On July 14th I posted a blog (click here to read it) about my current wrist problem, caused (surprisingly) from pregnancy. It was confirmed by an orthopedic doctor on July 25th that I have de Quervain's Tenosynovitis, so I thought I'd post a follow up blog with more information about it.
WHAT IS DE QUERVAIN'S TENOSYNOVITIS?
de Quervain's tenosynovitis is a painful condition affecting the tendons located on the thumb side of your wrist. A tendon is a strong band of tissue that attaches muscle to bone. A sheath, or covering, surrounds the tendons that go to your thumb. Tenosynovitis is an irritation of this sheath.
HOW DOES IT OCCUR?
de Quervain's tenosynovitis usually occurs from increased swelling in the body from pregnancy, or from overusing your thumb or wrist, especially in activities that move your thumb directly away from your wrist such as skiing or hammering.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
*Pain when you move your thumb or wrist
*Pain when you make a fist
*Swelling and tenderness on the thumb side of your wrist
*Feeling or hearing creaking as the tendon slides through its sheath
HOW IS IT DIAGNOSED?
Your health care provider will examine your wrist and thumb and find the areas that are tender and painful to move. An x-ray may be taken to be sure you don't have a broken bone.
HOW IS IT TREATED?
The initial treatment for de Quervain's tenosynovitis is a splint that will cover your wrist and thumb. It is important that you protect your thumb and wrist from activities that worsen your pain.
Treatment may also include:
*Placing an ice pack on your thumb and wrist for 20 to 30 minutes every 3 to 4 hours until the pain goes away
*Doing ice massage for 5 to 10 minutes several times a day
*Taking an anti-inflammatory medication
*Having an injection of a medication like cortisone
*Surgery
You will be given rehabilitation exercises to help speed your recovery and prevent the problem from returning. The longer you have symptoms before you start treatment, the longer it will take to get better.
My doctor prescribed physical therapy for me, but first I plan to ice my wrist and try the following exercises. My doctor was confident that although I've had the wrist pain for 3.5 months, my de Quervain's should be gone within 2-3 weeks of rehabilitation exercises.
1) Opposition stretch: Rest your injured hand on a table, palm up. Touch the tip of your thumb to the tip of your little finger. Hold this position for 6 seconds. Repeat 10 to 12 times.
2) Wrist rock stretch: Hold your injured hand out in front of you in the handshake position. Make a fist with your injured hand, but tuck your thumb inside your palm. Move your wrist down, hold for 5 seconds, then move your wrist up and hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 10 to 12 times.
3) Thumb extension: Hold a small weight (a soup can, for example) in your injured hand. Rest your forearm on a table with your wrist and hand hanging over the edge of the table. Starting with your hand in the handshake position (thumb up), move your wrist up and down. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
4) Wrist extension: Start in the same position as for the thumb extension (holding a small weight, resting your forearm on the table), but this time turn your hand palm down. Bend your wrist up, hold for 2 to 3 seconds, then bend your wrist down and hold for 2 to 3 seconds. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
5) Palm-down curl: Stand with your hands at your side, holding a small weight palm down in your injured hand. Keeping your palm down and bending your elbow, slowly curl the weight up toward your shoulder as far as possible. For each repetition, move your hand down to the starting position more slowly than you lift your hand toward your shoulder. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
6) Finger spring: Place a large rubber band around the outside of your thumb and the rest of your fingers. Open your fingers to stretch the rubber band. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
Hopefully this works because I'm still waking up in the night or morning and finding my wrist locked and in pain with my hand numb, which means it takes awhile before I can start using it (and therefore have a hard time picking up my baby). He said I also have slight carpal tunnel, but these same exercises should help. I've since learned of several other women with similar experiences (my hair stylist said her entire forearm was numb for a month after her baby was born) but most never realize the connection since it's only a small percentage that still have it three months after their baby was born. Lucky me. :p
Friday, August 1, 2008
De Quervain's Tenosynovitis
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49 comments:
thanks for the info- i am 2 months post-partum and have the same thing! it's horrible and very stressful- tell me- did it go away- what ultimately worked? thanks so much...melissa
Hi Melissa, Blogger wouldn't let me get to your page to answer your question so I hope that you get this reply :) My son is now ten months old. . .and my de Quervain's still hasn't gone away. :( I really should have gone to physical therapy when I was diagnosed last summer but I got so busy (no surprise with a newborn) that I kept putting it off and a part of me hoped that maybe it would go away when I was done breastfeeding - but that happened a month ago and while some days I swear it's going away, other times it seems like it's getting worse! It's ironic I received your comment today because I had decided that I wasn't going to put off physical therapy anymore - I was going to make an appt this afternoon! I hope that I haven't waited too long and now it won't work, because I really dont want to have surgery. My doctor said that his patients have the best result with physical therapy - let me know if you have success with that or anything else!
