got that old trigger finger again...

[mica]

(entering mom mode here) Make sure you follow the post op instructions! The procedure is always the focus, but you're not really done until you're fully healed. so heed your doctors orders.

[David Houck]

What Mica said.

[BeenDown139]

<typing one-handed here so bear with me>

thanks for all the well wishes folks.  gonna keep this brief.  slept all night for a change.  hand's pretty sore this morning but no locking up.  i prepared the house for one-handed operation all last week, so i all gotta worry about is not going crazy from the inactivity.  i'm used to being locked down (long story - it's where my stage name comes from ;-)  ) so i'm gonna choke down some ibuprofen, get good and baked and watche the sun come up.  got deals to work and schemes to hatch in the meantime.

[BeenDown139]

i was looking for something else entirely when i spied this on google maps in the nieghborhood next to my destination.  coincidence?  makes me wonder...

https://elevationists.org/

[BeenDown139]

after surgery, the doctor wound my hand with a ton of gauze, told me to keep it dry.  taking a shower last night, apparently the bag i had my hand in had a leak, so i stepped outta the shower with a soaking wad of wet cloth in a ziplock bag.  out come the scissors and the first aid kit.  dressed it with something a little more practical.  took a picture of my stictches for those of you thinking of this procedure.  it was much less traumatic this time around, i think mostly because it was only the ring finger and i still have most of the use of my thumb and index finger.  my right hand was totally incapacitated for about 3 days the last time, it was a week before i could use it minimally.
much less painful this morning, still can't really grip with it yet, but at least i can close my hand without worrying about a painful unlocking procedure afterwards.  up to typing with 7 fingers now.  yay!

[gearhed289]

Take it slow man!

[BeenDown139]

a quick update on this.  i've been on enforced bass and bicycle abstinence  for almost two weeks now.  getting ready to lose my mind, but i planned for this -  pre-made a bunch of meals that i can eat one-handed, laid in a good variety of high-octane dope, etc. also managed to sell a bass, buy a hot tub, pull the electrical and upgrade the yard privacy. one of the tasks on the list was to flip the bass corner around so that i faced out and had enough room so i wouldn't bonk anything with a headstock.  this is where i plan to spend my winter hours so it's gotta meet standard.  this precipitated a merry side-trip down down a DS-5 rabbit-hole.  finally tonight i was able to light everything up, let my fingers dance over the last 15 strings that i have left and count the hours until monday when i get my stitches out and i can get back to "normal" again.  sheesh!

[dela217]

My trigger finger is back!    I opted for the shots.   While there was some relief after the shots, it came back again.    Back is also the pain, and my finesse in those fingers has suffered greatly.

I am scheduled for the surgery on March 6th.    They wanted to do it sooner, but I am booked solid with gigs through February.    Mardi Gras, so lots of gigs.  Being that I play with 6 different bands don't help either.   They tell me that I should be back to playing bass right after the stitches come out which is 10 days after the procedure.    Surgery on the 6th, first booked gig after that is the 18th.   

They only want to do one hand at a time.    Getting the left one done first as the triggering is happening on my ring and middle finger.    I wanted to get them to do both hands done at the same time, but they refused.   

Michael

[lbpesq]

My wife was having trouble with trigger finger.  She took both oral CBD oil and rubbed CBD oil on the joints.    It’s an effective anti-inflammatory.  FWIW, it worked for her.

Bill, tgo

[Mark 63]

I had trigger finger release on fretting hand (left) middle and ring fingers 8 days ago. Ring finger works ok but a little sore. Middle finger won't close all the way (the opposite of trigger finger). There is still a fair amount of swelling on that finger and on the palm near the incision. I'm going back tomorrow to get stitches out and will ask how much longer till I can play again. It's a real drag. But the surgery needed to be done.

[BeenDown139]

a little late to the party.  i've been involved in a total immersion 24/7  pot and hot tub therapy study and they only let me out of the facility for sanitation and debris removal dontcha know.

I'm going back tomorrow to get stitches out and will ask how much longer till I can play again. It's a real drag. But the surgery needed to be done.

so it's been almost 4 months since i had mine done.  i don't know your health situation but i'm 67.  this was a difficult recovery this time around.  i went on 2 weeks of total bass palying abstinence after surgery.  i worked up slowly from a couple of songs every other day to the point where i can play a pretty strenuous 45 minute set.  my range of motion is back, i don't cringe anymore when i reach passages where i know i'm gonna tax my right hand.  my chops feel good for the first time in a long while.

but...

i have a hot tub that i'm for 45 minutes a time in 4 - 6 times a day.  a good part of that time is with my fingers (both hands) over the therapy jets, plus i do a whole stretch and flex routine every session.
i'm retired and don't drive a computer or construction tools any more.  i really don't do much more than sit around, play bass, smoke pot and sit in a hot tub all day.
i have access to all the CBD and high-potency pot i can handle.

even with that zero-stress lifestyle for my hands, i still have pain after i play.  my staminia is nowhere near where it was even a year ago. i just recently joined a band that's strictly weekends, 1 or 2 1-hour sets once we're gigging.  i'm hoping that i've got myself rehabbed to the point that i can actually do that by spring.

my advice:  don't push it.  i got impatient and pushed harder than i should have and payed the price with enforced abstinence until it stopped hurting again.  listen to your body.  when it hurts, stop.  now.

good luck with your recovery, sir.

