De Quervain's tenosynovitis

[Caterpillargirl23]

I've been suffering with DQS for about 6 weeks and it's just as painful as it was when it started.
Paracetamol and Ibruprofen don't help, neither does the thumb brace. Ice packs help a bit. I'm doing the exercises.
Does it get better quickly or will it be sudden? Sometimes I think it's on the mend but then I get the sharp pain again.
Any help / advice?

I had it a few years ago. I was a childminder and think lifting literally hundreds of children over the years set it off.

It did go, however it took a few years. Unfortunately it’s back and using scissors, squeezy bottles and opening jars is now impossible. 😞

I had this and it was excruciating. My GP recommended wearing a wrist brace, day and night, for a few weeks. It made it much less painful and helped it to heal.

It does get better but it's a very long slow process. I had it 30 years ago and it took years to get back to normal.
I can set it off again by overdoing certain thing like painting, crochet, anything repetitve and prolonged. It doesn't last so long now because I know how to manage it.
Number one tip is do not do anything that hurts it, resist going back to normal activity as it's really only rest that helps. And never see a chiropractor- I think that set me back months if not years.

Thank you for the replies.
Nothing seems to help it, apart from ice but that's partly because I'm sitting down not doing anything with it.
Just moisturising my face hurts.

I had it about 10 years ago. I ended up getting a steroid injection which solved the problem very quickly. It hasn't come back although I now have arthritis in that wrist instead!

I've had this for a year, it really is awful. I've seen a physio but likely need steroid injections soon according to them as it's limiiting functiion a lot. Have you seen your gp?

Oh and I was given naproxen by the gp also as ibuprofen wasn't touching it at all and they also referred me to the physio which I did have to wait ages for on the nhs. Wish I had just gone privately to start with as it's been a massive struggle day to day. I have it in both hands since birth of my baby. You have my sympathies

I was triaged and went straight to physio who diagnosed it, gave exercises and suggested a brace.

Nothing is really helping make it feel comfortable for any period of time.

I had this, it was agony for about 2 months!
about 6 weeks in I got really strict with myself as the next step would have been a steroid injection which I wanted to avoid.
I wore the brace 24/7 and the doctor prescribed diclofenac as the paracetmol and ibuprofen weren’t working. The diclofenac seemed to work better for the pain and when I’d finished the tablets I used the voltorol gel (the pain had lessened significantly by then)
It’s worth calling the doctor and telling them the pain killers aren’t working. I honestly think it was being strict about wearing the brace that helped it the most though, it won’t lessen the pain at the time but it will allow it to heal.

@hockityponktas
What brace did you wear? I've got a couple of different ones, I suspect the more comfortable one is less supportive.

I needed steroid injections to solve it. They were painful at the time but they solved the issue permanently.

@Caterpillargirl23
similar to this one, it was annoying but it stops you using the thumb which really helps!

Physio told me to use heat for ten minutes on my arm. She wasn’t keen on a brace. She also used a machine which she ran up and down my arm. I’m still getting twinges and doing exercises but she did say I might eventually need an op. I think I got it from pushing a heavy suitcase!

@hockityponktas
Thank you, it's different from the ones I have been using. I'll look into it. I did have some success with the gel although it wasn't great on my skin so I stoppped.
@Rocknrollstar Yes the use of a brace gets mixed reviews. I don't know how I got it but I wish it would go.
As I said it sometimes feels OK, then 'ouch!' when I try and sign my name with a pen, for example, and that's it for hours. Back to square one.

It's awful isn't it. I had it from about 5 months pregnant until 7 months postpartum. (8.5 months postpartum now and still there slightly but about 5% as opposed to 100%).

The brace above was the type I used - it was called a gauntlet. Was a pain in the arse trying to lift the baby, breastfeed etc with it so initially it was on and off a lot but I eventually worked out it needed to be on all the time.

With me I'm sure it was caused by fluid retention from the pregnancy hormones which is why it's so much better now. Do you know what might be causing yours?

I found out if mine didn't go with time and exercises they'd do an injection. If this failed they would do another injection and if that failed there is a fairly simple surgery they can do.

Hope it gets better for you.

https://www.wristsupports.co.uk/actimove-gauntlet-wrist-and-thumb-support.html

This is the brace I used.

I had it immediately after I had my DD. It was incredibly painful. I saw a physio who tried massage etc but then referred me for a steroid injection which cured it instantly. I had to pay for it but it was worth every penny!

I'm post menopause, so a bit old for this one. I had breast cancer treament and have to take alendroic acid and letrozole perhaps these tablets have made me more susceptible. I don't think I did anything specific. I've always been physically cautious, even more so since my treatment.
@Oldermum84 thank you for the link.

Thank you all for your help and empathy. My wrist looks fine, it's hard to describe what it feels like to other people so it's been helpful hearing from fellow sufferers.

I had this. Wearing a brace helped a bit but I ended up having a steroid injection. It was amazing and I've never had problems since.

@Caterpillargirl23 I used the brace @hockityponktas suggested and did the recommended exercises. I can’t remember exactly how long but it was for quite a few weeks.

Oh that's very sore. I also had it post-dc, I remember having lots of physio and eventually having a diffeeent one at one appointment who told me the exercise wasn't the right one (basically lifting my thumb repeatedly, new one said to lower it slowly repeatedly instead, which worked!) But I think the steroid injection sounds like a good bet.

I had this in both wrists with pregnancy. So sore. Nothing worked until I paid for the steroid injections. It was acutely painful to get the injection, but it worked within 24 hours, and it hasn't come back.

I should also have said that mine has never returned after the steroid injection

I'm 54, I had DQT earlier this year. I wore a brace pretty much every day and some nights for four months, then it disappeared as quickly as it arrived. All very odd.

@maximist that's what I was wondering (hoping) that it might just disappear one day.