Hi all,
I went to a hand surgeon this past week for a ganglion cyst that has been causing me wrist pain since 2009. The surgeon gave me a cortisone injection and told me to wait 8 weeks but if there is no improvement or if the pain returns by 8 weeks, schedule another appointment with him for surgery to remove the cyst. The surgeon doesn't have much hope with the cortisone injection but he thought it was best to at least give it a try and see.
What I found interesting about my appointment was that the surgeon mentioned he has seen and treated other patients who have both Sjogren's and ganglion cysts. I was wondering if any of you had ganglion cysts removed? I am not sure how healing works with having an autoimmune disease and I know that Sjogren's primarily affects my joints and mouth/salivary glands. Anyway, any input would be great!
I have never had surgery before - except my wisdom teeth if that counts - and I'm very nervous! :-\
Cheers,
Shelly
I have had a cyst on my left hand recently. My PCP sent me to a hand surgeon who looked at it, took an x-ray and then put a splint on my first two fingers. Told me to wear it as long as I could. I went to CA to see my daughter and thought it would cause an uproar in the screening process, so I left it off.
Funny thing: He said it was most likely caused by the use of prednisone. Right. I had recently had a lupus flare that we treated with prednisone, and guess what he was treating this cyst with? You guessed it, another dose of prednisone.
I've had cysts pop up between my breasts; went to PCP to make sure it wasn't encroaching on my breasts and it wasn't. Also had a cyst in my left breast; an aspiration showed it was full of "junk" but as a precaution, we set an appointment for surgical removal of the cyst.
Never a dull moment with lupus and sjogren's, huh?
My Dad, my husband and I have all had. ganglion cyst.
I am the only one of the 3 of us who has Sjs.
Also, I have never been on prednisone.
Having it removed was my first surgery too. It was simple and fast. I was kept awake but my arm was fully numb. My Dad's doc literally dropped a huge medical book on his to pop it!
Maybe ask for a few Ativan if you are really scared on the nights leading up to the surgery.
Ganglion cysts are also autoimmune in many cases. So are varicose veins. Sharon
I had a ganglion cyst on top of my right hand about in the middle. Had it done and recovered quite fast as I remember. Had it done in 1975, I believe.
I can't say that this has anything to do with sjogrens. I had scrubbed a carpet by hand and the repetitive motions did it to me. It might have something to do with sjogrens, but I guess I wouldn't worry about the cause. Lots of people have them. Sometimes they even go away on their own.
The old fashioned treatment that people talk about is "banging the cyst with the family Bible." Guess that destroys them the cheap way. I would hate to try it though. Take care. Irish
Irish, I remember the family Bible "fixer". I've heard of people who had someone do this to them and they weren't aware of what was going to happen. I think probably "that" fix worked as well as any, but I've not had any so I can talk. It would work well if it was on the wrist or knee maybe but other places may be hard to fix. Lucy
Howdy all, I had a ganglion cyst surgically removed from my left wrist. It was about the size of a large pea. I was completely sedated at the time of the operation. Afterward I had to wear a splint for two weeks.
I had no problems since. BTW Irish, we use to call this type a cyst, a Bible thumper.
I think going with surgery is the more prudent course of action.
Seeker
Quote from: slccom on June 20, 2012, 03:12:57 PM
Ganglion cysts are also autoimmune in many cases. So are varicose veins. Sharon
slccom Sharon, do you have a medical journal or other authoritative reference for these statements? Varicose veins and ganglion cysts are so common that I find it hard to believe they are "autoimmune in many cases". They are so common that it's not surprising to find those of us with autoimmune disease suffering from them.
DD#1 had one as a child - LOL DH and I joked about doing the bible fix, but couldn't go through with it. We left if alone and it went away on it's own. Clearly yours isn't resolving on it own - time for surgical intervention. Did they try to aspirate the fluid? I know that's a very easy procedure - but doesn't always work if the fluid is too viscous
I had mine repaired in the ER -- day surgery back in the 70's. I had a local and that was a very weird experience. It wasn't very painful, but very weird to watch. Irish
I find it strange that I came across this thread. I was coming on here to ask any of you if you have ever had what I am feeling since last night.
