Re: sausage digits and cortisone shots

[Guest guest]

> My former rheumy objected to the shots and said that he

> would never have injected them because there was no

> bone dameage -- only soft tissue damage.

The ignorance of some of the rheumatologists mentioned on this forum

never ceases to amaze me! Grrrrr... :-\

I'm glad to hear he's your " former " rheumy! :-)

-- Ron

[Guest guest]

My sausage digits were toes. The cortisone shots did not help. I had four

shots with my first digit. It relieved the pain for almost a month with

each shot, but the swelling remained for about 9 months.

Ks Di

[ ] sausage digits and cortisone shots

> Last week I experienced my first sausage digit. I'm hoping those of

> you who have experienced them can answer my question about them.

>

> First the top joint of my pinky finger became swollen and sore.

> Then, after a few days the whole finger swelled up and became very

> fat looking, compared to the others.

>

> Over the past 4 years almost all of my other fingers have become

> inflamed, one after the other -- usually every 6 months. Those were

> not sausage digits. Most of those episodes involved the lower

> tendons leading to the finger (6 different trigger fingers/frozen

> fingers). The first time I had a trigger finger I was referred to a

> surgeon who didn't know I had PA. He tried to cure it with a

> cortisone shot, which didn't work, so he eventually had to operate.

> (I watched him pull a dime size peice of scar tissue out of the hand

> area just below the finger). He was able to completely cure the

> other subsequent trigger fingers that occured over the years with

> cortisone shots because he recognized them early and treated them

> right away. I say " cure " because the treated fingers have been fine

> ever since (the PA always seems to choose a finger that has never

> been affected). Anyway, the last two episodes have been different.

> These episodes have involved the top joint of the finger and the

> latest swelled up like a sausage. Anyway, both fingers seem to have

> been cured by cortisone injections. My hand surgeon injected the

> sausage digit with cortisone 4 days ago and it worked like a charm.

> Within 2 days, the finger went back to normal and feels great again.

>

> So my question is - have other people had this experience? Is it a

> common treatment to cure sausage digits with cortisone shots?

>

> My former rheumy objected to the shots and said that he would never

> have injected them because there was no bone dameage -- only soft

> tissue damage. I'm going to ask my new rheumy about this in January,

> but was hoping to gain some insight from the group before then.

>

> Thanks!

>

> Sharon

>

> Happy holidays everyone!

[Guest guest]

Thanks Ron. I'm glad he's my " former " rheumatologist too!! I

consider that my hand surgeon literally saved my hands (and several

toes) over the last 4 years. My ex-rheumy would have allowed them to

deteriorate to the point where I couldn't work or function (he

suggested that I learn to live with the problem, get orthortics,

etc...) My ex-rheumy's explanation about his reluctance to give

cortisone shots into soft tissue was that he's " more conservative " .

My hand-surgeon's comment was that, although he is not a

rheumatologist, he could see that the shots were very effective and

he was willing to continue giving them to me - even to the point

where he injected my toes, allowing me to walk properly and without

pain. I know that I need to find a proper DMARD now (I'm in the

process of trying Minocin), but in the meanwhile, my hands and feet

feel almost perfect due to the shots. Once a finger is injected, the

PA usually leaves that finger alone, looking for a new place to

strike. (The earliest affected finger has been good for more than 3

years since it was injected). I wonder if other people with sausage

digits or trigger fingers have had this kind of success with shots.

I also wonder whether a cortisone shot in the shoulder would " cure'

my PA related bursitis.

Sharon

>

> > My former rheumy objected to the shots and said that he

> > would never have injected them because there was no

> > bone dameage -- only soft tissue damage.

>

>

> The ignorance of some of the rheumatologists mentioned on this

forum

> never ceases to amaze me! Grrrrr... :-\

>

> I'm glad to hear he's your " former " rheumy! :-)

>

> -- Ron

[Guest guest]

I had the same experience with cortisone shots in my finger joints. Once I

received an injection they did not give me a problelm. It does seem as if

the PA moves on to another joint. I had three finger joints injected the

first one was almost three years ago. However the injection in my shoulder

was useless. It didn't even give me relief for a day. The shots in my knees

have to be repeated about once a year. Peggy B in sunny Fl. for the winter.

