It's good news week - not!
Just another vent people. Another visit to another surgeon for a second opinion on my elbows. Thanks to PsA, elbows have gone - nothing left just bone on bone. Surfaces are too rough for an arthroscopy so only option is total elbow replacements or just pain management. Elbow replacements, unfortunately, are not like hip/shoulder replacements: not always successful , only last 5-8 years, 20% failure rate, the second is not as successful as the first and if bad enough I'll be left with just flailing arms. After replacement, no lifting anything heavier than a coffee cup, no jerking or repetitive movements allowed, basically you sit on the couch and watch TV for the rest of your life. I've decided to try to manage the pain with meds. The Surgeon today said you must have a very high pain tolerance to be able to cope with elbows in such shocking condition. Ain't life great. New hobby started today, planted two seeds, perhaps that may help with the pain, we'll see. The wrists, thumbs, fingers all have joint space left but for some reason are incredibly painful, more so than the elbows???