Joint problems:wrists, knees...

[glassjaw7]

So, here's my whiner thread for the month. Since 2004 I've been having severe wrist, knee and shoulder pain that comes and goes away. I've been diagnosed with ganglion cysts in both wrists and have had cortisone shots in both- 1 in my left and 2 now in my right. I've also had to take oral steroids for my right shoulder and both knees. My mother has bad joints and a problem with her connective tissue, and the docs think I may have inherited it in some form.

We played two Halloween party/club gigs this past weekend and by the second one, I had to take Naproxen and drink a LOT just to get through the pain (not the smartest thing I know, but I wasn't about to cancel the show last minute) and now I can hardly move my thumb, middle or index fingers or bend my wrist in either direction...feels like not only the cyst causing limited mobility and pain, but like carpal tunnel?

I don't want to keep pumping cortisone shots in my wrists, especially not at 31 yrs old. I don't know what long-term effects it could have, but I don't want to be 40 or 50 and not be able to play at all!
Has anyone had ganglion cysts surgically removed and if so, any problems afterwards? Mine are rock hard and too thick to drain. Even the cortisone won't break it up, it just makes the pain go away for awhile.


p.s- on a more positive note, our song hit local radio for the first time on Friday night.

 

[gtrwun]

I've been having a similar problem with my wrist/thumb on my right hand for the last few years. I finally got tired of enduring the pain and went to a specialist. He just ended up giving me a cortisone shot and the pain went away, but is starting to come back. I was very clear to him that I play a lot of guitar and I must continue to do so. Mine is supposedly a tendon problem and he did say that they could do surgury, but didnt recommend that until it becomes worse? Strange.I do get the same ganglion cysts as your describing and ive had a bad one removed from my back. Also have a cyst on my kidney I have to get checked every year to make sure it doesnt get worse. Now my right hand finger joints are starting to bother me when I play too. I am 48 however and I know im not getting any younger. Stay strong and be persistent with your Dr. You are too young brother........

 

[tripstan]

This sounds crazy but my dad had one and the Dr told him he could have sugery or take a large sized/heavy book and slam it onto the bump. He did the book think and it broke the cyst up and he hasn't had problems since. This was like 10 yrs ago so maybe there is a better treatment option now. IDK.

 

[Shark Diver]

This sounds crazy but my dad had one and the Dr told him he could have sugery or take a large sized/heavy book and slam it onto the bump. He did the book think and it broke the cyst up and he hasn't had problems since. This was like 10 yrs ago so maybe there is a better treatment option now. IDK.

Bible cyst. had 2 about 6 years ago, did the book thing - never had one since.

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

Stay off the Aleve....and get some of this...

http://www.wobenzym-usa.com/

 

[gtrwun]

^ Looks interesting. Ill try that. The vicodin isnt working for me, and it seems a nasty habit to kick.

 

[freeballinusa]

Hi,

I had one several years ago- The doctor Aspirated it and then the doctor finished with a book-- then pushed it hard to break it up-- gone forever, they hurt though!

I was warned by the surgeon that surgery could leave you with less use of the hand... I bet it is better now -- but I would get a second opinion and stop with the Cortizone

 

[gtrwun]

OP.... Wasn't trying to hijack your thread. I've posted in here more than you... Lol

 

[glassjaw7]

I've tried the book thing...OUCH! Didn't work. Mine are literally rock hard and they can't be pushed on or hit in any way. Even the dr said they are abnormal and with how hard I'd have to hit it, I would probably break a bone. I wish it were that easy.

Gtrwun, no worries! Glad to hear some feedback from you guys. I don't like the idea of surgery. Heard that it can cause permanent loss of movement in the fingers and even after surgery, the cysts are likely to come back. This sucks!

 

[Anonymous]

Has anyone had ganglion cysts surgically removed and if so, any problems afterwards?

