Severe Pain
Dear Jeremy,
After a long period with mild CT symptoms I am in very bad pain today. Over Tuesday night I woke frequently with moderate pain and pins and needles in my right arm/hand. As I have found previously, the situation improved once I was up and about. Wednesday night I woke after just half an hour with very bad pain in the lower forearm and wrist and this has left me unable to get more than an hour or two's sleep. There is an underlying ache and 'on top' a severe stabbing pain which varies a little with movement, but is mostly continuous. There looks to be a swelling of the knobbly joint on the outside of the right wrist.
My situation is worsened by arthritis and gout in my fingers. Also by the fact that, having an ileostomy with short bowel syndrome, I can derive little or no relief by means of painkillers.
Any guidance please - I'm wondering if an injection could help me please?
With kind regards.
David Buckden
Thanks for your prompt reply Jeremy. I was out earlier, so have only just seen it - hence no-show in response to you kind offer. Would it be possible please to have a 'routine appointment?' As the day is progressing, though I'm still troubled by pain, it has either lessened a bit or I'm getting more used to it, so perhaps not the 'emergency' I was feeling overnight/early morning when I was having trouble coping. With kind regards. David.
it sounds a bit like an earlier episode which seemed to settle spontaneously according to the records I have. I can't really do anything tomorrow but if it persists over the weekend we'll take a look at you next week some time. Let me know how it's doing on Sunday please. JB
Thanks again Jeremy. With use of my splint overnight and Voltarol gel, I'm managing to keep the pain/discomfort down to a level I can cope with. I think you're correct in doubting whether or not CTS is either all or part of the problem, as my gout finger pain/joint swelling is also bad at the moment. As I assume it's better to avoid injections as much as possible, I'm 'happy' currently just to see if the arm/wrist troubles will subside without any further medication. With kind regards. David.
OK - you can probably drop in any day this coming week for me to take a look at it, though finding time ona machine to re-test the CTS might be harder. JB
Thank you Jeremy, but so as not to take up your time at the expense of other patients with immediate, severe problems, I'm just going to see how it goes without bothering you further for the time being. With kind regards. David
No problem, but stay in touch on here so that I know what's happening. JB
It's hard to be sure whether that is an exacerbation of the CTS or another problem. I can take a quick look at it for you this norning if you can get in to the department between 9:00 and 10:00 but I'm not necessarily promising any quick fix of course because I'm not sure what it is. JB