bifocaled's Journal

So I did my homework and found out that joint replacement for the basal joint of the thumb isn't really that helpful. I went to the doctor and told her my thumb had gotten worse and asked if a splint would keep it from getting more deformed. I also explained that I wasn't worried about the pain (I've lived with it for years.) and didn't want surgery. She referred me to an orthopaedic surgeon and was going to prescribe an anti-inflammatory when she realize that the medicine I'm on for UC is a salicylate. I actually told her I didn't want surgery three times and that the pain wasn't a problem several times during our discussion (Which apparently was a bit one-sided.) I went ahead and made the appointment with the surgeon because she said he is a good hand man and does other things besides surgery and because she feels that not doing as she says is going against medical advice and puts AMA in your chart. The insurance companies look for that when they're deciding whether or not to give you coverage. But if he says surgery and I refuse I'll be in deep dutch with the medical/insurance community anyway. How does one deal with all this and keep any semblance of sanity? I stopped the barley malt last week because I had a bit of a flare. Not much bleeding but cramping and tireness. Since I'm not feeling bad right now, I'm going to try it again starting today.