My de quervain's is 100% gone! It is nearly a year from when my wrist first started hurting (a few weeks before my son was born). After I made the decision to FINALLY start physical therapy a month after I finished breastfeeding (my son was 9-10 months old by then), I noticed my wrist stopped hurting! As I said in my above comment, it had been hurting on & off that last month so I expected it to return and then at the first sign make an appt. However, it has now been several weeks and my wrists have been completely pain-free for the first time in almost a year! Maybe stopping breastfeeding really DOES make a difference. . .if so, that's crazy! Or, maybe it was just doing these exercises off & on. But, obviously there IS hope that it can go away without physical therapy or surgery or splints or drugs, so hopefully it will go away for EVERYONE out there because I know first-hand (literally, lol) how miserable it can be! It is such a relief to have normal wrists again!
I am 5 months post-partum and developed De Quervain's in my right wrist during the last month of my pregnancy. At the time, I thought it was maybe carpal tunnel as I was really busy trying to get ready for my maternity leave from work (too much typing!). Myright wrist has been getting better, but in the past week or so my left wrist has thrown up the same symptoms! Arrghh. I am breastfeeding so do wonder if things will go back to normal when I stop. I did see a physical therapist, who didn't have a whole lot of advice other than keep it moving and get a cortisone shot if things were still bad after a month or two. I will try the wrist exercises you posted. It is hard to recover from something like this when I am constantly picking up baby/doing chores!
Hi Kristen, the same thing happened as with Melissa's page so hopefully you get this :) I just wanted to say that I know how you feel. It is really frustrating since wrists are important when it comes to picking up & holding yoru baby! Not to mention the discomfort/pain at just random times throughout the day and/or night. That is too bad that physical therapy didn't work for you. I really hope your de quervain's goes away on its own very soon!!!!!
Hi Andrea, your story gives me some hope. I am three months post-partum and finally went to see the doctor about my de quervain's today. She didn't have a lot to say. She recommended icing it and taking ibuprofen, and said she would consider referring me to a physiotherapist if it wasn't better in six weeks. It would be difficult for me to go to physiotherapy appointments anyway, with no one to watch the baby.
Do you really think the exercises helped? I saw them elsewhere online, but the site said to do them once the initial pain goes away. It seems to me that these are all the motions that cause the most pain.
Hi Jennifer!
Congrats on your baby boy!
I am sorry that you are having to deal with de quervain's. It is still one of the strangest things to me. I can understand why it would appear (swelling during pregnancy) but not why it would last the exact amount of time I breastfed.
The good news for me is that my wrist hurt the worst at three months post partum. So, hopefully what you're feeling now is the worst it will get, and it will improve. The bad news is that it was so slow and gradual. . .I really have no "for sure" reason mine went away in February (10 months post partum). I did the exercises off & on, but like you said they hurt. . .so I was never consistant.
I was skeptical when I read that the majority of women noticed an end when they ceased breastfeeding - but considering I stopped nursing at 9 months post partum, I have to put myself in that category. However, don't stop breastfeeding for that reason - a friend of mine who had a baby 10 months after me developed de quervains, too, and only breastfed for 5 weeks but still has it.
I am disappointed in the lack of info, especially by doctors, because I am amazed at how common de quervain's seems to be since I posted about it exactly a year ago. I have had more hits to that post than any other of mine. I receive several hits to it EVERY SINGLE DAY. But we never hear about it in every day life.
I'm sorry that your doctor wasn't more helpful. I completely relate to not knowing what to do with your baby as you try to find the time to deal with this. That is why I kept forcing myself to live with it. But, I reached the end of my rope after 10 months. . .by then I felt ready to look for a babysitter, however as you know it simply disappered at that time. I really hope you have the same situation. If not, those exercises definitely won't hurt your chances, and if they don't help then I would just go down the list and hopefully you will find something that does work!!!!