[Guest guest]

Thanks Peggy. It's interesting to me that the cortisone shots seem

to work so well, compared to everything else I've tried so far. They

just knock the PA right out of the injected area. Even the

prednisone, which feels so good at first, wears off after a while (I

agree with the comments in other posts about becoming a prednisone

junkie!). I'm still debating asking for a cortisone shot for my

shoulder - I'd be very interested in hearing from anyone who had a

shoulder cortisone injection that worked.

Sharon

> I had the same experience with cortisone shots in my finger

joints. Once I received an injection they did not give me a

problelm. It does seem as if the PA moves on to another joint. I

had three finger joints injected the first one was almost three

years ago. However the injection in my shoulder was useless. It

didn't even give me relief for a day. The shots in my knees have to

be repeated about once a year. Peggy B in sunny Fl. for the winter.

[Guest guest]

Thanks . It's interesting how some of us react so differently to

the same treatment.

> My sausage digits were toes. The cortisone shots did not help. I

had four

> shots with my first digit. It relieved the pain for almost a month

with

> each shot, but the swelling remained for about 9 months.

> Ks Di

>

> [ ] sausage digits and cortisone shots

>

> > Last week I experienced my first sausage digit. I'm hoping those

of

> > you who have experienced them can answer my question about them.

> >

> > First the top joint of my pinky finger became swollen and sore.

> > Then, after a few days the whole finger swelled up and became very

> > fat looking, compared to the others.

> >

> > Over the past 4 years almost all of my other fingers have become

> > inflamed, one after the other -- usually every 6 months. Those

were

> > not sausage digits. Most of those episodes involved the lower

> > tendons leading to the finger (6 different trigger fingers/frozen

> > fingers). The first time I had a trigger finger I was referred to

a

> > surgeon who didn't know I had PA. He tried to cure it with a

> > cortisone shot, which didn't work, so he eventually had to

operate.

> > (I watched him pull a dime size peice of scar tissue out of the

hand

> > area just below the finger). He was able to completely cure the

> > other subsequent trigger fingers that occured over the years with

> > cortisone shots because he recognized them early and treated them

> > right away. I say " cure " because the treated fingers have been

fine

> > ever since (the PA always seems to choose a finger that has never

> > been affected). Anyway, the last two episodes have been

different.

> > These episodes have involved the top joint of the finger and the

> > latest swelled up like a sausage. Anyway, both fingers seem to

have

> > been cured by cortisone injections. My hand surgeon injected the

> > sausage digit with cortisone 4 days ago and it worked like a

charm.

> > Within 2 days, the finger went back to normal and feels great

again.

> >

> > So my question is - have other people had this experience? Is it

a

> > common treatment to cure sausage digits with cortisone shots?

> >

> > My former rheumy objected to the shots and said that he would

never

> > have injected them because there was no bone dameage -- only soft

> > tissue damage. I'm going to ask my new rheumy about this in

January,

> > but was hoping to gain some insight from the group before then.

> >

> > Thanks!

> >

> > Sharon

> >

> > Happy holidays everyone!

[Guest guest]

Hi Sharon,

I have not had one in the shoulder, but I sure could use one. (I am a little

hesitant to do it too!) I have had some injections in my fingers, and just like

you said... it knocked the PA right out of those joints, and hasn't returned

full force in any of my finger joints that were injected. On the other hand, I

had one in my ankle that did NOTHING for me. So, this leaves me to wonder if it

only works in the small joints, but not the larger ones. Any ideas? Also, I

had some injections in my toe that greatly improved the condition of my toe. I

am interested in the shoulder injections too! My Dr. keeps offering to inject

it, but I just don't know that it would do any good.

In a message dated 12/26/2002 7:33:47 PM Eastern Standard Time,

sjssjs00@... writes:

> I'm still debating asking for a cortisone shot for my

> shoulder - I'd be very interested in hearing from anyone

> who had a

> shoulder cortisone injection that worked.

>

> Sharon

[Guest guest]

I am new to this site, but I had my shoulder injected and it only lasted about 3

days.I have had P/PA for 22 years. I just had both knees replaced and had

reconstruction surgery on my left foot and have to have my right foot done yet.

My back flared up really bad after my knee replacements and I had a nerve block

in my back but it did not work. I applied for disability on the advice of my PCP

but was denied. I am now appealing it. I also had my left index finger fused due

to the arthritis.

