
Yes steroid injections have been very successful - for me - Iโve had x3 in the RH centre at wrist & x1 in LH all over a period of 5years. The RH wrist is where RA first started happening (& it wasnโt bilateral) and my my wrist felt like it was broken (over time I could no longer do side planks or push ups) - the epicentre of the pain was in the pisiform area. These injections hurt but they have given me near normal wrists and allowed me to remain on lightweight DMARDS (have Seropositive RA with blood markers that were never that extreme as I was spotted early for RA by a GP and started treatment). Other flares come & go where another DMARD was added but the RA remains havoc on my life. The long wait in hand brace & using ice & pain killers before the steroid injection makes me scared for future health care.Hope it works for you.
Thanks, Orangebox. If this can give me the reprieve needed, I am going to have to do it! I hope it holds out for a long time without the need for another anytime soon.
Glad it worked for you - RA is my right-hand nemesis that never appears to shift no matter what I do. So this is the last resort.
Things shall get better for you, don't you worry ๐- you take good care- Hessie
I'm very sorry to hear you are in so much pain ๐ฅ
I've had a lot (!!) of steroid injections into my hand (and many other joints) when my RA was active; into the fingers and wrists mainly (not sure where you'd have the injection?). It helped a lot and also very fast - steroids (especially injections but also tablets) have always worked wonders for me so I'd say it's worth a try! I can't remember that it hurt - I used to be very afraid of injections but I've never had pain or complications from them, it was more like a phobia type of thing. I hope this helps!!
Two injections last month, one in left wrist, one in right knuckle. The shot in wrist where I had a cyst was Just plain excruciating, But the pain lasted for a few seconds, and then it was over. the knuckle shot did not hurt as bad as the cyst. I am now 5 weeks out and completely free of the pain and swelling. So a few seconds of pain was well worth the ability to use my hands. Both hands very sore for two days after the shot, then everything began to get a lot better.
I have just had my second ultrasound guided steroid injection. The first was nearly a year ago. Into two joints in my right hand. The first was quite painful but the second, just on Monday was very good indeed. The doctor showed me what the ultrasound picture meant, including where the damage is, and then injected a local anaesthetic before each of two steroid injections. In each case he used the same needle for the Lignocaine and the steroid so there was only one 'stab' for each joint. Overall, almost painless and very much worth it. Only five days on and my hand is almost normal. Swelling almost gone and movement much more comfortable.
Hey DenMum, I am ever so grateful for sharing your experience - very kind.
I am keen to see the ultrasound and what damage the RA is doing - I have decided to proceed once I hear from them; if you donโt mind keeping me posted from time to time, of course, to see how you are progressing.
My hand is sore, and one small swollen spot below the thumb area on the wrist joint. This has been on and off for years now.
I am so happy all is well for you - take it easy, and I shall keep you all posted when I get mine done ๐ have a lovely weekend ahead.-Hessie
I have had several injections in my wrists and I wonโt lie- it hurt, but they helped tremendously! My rheumatologist uses an ultrasound machine to target the precise area he needs to inject. He definitely has it down to a science. Hopefully you will get that kind of care too. Take a deep breath and go for it!
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