Andrea
I too have had both wrist operated on. My right wrist 2 years ago, and my left wrist just 2 weeks ago. I had a hard time with the right wrist and begaining motion and strength. I still feel there is improvement needed. Now, since the left wrist is still in a case, the right is takig all the brunt and over use. I almost feel the right wrist is starting with the whole process again and I may need surgery again. I had no idea that it could happen again. That its not a permanent fix!! I am so frustrated! I was told I didn't need PT with the first surgery, but I more or less demanded PT with this new surgery. I begin after 1 month. Thanks for the exercises, they will help I am sure.
Anonymous - I'm sorry that you had your wrist operated on and still you are having issues! I don't blame you for feeling frustrated. How upsetting. I really hope that either these exercises or something else works permanently for you!!!!
Searching the internet for help is useless, everything is so medical and rarely states that De Q's is related to pregnancy. I developed it whilst 6 months pregnant, my baby is 18 months old now and I still have de Quervain's. I had hoped it would stop with giving up breast-feeding six months ago, but it didn't. I am in pain everyday and it keeps me awake at night sometimes. I've had two cortisone injections in the past 8 months, they did help for about 6 weeks but the pain returned. I'm not allowed anymore injections because it can weaken your wrist ultimately. I wanted some regular Physiotherapy sessions but the GP kept saying that they didn't know of anything other than rest to help. Not much chance of rest with a newborn who then becomes a wriggly baby and active toddler. The consultant who gave me the injections could only tell me to make sure I didn't extend me thumb outwards to pick things up - so useful when you need to pick up a child. I don't want surgery so finding your excercises and the blog entries is a relief. Hope they work... I'm desperate. Felicity
I'm glad to find your page. I'm 36 weeks pregnant and had the thumb/wrist pain. It didn't go away for 20 minutes even... Unfortunately, it seems a lot of you ladies STILL have it. UGH. I hope it goes away...
Felicity - how are you doing now? I was so sorry to read your comment back in December about all that you've gone through dealing with De Quervain's. I really hope that things have improved for you now.
Anonymous - By now you have had your baby so I hope that you are one of the lucky ones who it went away for following the birth of your child! I have since had two friends who developed this as well but one of them had it go away as soon as their baby was born! For my other friend, it took a year. I'm starting to think of getting pregnant again (my son is now 2) but I really don't want to deal with De Quervain's again! :(
I thought I was crazy...until reading this page!! I have had severe wrist and thumb pain and lack of mobility after giving birth to my son 4 months ago. At times I have to manuveur quite carefully in order to hold him, transfer him, and do simple everyday tasks! I have been putting it off thinking that it may go away! I haven't even mentioned it to the doc afraid of getting the "Oh its probably nothing" bit! I guess I should probably call now that i have a name to throw at them!!
Hi,
I, too just came across this post while searching for information on De Quervain's. My son is 15 months old and I have had this pain in my left wrist for a few months now.
In my case it was because I had been carrying him around on my left hip, holding him with my left arm, wrist cocked and tucked under his leg, ...ALL THE TIME. So definitely don't do that!
The reason I'm commenting is because all over the internet I've seen it heavily suggested that if you have DeQuervain's, you should stop breastfeeding, or at least that stopping breastfeeding will make it go away, and I felt the need to say something about it.
Ladies, that's throwing the baby out with the bathwater! Try using a different position! Change the way you hold or lift things! Don't sit there with your wrist all bent! But don't quit breastfeeding before it's time!
Desiree & Amanda, thank you for your comments.
Desiree, you are definitely not crazy or alone! I hope your de quervain's goes away soon!!!
Amanda, it appears that breastfeeding-caused de quervain's has nothing to do with positioning, etc. but rather the hormones. Since many women's de quervain's begins prior to labor (as was my case) many of those pregnancy hormones are still present during breastfeeding. Since I pumped just as much as I nursed, I could tell it had nothing to do with my actual wrist movements - but it stopped right after my son weaned himself and my hormones (very clearly to me) "returned to normal."
Just like with carpal tunnel, there are several possible causes to de quervain's. That is why I don't advocate stopping breastfeeding "just to see" if de quervain's goes away - I say that more as giving hope to women who worry that their wrist will never stop hurting!
Hi Andrea,
Thankyou for sharing your story, and information on deQuervains. Are you still pain free?
After suffering 9 months of wrist pain which started in pregnancy I have recently been diagnosed with deQuervains too. My baby girl is now 6 moths old. I have pain in both wrists, especially first thing in the mornings.
