i am 34 and have a noodle/lump in my left hand. I still have full use of all my fingers, but it has progressed in size recently.

I am wondering if now if the time to take some sort of action before this before it gets worse, and is there anything that can be done?

My local doctor did says it's dupuytrens, but he knew nothing of Xiaflex, NA, etc. he only knew of surgery and said he has always advised people to wait until it's effecting your life.


The Xiaflex website seems to say "treatment when a noodle is present."

Thoughts?

Hi Canadadian guy

You could ask about a steroid shot, helps some people for a while, and then there's others it doesn't help at all. I myself would not have one, but putting it out there for you. There's reportedly some off label use of injecting Xiaflex into nodules, but there's no evidence that works. Your only early stage option is RT, but the timing has to be right, active growing nodules usually accompanied by other symptoms. Maybe if you start protectng your hand and some gentle massage with VitE oil it will quiesce, and maybe it won't. Use the the time of waiting to monitor changes with a photo log, find an experienced radiologist, and hand docs who treat using Xiaflex and NA.

Best wishes
SB

Hi Molloy, it's just a personal view. There is no evidence that it helps in the long term, although people on here have reported some pain relief and softening of nodules that lasted for several months. Others have also reported that it made no difference. In my own amateur sporting efforts where I get the occasional tendon and ligament injury, sometimes lasting a few months, I prefer rest, ice and heat, as part of a treatment programme and follow the 'say no to cortisone' philosophy of some physiotherapists. I think you should follow your own instincts based on whatever your philosophy for living is given there're no hard evidence either way that a steroid shot helps. SB

When my lump was rapidly growing I did have a cortisone shot. I had it to see if it would slow down the growth. It slowed down the growth for about 6-8 weeks. I was just beginning to form a cord and my lump was progressing/growing so rapidly that I needed enough time to make a treatment decision and get on the calendar before the cord progressed any more. It did relieve the pain but the shot is extremely painful. It was not a long term solution for DD, bit it served it's purpose for me.

Lori