Ganglion cyst recovery?

[Lord Antares]

Has anyone had one removed? How long am I not going to be able to use my arm for demanding physical activites? I've heard at least a month.

Is that like the 3 weeks you're not supposed to smoke for after wisdom teeth removal or are you actually unable to use your arm for that long? I realize I'm not supposed to ask for medical advice, I just a bit of personal experience.

[DrP]

I had one that popped itself in my toe (odd feeling that).  Had it for a good while...  It got very painful, there was a lump and I thought I had broken my toe. X-Ray showed no break and they said it was a cyst on the tendon with the bad news of arthritis onset in the joints of the toe.

I've never been the same in that toe - still gets very painful - although that is probably the arthritis as the cyst is long, long gone. Difficult to say how long it took as, with the arthritis, the pain never really went away fully.....  but it took a couple of months at least  -  maybe that is because I was playing golf on it rather than resting it, but hey. Sorry I can't be of more help.  That's all I know about them....   Although a friend once said that you can get rid of then your self by hitting them very hard with a heavy book...  I don't recommend this though - I guess the impact might pop it or something, but I wouldn't try that until you have researched it further, lol.

 

[Lord Antares]

Yes, I know about hitting it with a book (people used to do that for hundreds of years - hence the alternative name ''bible bump'') but the issue is that it doesn't get rid of the ''bag'' so it just returns. I know because I've slept on it a few times. It disappeared and came back in a week or two (mine is on the wrist, I don't rest my head on my toes lol)

I would just like to know to what extent I'm going to be able to use my hand and how long.

[rangerx]

I had one on my wrist. The doctor pulled the fluid, which is just joint/tendon fluid then hit it with cortisone to dissolve the sac. I could use the hand right away and it never came back.

[Lord Antares]

42 minutes ago, rangerx said:

I had one on my wrist. The doctor pulled the fluid, which is just joint/tendon fluid then hit it with cortisone to dissolve the sac. I could use the hand right away and it never came back.

Yes, I've heard there are two methods to resolve this: Pulling it with the syringe and cutting it out with a scalpel. The former is much more convenient but the sac stays in there and there's a good chance it will come back. Never heard about dissolving the sac. That sounds legitimate.

The latter puts your hand out of hard use for some time but it doesn't come back after that. I hope the former can be done effectively.

[Phi for All]

I'm pretty sure either method isn't going to put you out of commission unless the bandaging restricts movement of the hand. If the cyst were in a place where it could be aggravated by a lot of hand movement, they might want to tape up your fingers to minimize that. 

I've had one on the outside of my right ankle where the bone sticks out for several years. When it was smaller, I could feel it against my shoe, but oddly when it got bigger it moved away from that pressure point, and now it hardly bothers me. It's elective surgery to have them removed in the backwater, primitive US healthcare system. I'd have to pay over a thousand dollars to have mine removed, and when I looked into it, there was no mention of a sensitive recovery.

[koti]

So that's what I have on the inside of my wrist.

[Phi for All]

4 minutes ago, koti said:

So that's what I have on the inside of my wrist.

MAYBE. Nobody was trying to suggest that, or make a diagnosis on your condition.

See a doctor. /disclaimer

[StringJunky]

I had one... somewhere... but it's gone now.   I'm only reminded because I read this.

[Phi for All]

16 minutes ago, StringJunky said:

I had one... somewhere... but it's gone now.   I'm only reminded because I read this.

I'm using the same treatment, hoping for the same results. 

[koti]

45 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

MAYBE. Nobody was trying to suggest that, or make a diagnosis on your condition.

See a doctor. /disclaimer

Whenever I decide to see a doctor it goes away. Its like its got a mind of its own.

[Phi for All]

11 minutes ago, koti said:

Whenever I decide to see a doctor it goes away. Its like its got a mind of its own.

I had a car like that once. 

[Lord Antares]

14 hours ago, Phi for All said:

It's elective surgery to have them removed in the backwater, primitive US healthcare system. I'd have to pay over a thousand dollars to have mine removed, and when I looked into it, there was no mention of a sensitive recovery.

Damn. I still can't believe you guys don't have free healthcare. I think if I lived in America, I would self-treat pretty much everything.

14 hours ago, Phi for All said:

I'm pretty sure either method isn't going to put you out of commission unless the bandaging restricts movement of the hand.

Does that apply to lifting weights? Or just normal hand movements. Because it never hurts when I'm doing normal activities like using a mouse or keyboard.

[StringJunky]

24 minutes ago, Lord Antares said:

Damn. I still can't believe you guys don't have free healthcare. I think if I lived in America, I would self-treat pretty much everything.

It's mental a first world nation not having it. But that's America.

[koti]

17 hours ago, Phi for All said:

I'd have to pay over a thousand dollars to have mine removed, and when I looked into it, there was no mention of a sensitive recovery.

I will do it for you for a decent size bottle of Jack Daniels which we can drink together during the procedure. This way you can not only save ~90% off the original price but also cut on the anesthesia costs.

3 hours ago, Lord Antares said:

Does that apply to lifting weights? Or just normal hand movements. Because it never hurts when I'm doing normal activities like using a mouse or keyboard.

As you can see by my above post my expert advice is questionable but personally, I wouldn’t worry much about the recovery and restriction of movement during weight lifting. Just stop lifting when it bleeds too much, otherwise I don’t see a reason to stop a perfectly good workout.

Edited February 8, 2018 by koti

[Phi for All]

4 hours ago, Lord Antares said:

Damn. I still can't believe you guys don't have free healthcare. I think if I lived in America, I would self-treat pretty much everything.

If my cyst had been on the inside of my ankle where I could get to it easier, I would have been successful lancing it myself, but the sac is tough and at a bad angle on the outside of the ankle. And I have no business poking around on my body with a lancet, I've had no training so it's pretty stupid actually. I went to my primary physician to have them lance it, and found out they could only authorize an orthopedic surgery clinic visit. This used to be something nurses could take care of easily without seeing the doctor. 

4 hours ago, Lord Antares said:

Does that apply to lifting weights? Or just normal hand movements. Because it never hurts when I'm doing normal activities like using a mouse or keyboard.

They're going to want to wrap bandaging around that wrist, so it depends how high up on your hand it will go. It's on the top of the wrist, right? It shouldn't be a problem with the small stuff like typing and using flatware, and with weightlifting it might hamper any wrist curling motions. As koti mentions, if you get enough friction to cause bleeding, you should stop that particular set until it heals fully.