I suspect deQuervain's may be connected with hormones too as mine started about the same time as my breats started to produce milk. Also, I did read somewhere recently that the hormone prolactin may be responsible, which would make sense with the pain peaking at around 3 months.
I did wonder too if increased breast size may be a contributing factor. My breasts have increased from modest B cup to a crazy F cup. Not sure if USA have the same bra sizing as Australia, but that is a rediculas increse of 5 sizes! I also have enough milk to feed a small African villiage. I am very much hoping that when I stop feeding deQuervain's will disapear too.
I'm sure another contributing factor is my highly addictive iphone. During my pregancy i was on this alot and would often get cramps in my hands after hours of texting, typing emails, and browsing the net. I wonder how many other women with deQuervain's spent hours typing, knitting or doing other fiddly handwork during their pregnancies.
Anyway, the good new is I have been told that the condition is quite treatable and I am currently wearing hand splints and trying to rest my hands as much as possible. Might start weaning in the next couple of months, and very much hoping that the pain will go away for me too.
Thanks again for your posts. They have given me hope.
Cheers
Sharon
Hi guys,
Was great to read your comments as I've been suffering from this sydrome for the last mth or 2 and it's getting worse...first it was worse in my left hand, now in my right.
I have heard that it can be related to breast-feeding but it's certainly not always, as in the case of myself who unfort. had to stop brstfding at 2 mths due to milk drying out. My problems with it started at about 4 mths, and I think its just due to all the wrist-associated things you have to do with a baby, including picking them up from a cot (portacots the worst!), bathing them, feeding them (bottle or breast etc).
I've been putting off physio but Andrea, it sounds like it may be worth a dry. What about putting heat on it? Was that ever suggested...? I find heat packs work so well, but perhaps they're not meant for this!?
Thanks for all the info.!
Claudia
Hi all, I've just been diagnosed with de quervains in my left thumb and wrist which started to come on about 3 wks before my bub was born, she is now 10 wks old. I had carpal tunnel during pregnancy and thought the de quervains was part of that but unlike the carpal symptoms, de quervains just got worse especially with looking after my baby. I have been wearing splint with thumb support. The painful clicking and snapping wouldn't go and my right hand is starting to get pain all over and up my arm from overuse. I had a cortisone injection today in the left thumb wrist and have had acupuncture on both. Im trying to rest them as much as I can and have enlisted the help of my mum and hubby to assist where possible with looking after bub. I thought this was something rare and was starting to get depressed at the thought of it not leaving, but knowing now from reading all your comments does make me feel better that i am not alone and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I may try some physio next but yep, it's hard with bub and finding the time to do it. I just want to say thanks to this site and all the ladies posting their experiences, I feel better already knowing Im not alone. Good luck girls, and may we all heal and enjoy our motherhood journeys!!
Sharon, Cauca, and Anonymous -- I appreciated your comments! Sharon, have things improved since June? Wow, I thought my cup sized jumped a ton from a B/C to a DD but that was nothing, haha! You are actually very lucky to have so much milk - I had to take herbal supplements because my milk supply kept decreasing. Anyway, I do think that there are probably many causes/contributing factors as to why some women get it and others don't. It could be that your ipone and in my case blogging may have made us more likely than someone who didn't use them while pregnant -- just as you said, Cauca, since there are a lot of tasks we do as mothers of newborns that we didn't previously do. I don't see why heat would hurt -- in fact, if anyone finds any other things that help, please post them here. It has now been a year-and-a-half since I had de quervains. Anonymous, I'm glad that my site gave you a light at the end of the tunnel. I really hope your de quervain's goes away soon!
wow, i had never heard of this before until i started looking online. i have terrible pain to both wrists and thumbs. my pcp said it was a form of arthritis due to lack of calcium from the pregnancy but it didnt quite make sense to me so i started researching. as soon as i found de quervains i knew that was what i had, i havent gone to the dr yet though. hoping it goes away on its own, my baby is 8wks old and this started at about 3 wks. no one i know has ever heard of it, i guess its not that common. im back at work and having trouble writing and lifting things, it is worse in the mornings and sometimes it feels like something is popping in there. it makes me feel a little more normal to know that others have it also, i thought i was maybe holding my baby wrong.
Hi Andrea-
I ended up with this after a heavy duty CPR training!
