Waiting for a call to have my sixth operation done. I am 49 years old and had my first operation when I was 43. Now I am starting to also get the knuckle pads on both hands. Two operations on my left thumb, my left palm, side of my index finger on my left hand and palm on my right hand. Have had a lot of pain with mine. Pain is manageable as long as I am easy on them. Just wondering if many people experience the pain that I do, because by what I read it is not suppose to be painful.
Q: I have Dupuytren's disease and mine is painful and just wondering how common this was.
Answers (9)
5/30/08 2:12pm
Dupuyten's disease - which involves abnormal thickening of the tissue of the skin beneath the palm of the hand - is not typically painful and often is treated with simple stretching. In more serious cases, which unfortunately you have, surgery is required to help with pain and stop the fingers from contracting. It is not uncommon for Dupuyten's disease to recur - hence your need for multiple surgeries.
Some other treatments for Dupuyten's disease - which you've presumably tried - include stretching, ultrasound and heat. One experimental treatments involves the immune agent interferon alpha -2b to try to break up the collagen deposits.
8/26/09 3:10pm
Glad to find someone else who get pain from this 'painless' problem. My right ring finger began to contract a few years ago and it can hurt like mad! Now I have developed one on my index finger of same hand... It aches virtually all the time, and is exacerbated by stretching or even attempting to straighten my fingers. It also hurts to grip. As yet it has not contracted enough to need ops.
3/ 3/10 5:37pm
Hi, I thought it was just me. Thank you for posting this. I have thickening on my right hand palm and it is connecting to my little and ring finger. The specialist told me it was in the early stages, and that there was no pain involved. I got to see him on a referral from my GP, whom I went to because of the pain in m hand and forearm. It seems that the two are not connected and the specialist was not concerned at all with the pain in my arm and said three times that there was no pain with Dupuytrens Contracture at all.
8/ 9/10 12:21pm
I have pain with mine, too. Right hand ring finger and palm ache all the time, and the tendon is starting to pop in my left hand middle finger and aching. I have been told there is no pain by a doctor who then rattled off a list of people he knows with Dupuytren's who have pain. I seem to have more acute pain during times of pressure change, especially in weather events and airplane travel.
9/16/10 1:09pm
I am in the waiting period to go to a specialist. I have not been told by anyone of my GPs that this is what i have because they think I am too young...36 and also because I have pain with mine. I can't straighten my left ring finger out without hurting. When I stretch, it hurts and I have the nodule on my palm under the ring finger that ,when anything of varying temp hits it, makes me feel a pain not unlike a toothache. I am not glad you have pain but I am glad that I am not alone in this!
9/16/10 2:02pm
My GP also did not know what I had...horrible, painful, hard lumps on all knuckles; this developed literally before my eyes. I saw a specialist who confirmed Garrards Knuckle Pad Syndrom, which usually develops after Dupuytren's and is usually not painful. I too am too young for this; 38 at the time. I was told that eventually I will develop Depuytren's; I now have pain in the outer side of my right palm and over my middle top knuckle. I guess it's starting sooner than later. I also was told that there is "no cause" for this disease and that it can hereditary; but still I thought that I was too young and no one in my family has this. So, I did a LOT of reading and found that this disease can be a side effect of taking anticonvulsants. I am on an anticonvulsant, Topamax, but this was not listed as a side effect. Of course, I when I mention this to my Drs. they don't think the two are related. I'm wondering if anyone else is in this same situation?
1/11/11 10:41pm
I guess I have the same prob. went to the doc for the pain and 3 days later he operated 16 z like stitches and made matters worse. now im 34 and the surgery was 4 years ago and everyday seems like its gettin worse and their nothing that cant be done or medication that will touch it. One day I am going to cut my hand off!
1/18/11 11:57am
My surgeon advised me that generally this is not painful, however, once the nodules develop, and they don't always do... it's then this becomes painful. I had the surgery 4 years ago, and like others posted here, it has recurred and now I am in for a second surgery. More nodules, and the pain is intense when gripping anything touching my palm. Very hard as I am right handed and it is that hand which is affected. I would recommend the surgery... once past the healing process, and the "must do" physio... I have lived pain free for 3 years... for me at least, surgery made a huge difference.
3/ 8/11 4:22pm
I am waiting for my 2nd operation. I am 51 years old, and my first surgery was done 4 years ago. I had a nodules on my palm, on my right hand by the 3rd finger. It is excrutiatingly painful. This makes every day tasks, a chore. Holding a knife to butter bread; toothbrush; steering wheel; computer mouse, hair brush, blow dryer.. etc. Anthing I need to grip or extend my hand onto, causes pain. The list of things it affects is surprisingly long.
This second nodule that has developed now, is much larger than the first, and this one runs from the middle finger, and encompasses the tendons covering a larger area.
4/27/11 1:23am
I have had extreme pain in my index fingers due to DD. I had the NA done and surgery on one of the fingers. The surgeries left my index fingers completely stiff. Not only are they bent, I can't make a fist with them or grip with them. They are useless and in the way. The doctor said one possible treatment in order to gain full use of the other fingers is to amputate. This sounds like a horrible solution and I'm frightened at times. Now the little fingers are bent as well and the nodules in my palm are getting larger each day and remain very painful. For a disease that is not supposed to be painful, I hurt all the time, especially at night. I can't sleep and it makes it difficult to focus the next day. It's altered my life-style. I would like to try Xiaflex, but my insurance (Tri-care) won't cover it.
In reading over this, I realize it all sounds like a big whine, but if feels awful.
I
11/16/11 2:49am
I had an injury to my right hand in late 2003. I tore a hole in my tendon sleeve which formed a ganglion cyst. I had the cyst remove early 2005. By mid year I started getting pain in my palm. When rubbing the ache I started to feel a mass in my palm. I went back to my surgeon who had done the cyst removal and was told I was forming dupuytren's nodules. My hand continued to hurt and fingers started to pull inward. I had surgury to remove bands and nodule in early 2006. By end of year I started having pain in my palm again. I felt a lump further down in my palm and started having my penky finger affected this time along with ring finger. Because the nodule wasn't big enough I was not a surgury canidate. This is now 2011 and still very much in pain. Unfortunatly nodule and cords are not drawing my fingers in to much so still not a surgury canidate. I've done therapy 3 times over 5 years and cortizone injection and still pain. I cut meat for a living so I am constantly using my hand for gripping and lifting heavy items. I was 24 years old when I started having this problem. I've been told by more than one doctor you don't get pain with dupuyptren's disease. I have been tested for carpul tunnel, and had other nerve tests done with passing results. I'm tired of the people who expierence pain with this being told their pain in not real or there is nothing that can be done.
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dont do the op. It only makes it worse. four years now and only more pain. I even had a chrodozonesteriod shot in the side of my little figer, didnt touch the pain and I still have the scare where it was injected.