I've had problems with tendonitis (pain, swelling, numbness, tingling, etc) in my right thumb area and the area between the thumb and pointer finger for years and finally went to a doctor last year when my thumb went numb. He confirmed the tendonitis, diagnosed CTS in the same hand and also diagnosed an unstable joint in the same thumb where the thumb commects with the wrist bones. This is the worst of the problems. We discussed surgery for the CTS and tendonitis when I'm ready, but he also talked about the surgery to stabilize the thumb joint which will involve putting pins in and will require much longer recovery time. Has anyone else run into this unstable joint situation while dealing with the CTS and/or tendonitis? I'm hesitant to have the surgery because of the extended recovery, but I also know that something needs to be done. I've searched the web for information about hand joint disorders and can't find anything. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.