help for my hands....

Hi, i have arthitis in my thumb joints and have been getting injections for the past year. It has been recommended to me that i could have the LRTI procedure done, but i have some negative things about the results. And now i have started noticing siffness and some pain in my right two middle fingers. Im 56yrs old, A Gourmet Chef and hopefully my hands have a few more years left in them for me to enjoy what i do best, cooking. All the help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. Michael Wood   and still a veteran....:o)

[Michael L Gross, MD]

I couldn't have said it better than above

[nodamidis]

I had LRTI surgery done to my left thumb last December ('08) and can't wait to get the other thumb done!  I am 46 years old.  The surgery was kind of a pain in the butt for 2-3 months, but I am back to doing all my normal activities.  My husband and I have a fairly large piece of property and thus do a lot of yard work and gardening.  I am having no problems operating the tractor, the lawn mowers, the tiller or other equipment, and doing the gardening.  My hand will occasionally get tired.  If I overdo it with the hand, I just wear a splint for a day or so to let it rest and it's usually good to go.  My hand surgeon said that it would take 6 months to a year for the hand to heal completely, but I am at 6 mos. right now and would say that I'm at 98%.  I still have the basal joint arthritis in the right hand and plan to have it operated on in January.  I too have had the injections and know how painful those can be.  I absolutely hate them, although I do find that they are effective for a couple of months.

[sgtrockie]

Hi, thank you so much for your response. I had heard some negative things from some people, but i reckon thats normal, because maybe their procedure wasnt done well, who knows. But your words or comforting to me and i probably will have my right hand done next month at my local VA hospital. Thank you so much. Sincerely Michael Wood and STILL a veteran