I went to therapy 6 times and things seemed to be better, but not 100%, and doc said it takes time.
Well I am still having pain after 4 mos. and wonder how much time he is talking about?
Anonymous -- how is your wrist doing now? I really hope you have found relief! I'm glad that my blog could at least give you peace of mind.
Sally -- I am sorry that you have been struggling with this even after therapy :( I know that the amount of time varies for everyone, but that this DOES eventually go away. Just keep doing what you can and hopefully it will happen sooner than later for you!
I too I'm glad that ran across your blog because I've been suffering with the same since maybe two weeks after the birth of my son. It started with my right wrist, then my left wrist joined in. Mornings are the worst; there are times I can't even pick my son up first thing. He is now 3 months and the pain is at it's worst! I did see a doctor about it maybe 6 weeks after his birth and I didn't get any real feedback. I was told that's it's probably pregnancy induced carpel tunnel but having carpel tunnel before, I knew this wasn't quite that. It was a different feeling. It seems not a lot is known about it but I too breastfeed so this may be my cause. I have recently began to wear a splint and I'm hoping this works. I think going to the doctor at this point will be useless since much isn't known and I may just be told to try the same remedies that I'm reading about here. Hope this pain ends soon. I plan to breastfeed until my son is 1. Hope I don't have to wait until then.
I am soooo happy to report there have been extreme changes since I wrote you! I don't know if it was the timing or because for a week I wrapped it at night and most of each day, to see if it just needed alittle more healing time.
The pain has gone from major to minimal- there is hope!
Yay!
Thanks!
Sally
That is so funny- I realized after I posted my message that the date is exactly 1 month from the last time I wrote!
Sally, thanks for the update! I was so glad to read it!
My daughter is a year and a half old and I finally went in and got seen for my wrist problems. My doctor only gave me a wrist brace and told me to wear it 23 hours a day! They never said anything about excercises to help it. Maybe I should try doing some of the ones you listed.
Jessica-
I am guessing working it out so quick after the injury caused a setback for me- and once I ran out of the pills, the pain got worse.
It was really hard for me to keep it in a splint all day long, and at night, forget it!
I finally bought an ace bandage and kept it wrapped day and night for a week, although I had to take it off for air off and on.
That seemed to start the improvement, like it just needed more time to rest.
6 mos. later I am close to pain free, still have small twinges here and there, but nothing like it was!
There is hope!
say an orthopedic surgeon yesterday. . . he said it was one of his worst cases he's seen in a long time. did cortizone injection in my right wrist and i haven't noticed any imporvement. Pain is the same. seeing him again next week but it looks like I'm on the road to surgery.
He suspects that years of working in bridal retail (big heavy dresses!) combined with the new baby have caused this. my sone is almost 11 months and it has become difficult to function, Drive, put my hair up, scoop formula etc...
I'm just glad to see I'm not alone in this.
sorry so many typos! typing hurts too! lol
Massage (with heat if you have time), stretch and then do the excercies. This is the best road to recovery. An excellent video for physical therapy (you don't need to buy the special glove with resistance bands) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WIu9hqFWkM&feature=related
I exclusively pumped breast milk for 6 months and it caused overuse in my right hand. The tendon/webbing between the thumb and first finger is extremely tight and needs to be squeezed and massaged as does the fleshy part at the base of your thumb. Once that gets loosened up, then you will notice you can actually have a range of motion. Until then, you are lucky if you can even put your thumb inside of making a fist! If you make the time, you will have success!
Well I'm back and not too happy.
My pain was close to gone, just twinges here and there.
This past mo. it has made a noticeable come back and I don't know why, haven't done anything different.
Jessica, have you had this the entire year and a half? If so, my heart goes out to you! I'm surprised your doctor didn't give you any of exercise tips. Did you try these? I hope over these past three months it has gone away!
Sally, I am so glad that you were almost pain free in March -- but I saw your most recent post and am sorry your pain is back :( I can imagine your frustration. I hope that you and/or your doctor is able to figure out a PERMANENT solution!
Jen, I can imagine that was not comforting to hear that you have one of the worst cases! That is too bad that you're probably going to need surgery -- but I hope that if you do (or have by now) that it will finally take care of the problem!
Rebecca, Thank you for the great video and tips!