I have the ganglion cyst on my right hand same place irish talked about, but a nerve is killing me going up from my wrist more on the inside of my arm or the where the thumb and close by fingers are at.
I thought of carpel tunnel, and I guess that could be it. It hurts a very bad nerve pain, and I have an elastic wrap on it right now, but it doesn't help much.
Let me know if you folks had this pain.
susanep :)
Thanks for the responses everyone! I am hoping the cortisone works, but I am also trying to be realistic with myself in that it probably won't work and I will have to get the cyst removed surgically. It's comforting to hear from those of you who did have a cyst removed and did not experience complications!
Shelly
I had one years ago.. A cortisone shot and wearing a wrist brace and it finally went away after about 6 weeks..
Quote from: Skylar on June 20, 2012, 06:24:15 PM
Quote from: slccom on June 20, 2012, 03:12:57 PM
Ganglion cysts are also autoimmune in many cases. So are varicose veins. Sharon
slccom Sharon, do you have a medical journal or other authoritative reference for these statements? Varicose veins and ganglion cysts are so common that I find it hard to believe they are "autoimmune in many cases". They are so common that it's not surprising to find those of us with autoimmune disease suffering from them.
DD#1 had one as a child - LOL DH and I joked about doing the bible fix, but couldn't go through with it. We left if alone and it went away on it's own. Clearly yours isn't resolving on it own - time for surgical intervention. Did they try to aspirate the fluid? I know that's a very easy procedure - but doesn't always work if the fluid is too viscous
Upon doing more research, http://bestpractice.bmj.com/best-practice/monograph/335/diagnosis.html shows that autoimmune disease is a risk factor in superficial spider vein, such as you see in rosacea. Not the same as varicose veins, but vasculitis sometimes confused with varicose veins, but autoimmune disease are a risk factor for vasculitis. You can also get varicose veins in other parts of the body, including the esophagus, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/autoimmune-hepatitis/ds00676/dsection=complications/ Not a good thing, as if they rupture you can bleed out really, really fast.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677210/ There is an autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, but I don't see anything suggesting that this is the same as ganglion cysts, However, since the peripheral gangli can also be damaged, it is possible that there is a link. I did overstate that one; the previous research I saw I may have misinterpreted from scanning too fast.
I just realized: my brother-in-law got De Quervain's tendinitis and had surgery, I looked it up and got it confused with ganglion cysts.
I really miss my mind!
Sharon
I've been having pain in my left thumb for a couple of months.. I had a cortisone shot but she gave it in my hand beside my thumb and it didn't seem to help any..
I've never heard of De Quervain's before so I looked it up and found de Quervain's tenosynovitis.. It kinda sounds like what I have.. Please tell me it goes away without surgery.. I sure can't afford surgery right now if this is what I have..
Oh! They had a test to do so I thought i'd try it.. As my mama used to say, 'I thought I was going to have a hissy fit' when I tried it.. ;D
The test said:
To diagnose de Quervain's tenosynovitis, your doctor likely will confirm that you have both:
* Tenderness when pressure is applied on the thumb side of the wrist
* Positive results on a Finkelstein test
In a Finkelstein test, you bend your thumb across the palm of your hand and bend your fingers down over your thumb. Then you bend your wrist toward your little finger. If this causes pain on the thumb side of your wrist, the test is considered positive.
It sounds like yours may be a case of DeQuervaines (sp?) mentioned in one of the posts. I had carpal tunnel plus DQ when I was in my 20's.....I may have gotten an injection in my right wrist....mine involved my right thumb and forearm....it was painful but it did go away! I've got some tendon, muscle pain in my left hand and forearm for which I am going to try my Voltaren gel. It's calmed down quite a bit since it first arrived but I still have some burning on that wrist bone....this tendon/muscle problem affected my left pinky, down to the wrist and along my arm almost to my elbow! Ask your doc about DQ (and I don't mean Dairy Queen :D)!!!
And there's also dupuytren's contracture, which is scar tissue that forms on the tendons in the hand. It causes finger to contract downwards (or sideways depending on the tendon involved). You can see the giant tendons growing. Not so much pain though.