Sweet Randy, Im not bein negitive just stating that in my case and everyone is different.DD dosent like it when you mess with it.Ive accepted the fact that its gonna be with me forever and I will always be lookin for that next treatment that will hold it off for a while.Heck ive been fightin it for 20 years and it aint beat me yet.lol,As long as my middle finger stays straight,everything will be alright.lmao.Dave
bigm100d:Continuing on my original post, attached is update photo 2 months after Xiaflex treatment
Morning stiffness is about the only discomfort I have, I work it out with exercises & lotion.
I've seen posts on massage and considering to look in S.F Bay area for those skilled in that for DD
If your insurance covers it, you might want to go to a physical therapist that cover and specializes in Hand Therapy. You can get home exercises, directions on contrast baths, ultra sound and perhaps a split.
There's this place in Redwood City - http://handrehabassociates.com/ They weren't bad but I didn't want to spend my time at PT doing contrast baths which I could do at home. I'm sure you could tell them you were only interested in massage and perhaps ultrasound.
After my last NA I saw a hand specialist PT at Mills- Peninsula (in San Mateo) http://www.mills-peninsula.org/rehab/ I really liked her but for the life of me I can't remember her name. If you're interested, let me know and I'll try to find it.
After one NA procedure and two Xiaflex procedures I know my next treatment will be a NA and not Xiaflex. Each person is different and if all I had was one finger that was bent the situation would be very different. Unfortunately in my case my hand has impingement at the base of my ring and middle fingers. In both Xiaflex treatments the entire vial was injected into this area.
My first Xiaflex treatment required 3 full weeks for the swelling to completely subside. After 3 full weeks with the second Xiaflex treatment my hand is still swollen by 30% and I have less range of motion than I did before the injections were done. By way of contrast with the NA I was able to fully use my hand on the third day after the procedure.
I do not know how long the second Xiaflex treatment will last but the NA procedure provided results that lasted or nearly 4 years. The first Xiaflex treatment (which was partial as more than one vial would have been required) lasted about 18 months.
So in terms of time to recuperate and gain full use of my hand and time between treatments the NA was far more successful by a wide margin. With the pain from the edema caused by the Xiaflex a side effect is sleep deprivation for several weeks as well.
There is more risk of nerve damage with NA than with Xiaflex so I can understand why a doctor would prefer to perform the Xiaflex injections. There is also a cumulative risk in that if the odds of nerve damage are 2% and the NA procedure is done 10 times over the remaining life of a patient the odds of nerve damage are 10x higher.
For a simple PIP straightening the differnces would be less severe but I would still opt for NA. With my more complicated situation NA is the only procedure I plan to repeat in the future.
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