Severe pain in wrist, out of options

[inPAIN2010]

Hi there.  I am 81 years old and for the last 9 months, I have been suffering with severe pain in my right wrist (my dominate hand).  The pain is so bad I cannot grip anything, I cannot move my hand in any direction without the pain.  Even if I keep my hand perfectly still, I still have a dull, throbbing pain, constantly.  My wrist is also severly swollen, and the swelling goes about 4 inches above my wrist.  My fingers are beginning to get stiff, as well as my wrist. Also the past few days, my hand/fingers sometimes have a grayish look to them.  I went to an orthopedist, he said I had tendonitis and prescriped 6 weeks of physical therapy, which only made the problem worse.  After that he said he had no idea and I just needed to live with it.  I got a second opinion from another doctor, who suggested it was a bad case of neuropathy (I am a diabetic, but my diabetes is under control).  I increased the medicine I take for my neuropathy for the last month and a half, but it has done nothing for the pain.  I am in so much pain all the time, that sometimes my arm will jerk very badly (I assume it is from the pain).  I walk with a walker and it is so hard to even push that around.  I cannot go anywhere or do anything because of the pain.  My granddaughter researched on the internet and she thinks it may be Kienbock's disease.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  Thank you.

[Tuckamore]

Hello inPain,

Welcome to the Pain Mangement Forum. I am so sorry that you are in such pain. Our golden years should be a lot more comfortable than what you are experiencing!!

It is possible that you have Kienbock's Disease. However a nasty tendonitis can cause your symptoms also. Because you do not complain of a burning pain I would be less inclined to think you have a neuropathy. It's almost, I said almost impossible to have nerve involvement without a burning sensation.

I would never continue to employ a physician that could not or would not diagnosis very obvious symptoms and told me to live with debilitating pain. Please consult even a third opinion. A consult with a good rheumatologist would be a good place to begin.

My mother had very similar symptoms to your. She is also a well controlled diabetic. Her wrist was swollen and very produced constant pain. Her astute PCP diagnosed her with tendonitis of a specific tendon in her wrist. Through steroids, therapy, pain medications and a wrist guard she recovered.

I am not a physician but I would lean toward tendonitis. The clue for me is the walker usage. It's repetitive motion which can often irritate the tendons and cause tendonitis. What ever your symptoms may reveal it is very obvious to me that there is treatment which you are not receiving.  

I urge you to be assertive and insist on some answers. An MRI (or x-ray for Kienbock's Disease) will provide more detailed information into your wrist anatomy and lead to a better diagnosis. I wish you the very best and hope that you will let us know how you are doing. Don't take "live with it" as a diagnosis.

I'll look forward to hearing from you again soon. (I think Granddaughters can be wonderful!!)

Take Care,
~Tuck  

[RunningMom]

You need to find another family doctor and find a medication that will treat your pain.  This doctor can also give you a referral to a pain managament clinic.  

Sometimes when we are in this much pain, we must see a few doctors before they will actually treat us.  Most doctors are not willing to treat with opioid therapy and therefore let us suffer needlessly.

I'm so very sorry you are suffering and I hope you are able to find a doctor that will be able to treat your pain.  I would worry more about treating your pain right now then finding a diganosis.  I wish you the best of luck.

[Sarajmt]

Hello inPain:  I am so sorry for your predicament.  I have no idea what could be the cause of your pain.  But what I would suggest is that you have your doctor refer you to a Pain Management Specialist.    This doctor uses injections and other procedures to help ease your pain.  They are generally very good with nerve pain.  So give one a try.

Usually more people are on the forum but since this is Sunday, more will be here during the week.  Please keep checking back.  I'm sure more members will be on to give you a better answer than I.

Good luck and welcome to our forum.
Sara