I had a massive ganglion cyst on my left wrist that got so big that I could no longer bend my wrist to play guitar. It got bigger and more annoying over time to the point that I had to do something or give up guitar. Sometimes it would be smaller depending on weather, etc, but at a certain point it just was bad and huge all the time. I had to have it removed in 1985 and my band had to stop gigging for about a month so it could heal. It was a nothing surgery, but I had to wear a cast for a week or two so I couldn't move the wrist and rip the sutures. Once the stitches were removed, I wasn't allowed to play for a couple weeks and had to do therapy so I could bend my wrist again. After that it was like a nightmare was over - I could bend my wrist ok, and I could play guitar exactly the same as I could before. In about 6 months, I could bend my wrist almost as much as before the surgery, but it never recovered completely to what I could bend before. Didn't matter though - I could play fine, could practice as long as I wanted and the pain was gone. Perfect...

Fast forward to about 3 years ago or so. My playing started to become more difficult as my left hand fingers, especially 1-3-5 type movements with first, middle and pinky started to become difficult and painful. It is very difficult for me to play repetitive patterns with those fingers and now the ring finger is starting to be a problem too. It is like the middle and ring finger "drop" and miss the string, where I used to effortlessly play that stuff... Anyway... playing has been getting harder and harder every year and it seems the more I practice the worse it gets, not better. I've had nerve evaluations for carpal tunnel, MRIs, tendonitis evaluations and they say everything is fine. The doctors I've seen say that the growth of scar tissue from the ganglion cyst operation may be making my hand tight and making it difficult for me to move my fingers as well. They say it is only gonna get worse and that seems to be the case. The only thing they can suggest it to go in and remove some of the scar tissue, but eventually it would reform. I dunno if I'll take a chance on that. Oh well... got in at least 25 years of pain free playing before this shit started so maybe I should consider myself lucky...

Dunno if that helps, but that is my experience...

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

This sounds crazy but my dad had one and the Dr told him he could have sugery or take a large sized/heavy book and slam it onto the bump. He did the book think and it broke the cyst up and he hasn't had problems since. This was like 10 yrs ago so maybe there is a better treatment option now. IDK.

Bible cyst. had 2 about 6 years ago, did the book thing - never had one since.

I'm glad to hear that this worked for you, but I highly recommend against this. You can damage your hand far more than what the cyst is doing from trying this. Most of the time they just grow back too. In fact, even surgical removal they grow back sometimes... Please go see a doctor - I don't think they'd recommend this approach anymore...

Steve

 

[Shark Diver]

This sounds crazy but my dad had one and the Dr told him he could have sugery or take a large sized/heavy book and slam it onto the bump. He did the book think and it broke the cyst up and he hasn't had problems since. This was like 10 yrs ago so maybe there is a better treatment option now. IDK.

Bible cyst. had 2 about 6 years ago, did the book thing - never had one since.

I'm glad to hear that this worked for you, but I highly recommend against this. You can damage your hand far more than what the cyst is doing from trying this. Most of the time they just grow back too. In fact, even surgical removal they grow back sometimes... Please go see a doctor - I don't think they'd recommend this approach anymore...

Steve

But it was a Bible...

I hear ya. They were on the under side of my wrist and no insurance at the time. So I went Old Testament on them. But yeah, probably not the brightest thing I've ever done.

 

[gtrwun]

I'm glad to hear that this worked for you, but I highly recommend against this. You can damage your hand far more than what the cyst is doing from trying this. Most of the time they just grow back too. In fact, even surgical removal they grow back sometimes... Please go see a doctor - I don't think they'd recommend this approach anymore...

Steve

Im gonna agree with Steve on this The cyst I had surgically removed on my back, actually grew back several years later. Not as bad as it was, but came back never the less....
It does bum me out that I cant play as well as I did in the old days due to my joint pain and stiffness, but I also had many years of pain free gigs/practices and had a blast doing it! These days I just play till it hurts, then I call it quits.