Cortison shots in hands for edema pain

Hi - well, at 33 weeks the edema is out of control in my hands. I've been wearing carpal tunnel wrist braces since week 24/25 and it just keeps getting worse. I can barely move my fingers during the night and most of the day is not much better. My doctor 'okay'd' me to see an orthopedic surgeon for cortisone shots.

Has anyone else done this? Does it hurt? Did it help? Any known side effects to the babies? (I assume not since my OB allows it.)

thanks

 

I'm sure the Orthopedic Dr. would be able to tell you more than the OB would, but I looked it up and basically it is the same as some other drugs in that there really is no FDA backing to say if it is good or bad. I would bet that since you are so far along in your pregnancy, that it would be ok considering the babies are not "forming" any longer. The cortisone is only a temporary fix though, so you would have to continue doing them (not sure how often) for them to be effective in the long run. I'm living with the carpel tunnel too and hoping it goes away after a few weeks (after having the babies). If not, I plan on going to an ortho to see what I can do outside of surgery..blah!! Good luck!!

 

My carpal tunnel didn't start until about 34 weeks or so but it actually got worse right after I delivered & for about 2 weeks after. It is better now but I still have it. I still wear the braces at night too. I hope I don't have permanent damage from it bc the only fix is surgery. I would do the shots and I would set it up to have shots done right before you deliver in case it gets worse in the hospital like mine did because I could barely hold and nurse my babies. It was awful! The pain from my carapl tunnel was far worse than my c sec pain!

 

I get the shots on Wednesday, and i deliver 2.5 weeks later via c-section. I am going this route because I'm afraid my hands will be so bad that i won't be able to handle my babies. The cortison shots last 3 months, so that should give me enough time for the swelling to go down and hopefully not return. I had this with my singleton pregnancy and it went away within a week of delivery.

thanks!