" sjssjs0000 <sjssjs00@...> " <sjssjs00@...> wrote:Thanks Peggy.

It's interesting to me that the cortisone shots seem

to work so well, compared to everything else I've tried so far. They

just knock the PA right out of the injected area. Even the

prednisone, which feels so good at first, wears off after a while (I

agree with the comments in other posts about becoming a prednisone

junkie!). I'm still debating asking for a cortisone shot for my

shoulder - I'd be very interested in hearing from anyone who had a

shoulder cortisone injection that worked.

Sharon

[Guest guest]

Thanks ,

So far I haven't heard of anyone who had their shoulder injected with

lasting good results. My GP's theory is that injections into the

fingers and toes work well because those areas are small and self-

contained, whereas the shoulder joint covers a much larger area, and

would require more cortisone than can be safely injected. Also, he

said that because the shoulder area is not self-contained the way a

finger or toe is, the injected cortisone disipates more rapidly, so

it has less opportunity to work. This make some sense to me. My

former rheumy just refused to do it saying " I don't think it will

work. "

The cortisone injections I have had so far worked extremely well in

my fingers and toes, but didn't work at all on my wrist.

Sharon

> Hi Sharon,

>

> I have not had one in the shoulder, but I sure could use one. (I

am a little hesitant to do it too!) I have had some injections in my

fingers, and just like you said... it knocked the PA right out of

those joints, and hasn't returned full force in any of my finger

joints that were injected. On the other hand, I had one in my ankle

that did NOTHING for me. So, this leaves me to wonder if it only

works in the small joints, but not the larger ones. Any ideas?

Also, I had some injections in my toe that greatly improved the

condition of my toe. I am interested in the shoulder injections

too! My Dr. keeps offering to inject it, but I just don't know that

it would do any good.

>

>

>

> In a message dated 12/26/2002 7:33:47 PM Eastern Standard Time,

sjssjs00@h... writes:

>

> > I'm still debating asking for a cortisone shot for my

> > shoulder - I'd be very interested in hearing from anyone

> > who had a

> > shoulder cortisone injection that worked.

> >

> > Sharon

[Guest guest]

Hi Maureen,

Thanks for the input. I'm starting to think a shoulder injection

would be a waste of time.

Sorry to hear about all the surgeries you've had to go through and

your trouble getting disability benefits. I hope you win your appeal!

Sharon

Thanks Peggy.

It's interesting to me that the cortisone shots seem

> to work so well, compared to everything else I've tried so far.

They

> just knock the PA right out of the injected area. Even the

> prednisone, which feels so good at first, wears off after a while

(I

> agree with the comments in other posts about becoming a prednisone

> junkie!). I'm still debating asking for a cortisone shot for my

> shoulder - I'd be very interested in hearing from anyone who had a

> shoulder cortisone injection that worked.

>

> Sharon

[Guest guest]

Hi Sharon,

Thanks for the info. Makes complete sense to me!

[Guest guest]

I've had a few toes and fingers injected and all but the last one has

resolved the problem. My knuckle was injected a year ago and stayed

clear for almost one year. A month ago it flared up and I got another

injection. But this time the knuckle got worse. Now most of the

finger is involved and I can't straighten it completely. So I wonder

if I should get another injection. I have an appointment tomorrow.

> >

> > > My former rheumy objected to the shots and said that he

> > > would never have injected them because there was no

> > > bone dameage -- only soft tissue damage.

> >

> >

> > The ignorance of some of the rheumatologists mentioned on this

> forum

> > never ceases to amaze me! Grrrrr... :-\

> >

> > I'm glad to hear he's your " former " rheumy! :-)

> >

> > -- Ron

[Guest guest]

I think it would be worth a try, given your previous successes with

injections. I've had a couple of instances where more than one

injection was required (although usually one injection does the

trick).

Sharon

> > >

> > > > My former rheumy objected to the shots and said that he

> > > > would never have injected them because there was no

> > > > bone dameage -- only soft tissue damage.

> > >

> > >

> > > The ignorance of some of the rheumatologists mentioned on this

> > forum

> > > never ceases to amaze me! Grrrrr... :-\

> > >

> > > I'm glad to hear he's your " former " rheumy! :-)

> > >

> > > -- Ron