I saw my consultant 2 weeks ago and asked about a finger joint replacement and was informed that it is usually done for people with osteoarthritis but because I have RA it would not be so straight forward as my RA was active and this is what was causing the problems using my hands and the awful pain so I was given a steroid injection which has helped alot and it is great, my fingers have gone down to normal and can use my hands alot better. It upset my sugars they went a bit high but it is worth it, its a pity there is drawbacks to having steroids as they are very good at lessening the pain!
review: I saw my consultant 2 weeks ago and asked about... - NRAS
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Had finger joint replacement during my ulnar drift surgery. You are in a catch-22 in that steroids could help, but it would help at the expense of your blood sugar. I had no problems having the digit replacements...I was informed that I might need some replacements depending on what they saw when they opened me up - I have three
Thank you for your help as I have found it difficult to know what to do for the best I have had x-rays of my hands but will have to wait till next appointment to find out the results, Is it better with replacements? and do you get any swelling around those particular joints if you get a flare because I was told that it would still cause pain around the replacements if my RA was not under control
For me, it is better with replacements. When they did the surgery for the ulnar drift, they cut some stuff (don't know what stuff is, I didn't ask), cleaned out the area, tightened things up to stop the drift, and put in the replacements. Around the replacements I have not had any swelling. Unfortunately those replacements don't stop some of my other finger joints to swell and my wrist is a hot mess.
My RA is extremely active, and where my replacements are...fingers and knees, *I* do not have swelling or pain. Of course, this may differ from person to person as I am sure you know.