[BeenDown139]

since my surgery i always do a warm-up and stretch before and after bass practice (something i never used to do.  i'm thinging that probably didn't help me any).  i'be been filming them to asses my recovery. i was warming up on hte ebony amazon last night,  here's a little jam i named "pressed ham and eggs".  i think my mobility nad strength are back, but my stamina is definitely not waht it used to be.  pretty sure the arthritis has something to do with that.  the subject finger of this thread still hurts after practice but it's going away.  slowly.

there are days when i wonder if the cure wasn't worse than the affliction.

[pauldo]

That tone is delicious.

Curious if there are specific finger stretches that you do prior to playing?

(Knock on wood) fingers are holding up well, but did recognize an abbynormal discomfort when playing with a pick the other day.

[BeenDown139]

That tone is delicious.

Thanks!  That’s pure series II with rotosound rounds direct thru a stereo rig.  I’ve never had a bass that just flat out howls like this one does.  On all 5 strings.  Anywhere on the neck.  Has to be experienced in person at high volume to be appreciated.  I put the tablet in selfie mode in a napkin holder on the music stand in front of the amps and let it rip.  Seems to record fairly well that way.

Curious if there are specific finger stretches that you do prior to playing?

So I’ve found a regimen that works pretty well.  Bear in mind my fingers have been at this almost 50 years now.  Concurrently with 35 years as a software engineer and another 15 after that as a commercial electrician.  Not to mention 3 hand surgeries on the right hand and a mangled thumb (metal shop accident, another 4 surgeries to put it back together.  It’s ghastly!) and middle finger tip on the left hand.  got some pretty good arthritis going in all my joints.  Pretty sure if I wasn’t following this program I wouldn’t be able to play at all.  As it is, with all this help, it makes me able to play in a part-time band again and play the music I want for about 45 minutes a day. I call it a blessing.

Medication:
Diclofenac (I think you can get this as voltarin? Over the counter) and CBD nanosalve (450 mg THC, 50mg THCa, 50mg CBD) hand/finger/joint rubdown coupla times a day, PRN, before practice, whenever.  Kinda stinky but it sure takes the edge off!

Asprin: 2 x 325mg tabs washed down with a cup of strong coffee after breakfast.

A vape pen chamber load (~0.5mg) of high potency (>30% THC) pot 10 – 12 times /day or as required.

Alcohol use is prohibited.

It should be noted that I’m retired and really have nothing better to do all day except collect social security, get high, play bass, ride a bicycle and work on my 75-year-old house.  I only drive my car once a week.  This program may not work for all lifestyles.  I self-medicate so that you don’t have to.

Stretching:
I use a variation of a martial arts stretch I learned long ago called “gasho”(?): put both hands palm together in front of face.  Splay fingers and thumbs of both hands together as wide as you can.  Keeping your fingers pointing vertical, pull hands down towards your heart.  When you feel tension in your thumbs, stop.  Hold for a minute or so, release slowly.  Do not bounce.  If it hurts, stop.  It’s not a contest to see how far you can go.  It helps loosen things up if you rotate your hands together towards your body.

I do this as often as I can, especially if my hands start feeling stiff.  I used to do a bunch of other fancy stretches but this is the only one that gives me that clickthese days.

Therapy:
I have a hot tub and I’m in it 4-6 times a day, 30-45 minutes/session.  I do a whole body and joint stretch and flex at least 3 times a day out there.  Every session has a full hand stretch and flex (making fists, etc) over a therapy jet.

Hope that helps.  Good luck, sir!

[dela217]

I had my surgery just this past Monday.    This is a serious surgery!   There's still a good bit of pain, but it's MUCH better.   When I booked this, I asked them specifically about the recovery time.    They said as soon as the stiches come out, I can get back to my regular activity!!!!

I must admit,  my daily driver Alembic plays with no effort.    So, maybe I can do it after all.     The way I feel right now, there's no way.

My stitches come out on 3/17, at 10am.    My next gig is 3/17, at 8pm, just 10 hours later!

Honestly, if I feel as though I can't make it I do have a sub lined up already.    But I will try, and then and let everyone know how it went.  Oh, and another gig on the books for the very next day.

Once this is healed up, I am going to schedule getting the other hand done.    The other hand isn't as bad, but it still hurts.   The second surgery I may do better because it's my right hand.   I guess I could use a pick if i had to.

Michael