Specifically, in your thumbs. How often? I've had a provider say max of 3 per year. Another provider said 3 in a lifetime. Google's AI says one every 4 months.

Do you get a shot regularly? How frequently?

I’ve had two injections in my finger. Between 7 and 8 months apart. The doc said that is manageable. He said if it needs to be every 4 months, we would need to look for other solutions.

quote:

Originally posted by 400m:
He said if it needs to be every 4 months, we would need to look for other solutions.

Same thing with knee arthritis injections.

I get them every year to year and a half or so. That'll start trending downward as the knee continues to wear down. My knee doc says once they get to where the relief doesn't last at least 4 months, it's time to look for another solution (i.e. knee replacement).

Unfortunately for me, I’ve had two cortisone shots, one knee and one thumb. Neither of them gave me any pain relief whatsoever. I do take 10Mg of Meloxicam daily for my arthritis pain but at this point have very little grip strength left. Holding my iPad or a plate of food etc is still painful and I find myself watching my hands to make sure that I have a good grip on something before I lift it. Getting old sucks but it beats the alternative.

I’m at the point where cortisone injections in the knee aren’t working, he said it’s time to get serious about replacement. Was hoping to put it off for a year or 2 yet but quality of life is suffering way too much. I was an every 4 month recipient of a shot. He told me that was the bare minimum he would go. I have an appt next Wednesday to start the process on surgery. 40 plus years of working not the smartest when I was younger has caught up, but back then we didn’t know any better,.

I work in orthopedics and every 4 months (3x/year) is our recommendation

If you are having cmc joint pain ( base of the thumb where it meets the wrist) we have some very good surgical techniques today that can get you functional pretty quickly. I use something called a suspension arthroplasty and people seem to get better faster than with the other common method called anchovy procedure.

The hand surgeon I work with is also a shooter, so we can have some good conversations about that when we are doing surgery.

Cortisone shots in my knees worked for about two weeks. Thirty days out, they had completely worn off. Same with my lower back. Synthetic hyaluronic acid (gel) shots in my knees provide some actual benefit, but they take something like 60 days to reach max effectiveness and it's a solid month of greater pain than before I get them done, but it's worth it. I've had them done twice now, my insurance will pay for it every six months. Last week, I saw my doc and he put in the order, so now I'm just waiting for the approval on round three. I feel like I'm seeing actual improvement and not just pain relief. I know it's temporary and it's all a stalling tactic on knee replacement. I have arthritis and bone spurs. He showed me the x-rays and my knees are basically bone on bone.

I've been supplementing the gel shots with Diclofenac cream (generic Voltaren) a couple times a week. It's made a massive difference. You might look into that in the meantime.

I think your question applies specifically to thumbs, and I have had that twice in each hand. It did me no good, so I won't be going back. I do however get shots in my hip that help a lot.

I have been getting shots in my knee every 3 months for the past 2 years. I need a total knee replacement, was trying to make it to 50 but I just made an appointment with the surgeon for a consult.

I did the Euflexxa shots in January and they pretty much didn't touch it.

quote:

Originally posted by kx90:
I have been getting shots in my knee every 3 months for the past 2 years. I need a total knee replacement, was trying to make it to 50 but I just made an appointment with the surgeon for a consult.

I did the Euflexxa shots in January and they pretty much didn't touch it.

I've been getting cortisone in my bone on bone knees every 4 to 6 months for years.
Doc says I'm ready for replacement but to put it off as long as possible.
Even at 62 he would like me to be a few years older.
I tried the gel 2 times and it didn't do anything for me.

Same for my shoulders, but every 3 months for about 5 years.
Insurance will pay for them every 3 months.
Finally got the left shoulder total replacement in January.
Currently doing rehab to get mobility back.
As soon as the doc is happy with it, I'm getting the right shoulder replaced.
I can't wait t get it done, it hurts more than the replaced shoulder.



But as asked by the OP, cortisone shots helped me a lot for years.
Both doctors told me that relief wasn't going to last forever and replacements were in my future.
Not sure what that holds for your hands..

My wife had a cortisone injection in her lower back years ago, she never did need another one..

Yeah my knee is bone on bone, started getting shots about 5-6 years ago. Started at 6 month intervals for the first year and a half then when to 4 months, and now 3. Doc said they don’t normally do shorter than 4 months but given that my knee is completely shot it won’t hurt anything.

Nowadays they only last about a month. The gel isn’t helping at all.

He told me 6 years ago to hold off until at least 55, I will be 49 in 3 months. Last year he said do it when I’m ready, he said with advancements now they can do revision surgeries.

The past 4 months or so have been brutal, it’s exponentially getting worse now.

Good luck with the rehab