I've got fairly severe rheumatoid arthritis and I've been offered steroid injections several times and have wussed out each and every time!

Were you offered longer-term treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs? There are others apart from ibuprofen. There's also the option of taking corticosteroid tablets... But I wonder if they are offered to me because my issues are in my whole body while yours are quite localised?

But I honestly think that surgery won't be as bad as the injections. You'd be under anaesthetic for a start, as well as post-operative pain medications.

I also think I'd trust your surgeon on the time periods - if there's quite a lot of inflammation, it will take time for the steroids injected in the area to bring it down.

BW