Wait, Stop!  Don’t call 911!  I was shot today, but it’s not what you think, it was with cortisone.  This is the second time I’ve had cortisone shots in my fingers.  The last time I had them done was January 30th of this year and the shots were done to my left pinky and middle finger and my right middle finger.  I must admit, they hurt like a SOB, but honestly, my fingers were so swollen, hot and painful because of the Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) that I was willing to try anything.  It was so bad that I was actually getting trigger finger (also known as stenosing tenosynovitis (stuh-NO-sing ten-o-sin-o-VIE-tis)).

For those that don’t know what that is, trigger finger can be a side effect of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and it’s when one of your fingers or your thumb gets stuck in a bent position and then straightens with a snap — like a trigger being pulled and released.  My RA was so severe that it was getting locked in a bent position and is caused by a narrowing of the sheath that surrounds the tendon in the affected digit.  As you can imagine, it was scary as hell and very painful.

I can remember the first time it happened, I had literally just woke up and was stretching my fingers by extending them then forming a fist (now I know not to even bother trying to move my hands for at least an hour after waking).  When I went to open my hand my right middle finger stuck.  I freaked out and bolted up out of bed.  My husband of course jumped up in a panic asking what happened, I started crying and said my finger is stuck.  I could see the panic in his eyes, and of course I was panicking, so I forced my hand open.   If I thought I was in pain before, nothing compared to that.  I will NEVER do that again.

It was such a scary moment, and I was in so much pain and angry that I had Rheumatoid Arthritis.  I was crying, saying “why me?”  Anyway, needless to say getting a cortisone shot a few times a year is well worth the temporary pain.  When I got the shots in January, I had some temporary discomfort after the shots (as I do now), but within 3 days it was like I never had RA!!!  Honestly, it felt like a miracle.  Here’s hoping I have good results with these shots as well.  Fingers crossed (actually I can’t bend my fingers at the moment, so hoping someone out there crosses theirs for me!)

Be well,

Meghan

ps. That’s not blood on the towel, its disinfectant.  Just in case you were worried

pps You may notice that I am wearing that crazy white headband in more than one photo.  Although I like the look, its kind of a necessity to hide all of the broken hair and hair loss because of the Rheumatoid Arthritis 🙁

Do you have Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)?  What have you found works during a flare up? Sharing is caring.