I have had this in my right wrist since the birth of my daughter a year ago. It is really painful. The doc gave me a cortisone injection about 6 months ago, and it went away temporarily, but now it's back with a vengence and the doc has me booked in for surgery.. Not really the kind of side effect I expected from pregnancy.. I am wondering if it would just go away if I stop breast feeding though?
Anonymous - in my opinion, I think you should wait on the surgery until you are done breastfeeding (I wouldn't stop breastfeeding just for this reason in case it doesn't help, but if you and your daughter are ready then there is a big chance that is all that it will take). Either way, I hope it goes away soon for you!!!
I have it too and i can hardly pick up my baby anymore especially in the morning it is impossible. My baby is 4 months old and its only really got bad and noticeable this week, i never breast feed either. I think it has to do with picking him up under the armpits all the time and the exhaustion that comes with constant broken sleep. i just feel like my body is aching falling apart especially my hands and wrists. daisy
Ugh - I developed this in both wrists after I gave birth to my daughter (she was born Dec 09). Well after 3 rounds of steroid shots in each wrist the doc suggested surgery - I went ahead & had surgery in the right wrist in March of 2011 - And of course I got pregnant right afterwards. Now my left wrist is KILLING me and I can't wait till I have this baby so I can go ahead & get the left wrist surgery. Seriously I told my hubby it's so bad I want to go from L&D to the orthopedic doc to get the surgery. I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone - and my OB/GYN says it's carpal tunnel, but it's not, it's De Quervains aka mommy's thumb!
PS you can have surgery while still breastfeeding - the anesthesia is out of your system by the time you wake up (which is why you wake up) and you are safe to breastfeed. FYI. The surgery wasn't too bad and compared to the pain of this condition I would say was well worth it. My scar is barely even visible.
I had steroid jab for my de quervain wrist, can i continue to breadtfeed. How long after the jab, then I can resume breastfeeding?
Daisy, my heart goes out to you - I am sure your hormones are still returning to normal, too, even though you never breastfed...recovering from pregnancy can be oh so fun...I hope that you find with different positions on picking up your son that your de quervain's goes away!
Kate, you are a perfect example of how bad it can be - my heart goes out to you as well! I'm glad the surgery worked on your right wrist, and hope that it helps on your left wrist as well.
Anonymous, I was told I couldn't get the steroid shot while breastfeeding, so I am not sure how long from getting it that then you can resume. I am surprised your doctor didn't tell you when - although I read online that many doctors don't know because there is not enough evidence saying one way or another, as some people HAVE gotten it while breastfeeding and everything has been fine. I would call around to different doctors to see what the majority says. Hope you are feeling better now!
P.S. I'd like to let everyone know I had my second child in July 2011 and have had NO de quervain's this time. So the good news is that just because you have it once, doesn't mean you'll have it again. (And I had no surgery or shots, etc.)
My doctor told me I still can breastfeed, and I went ahead with the steriod injection. It was when I went home, I did some research and check with a few doctors, they advised me to stop breastfeeding. I am very confused now and don't know what to do with my breast milk which
I expressed out after the injection! I felt very bad not to breastfeed my daughter who is three months old now. Having say that, my milk production is getting low as my baby girl did not latch on for more than ten days. As for my wrist , the right wrist after the jab is better but must rest,hope I have fully recovered. For the left wrist without the injection, I sm wearing splint and still have pain.
I am about 2 months post-partum and developed De Quervain's in my right wrist about 2 weeks after the delivery. Earlier, I thought the pain was due to the way i lift/carry my baby for feeding. Later, after browsing internet, i came to know that this is De Quervain's tenosynovitis. Last Saturday i went to Orthopaedician & he recommended me to take methyl- prednisolone acetate 40 mg injection. He assured me that i can continue breast feeding & can start doing household cores after 1-2 days. Further, he said that even if i will go physiotherapy way, 90% chances are that i would have to go back to the injection. I took the injection on Saturday afternoon. For two day, the pain had increased (may be due to injection)& now it has been 4 days since i took the injection, i still feel the same pain in my hand. I am also wearing splint whenever possible & refrain myself from doing much household work. I really don't know when n how i will get rid of this pain.
Hi Andrea!
I'm so glad I found this, if only to know I'm not alone.
