Ganglion cyst + cortisone shot

[need4mospd]

I just went to see the doctor yesterday about my ganglion cyst and she recommended giving it a cortisone shot. My wrist has been getting a little more painful everyday and I wanted to get something done about it before it got bad. Now that I got the cortisone shot, my wrist is killin me. It appears to just be a common side effect, but I was just wondering if anyone else has had this done, what side effects they might have had, how long it lasted, etc...

I'm currently keeping it iced and trying not to use it much, which is difficult with a 7 month old in the house. Yes, I'm typing one handed.

The doc also said I've got some signs of carpal tunnel.

I've got a show tonight too.

[StyleOverShow]

Forty years ago, I had a large one on my right wrist. To treat it the doctor would smash it with a large book as it is a fluid filled sack (cyst) and it would go away for a couple of months. Finally had it surgically removed and that was no fun either.

[DigMe]

I had one that bothered me a lot in college. I could not do pushups or put any kind of weight on it when my wrist was bent in that pushup type way. The cortizone shot hurt right at first but then helped a lot. It's still there now but I think it's totally calcified and it hasn't bothered me in years.

bc

[vene-nemesis]

Originally Posted by StyleOverShow

Forty years ago, I had a large one on my right wrist. To treat it the doctor would smash it with a large book as it is a fluid filled sack (cyst) and it would go away for a couple of months. Finally had it surgically removed and that was no fun either.

Old school: not as awsome as Clint Eastwood.

[jsbass]

Aren't ganglion cysts formed by bumping your hand on something really hard? If so I've gotten some in the past on the top of my hand from working on engines and banging my hands up while working in there (especially when removing/putting on stubborn spark plug boots).

They've always went down for me though.

[Tsal]

You can get them just by working with your hands. My gf got those from her part-time cleaning job.

[Bassist4Life]

Originally Posted by StyleOverShow

To treat it the doctor would smash it with a large book as it is a fluid filled sack (cyst) and it would go away for a couple of months.

That's not the first time I've heard of that treatment.

Man, I'm sorry to hear that you're having those problems. Would it be easier on your hands/wrists/arm if you got a short scale bass and put some TI Jazz Flats on it? Maybe a nice Hofner Violin Bass.

BTW, you're band sounds really great. I checked out your website.

Best of luck at your show tonight.

Joe

[need4mospd]

Originally Posted by Bassist4Life

That's not the first time I've heard of that treatment.

Man, I'm sorry to hear that you're having those problems. Would it be easier on your hands/wrists/arm if you got a short scale bass and put some TI Jazz Flats on it? Maybe a nice Hofner Violin Bass.

BTW, you're band sounds really great. I checked out your website.

Best of luck at your show tonight.

Joe

The problem wrist is the right one so a different bass probably won't help much. My right wrist is as straight as an arrow when I play and I play with a light-medium touch. I'm assuming most of the problems came from excessive mouse usage on the computer. I'm using a mouse at least 5-6 hours a day at my job, although my wrist is fairly straight.

Thanks for the compliments! I'm sure I'll be fine tonight. It doesn't hurt too much to play the bass and it's getting a little better this morning. It's just really tight and not very flexible.

[peterbright]

Do you strap your wrist at work? If not, do it!

[need4mospd]

Originally Posted by peterbright

Do you strap your wrist at work? If not, do it!

I figure I'll keep a brace at work and try to wear it as much as possible. I just bought a new one this weekend and it helped out a lot.

For anyone looking for a decent brace, this one worked good for me....
Walgreens wrist brace

[MakiSupaStar]

No pics. No cyst.

[mvw356]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

No pics. No cyst.

do a search

[MakiSupaStar]

Originally Posted by mvw356

do a search

Yeah, that's not as personal. We need to see what we're talking about, if we're going to offer certified TB medical advice.

[peterbright]

Here's a picture of one.

[MakiSupaStar]

Originally Posted by peterbright

Here's a picture of one.

Great. Let's see the OP's now. No pics. No cyst. That's the rule.

[need4mospd]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

Great. Let's see the OP's now. No pics. No cyst. That's the rule.

I would have snapped one before, but it's flattened considerably since the doctor's visit. It wasn't really worth a pic before anyways, it just looked like a wrist bone, except it was squishy and moved around.

No more pain to move the wrist around, but I still couldn't do a pushup if I wanted to. I'm thinking the cyst might not have been the reason for my initial wrist pain, or my current wrist pain.

[Bassic83]

My dad had one when I was a kid (early 70's); and after his first doctor visit, where the doc did a biopsy of it, then did the Medical Encyclopaedia trick, he used to take a ball-peen hammer to it himself. He'd go out in the garage, I'd go with him so I could run and get Mom if he passed out. He never did pass out- until after he'd consumed a half-liter of scotch afterwards (self-prescribed anaesthetic!)

After a few years of doing this, he finally switched health plans at work and was able to get it surgically removed. I remember going to the hospital with him and Mom, they said the surgery would only take 15 minutes, but we were there all day. He came out of the operating room about 3 hours later with a plastic jar filled with a clear liquid. In it was what looked like a space alien; a white glob about the size of a golf ball cut in half, and tentacles about 3-4 inches long, a bunch of those also had tentacles. Apparently they were like "feeder roots", or nodules where more growth started. My mom left the room to practice her "technicolor yawns", while I thought it was really cool, and spent the rest of the time marveling at the "alien from Dad's wrist". It had grown almost into his metacarpal joints, and was set to encapsulate some nerves in his hand. They took the thing away a little while later, we didn't get to keep it. He had insisted they jar it up so I could see it, knowing my penchant for all things scientific and medical at that point in my life!


They did the surgery with only local anaesthetic, which didn't thrill him (he will pass out at the sight of blood), but the nurse chatted with him the whole time, so he kept his attention away from his wrist.

[need4mospd]

Thanks Eric, that made me feel a whole lot better.

[Bassic83]

Originally Posted by need4mospd

Thanks Eric, that made me feel a whole lot better.

No problem! He said it didn't hurt at all. Felt better afterwards, was able to return to his golf game and actually improved a bunch- ended up with a -6 handicap!

BTW, I don't recommend the ball-peen hammer method.

[yodedude2]

I had mine surgically removed a few decades ago. they said they had to dig out the roots. my wrist has been weaker ever since the surgery. i would consider surgery as a last option; hopefully, surgical techniques have improved in this area...i would certainly expect so.

also, the cyst returned, slightly offset. it was just as large for a year or two but long ago reduced itself to a tiny size. i no longer notice it, and it's too small under the surgical scar to be seen. later, ron

Originally Posted by need4mospd

I would have snapped one before, but it's flattened considerably since the doctor's visit. It wasn't really worth a pic before anyways, it just looked like a wrist bone, except it was squishy and moved around.

No more pain to move the wrist around, but I still couldn't do a pushup if I wanted to. I'm thinking the cyst might not have been the reason for my initial wrist pain, or my current wrist pain.