My wrist pain started on March 19, 2011. I remember the date clearly because it was the day of my baby shower. The pain began suddenly and it really ruined what should've been a nice day. Since that day I have suffered with this horrible pain. While both my wrists ache, the left is by far worse than the right. I've had several cortisone injections, splint, naproxen, even painkillers. The only thing that has helped for a few weeks were the injections but I haven't really been pain free. It's awful because I feel so useless. I can't grasp, driving hurts because of the steering wheel, picking up my daughter (who is now 7.5 months old) is a nightmare. I only breastfed for about 2 months. I stopped because I couldn't commit to it but also because I was taking several meds for other reasons. I can't really say that the pain has improved much. If anything it's gotten worse...naturally as my daughter gains weight. I'll be returning to work in a few weeks and I am completely stressed out that the pain is going to get worse as a I do a lot of typing and typical office work. I have PCOS and my cycles have never been regular. My hormones are generally all over the place anyway. I wonder if that might have something to do with it. Right now I'm completely lost. I don't know what else to do. But thank you all for sharing your stories. I guess there's nothing left to do but to deal with it and cross my fingers that it'll go away (nevermind, crossing my fingers hurts). I wonder at what point I'd have to consider surgery...sigh.
Wanda
Hi Andrea! I'm so happy to have found this blog post. My doctor diagnosed me with de Quervain's this week. I was actually impressed with how quickly she diagnosed it. She knew exactly what it was and what we can do for it just after a few questions and exercises. The crappy thing like you all posted is there seems there's not ALOT you can do for it. I'm wearing the same thumb wrist splint you had and trying to take it easy.
I'm not sure if I had it during pregnancy...I did have pregnancy induced carpal tunnel...but I can't remember how my wrist felt. I tend to ignore pain like this until it gets bad or lasts forever. I've also been diagnosed with weak wrists. Yep true diagnosis-so even if I did feel pain, I probably attributed it to my WR. My LO is 2 months old and the pain is starting to get pretty bad. I'm pretty sure mine came from breastfeeding (my little boy has a large head, lol). You give me hope that I can contintue breastfeeding and it will go away. Thanks again!
Anonymous 1, 2, Wanda, and Lacey & Tyler: I apologize for my slow response - we recently moved to a new state, and with the holidays (and two children), this is the first chance I've had to post here since your comments!
To the first woman - that is so frustrating that there is mixed information about the injection and breastfeeding! It seems like every other doctor says something different, so what are we supposed to do? Do we possibly give our baby contaminated milk or do we give up breastfeeding? Neither sound like good advice. I feel like doctors don't take this seriously enough or spend the necessary time on giving women an idea of how they can take care of their baby, breastfeed, and manage the de quervain's. I am probably too late at sharing my suggestion, but I would have pumped and dumped during the time after the injection and then once it was safe, continue breastfeeding/giving her breastmilk. I am glad that it sounds like the shot worked at least. I hope that your other wrist gets better as well (if it hasn't already)!
For the second woman, that is so frustrating...it seems that the majority of women who have posted on this blog did not have success with the injection. I can imagine how you are feeling, it has been three-and-a-half years since I wrote this post and I will never forget that despair. I hope that by now things have improved for you!!!!
Wanda, as with the others, I completely empathize with you. I am so sorry you've suffered through this. It sounds like you have tried EVERYTHING. I really hope that it goes away for you as randomly as mine did. I do think you are right that it is hormonal; that is the only thing that makes sense to me, at least for my situation. So I wonder if doctors are barking up the wrong tree? After reading all of these stories the past 3+ years it really seems like doctors are just throwing *possibilities* to us but nothing is for sure. We all know pregnancy changes the hormones...so it would make sense that maybe we are all just unbalanced for different periods of time afterward. Maybe the answer to permanently getting rid of de quervain's is balancing hormones. I wonder if doctors who specialize in that area might actual end up being of better help?!
Lacey, I'm glad you were able to find my blog helpful! It also sounds like you have a great doctor so hopefully she is right and that your de quervain's will go away very soon!!!
Andrea, thanks for your response. I still have the syndrome :(. I plan to BF until 1 year, so I have about 6 months left. I was wondering if you ever tried or heard of people trying essential oils to help heal the muscle/tendon? I'm looking to try anything other than shots/surgery.
That is a bummer that you still have De Quervain's :( I haven't heard of any specific essential oils to help - but I would definitely try it, as it certainly wouldn't hurt! I can relate to not wanting to have the surgery. You deserve a pat on the back for continuing to breastfeed despite the pain. I hope that you find something that works during these next 6 months. If you do find that essential oils work for you, definitely come back and let us know!!!
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