Hi, I'm Nicole. I've had some health issues in the last year, but no diagnosis yet. My doctor probably thinks I'm a hypochondriac, what 28 year old woman could possibly have dupuytren's, after all? He dismissed my latest concern about my palm, saying it's probably related to whatever undiagnosed nerve issues I'm currently having (also seeing a neurologist & having a nerve conduction test in a few weeks to hopefully get an answer).
So, I wanted to describe the problem with my palm and see if anyone has some advice or any similar experiences. The first symptom I noticed was itching. Insane, under the skin, never-ending itching! No skin irritation, no visible signs of anything. This started (from what I can remember) somewhere around the end of May, beginning of June, 2016 - about 4 months ago. I didn't pay much attention to it for about 2 months. It wasn't interfering with anything and, although extremely annoying, it didn't hurt. Over this time period, the itchy area (small area, about 1 square inch, beneath my index finger and middle finger) started slightly swelling. Not much of a surprise, I had to rub and massage pretty rough to get to the itching.
I finally had enough and started googling... yep, I know - it's a bad idea. But I knew my specific symptoms, and looked just for those. I honestly didn't think I'd find anything, only itching and swelling - it could be anything or nothing! But I kept coming back to this weird looking word - dupuytren's. How the hell is that even pronounced? (I finally found the pronunciation on YouTube lol)
I dismissed dupuytren's for a good month or so. I didn't have any nodules, no pitting - which looks horribly painful, even though they say it's not. Over the last month I've been paying more attention to my palm. I can see what looks like a cord going through my palm and into my index finger. In the last 2 weeks, a nodule (looking thing) has formed right in the itchy spot and over part of this cord. It looks kinda like a small callus, really. The cord is only visible when I stretch my index finger backwards. That finger is actually more flexible than its counterpart on my right hand, so there's not even a smidge of contracture going on.
Sorry about the long rambling story. No one has taken me seriously. And I mean absolutely no offense to anyone, but I feel like an old man. Shingles, pneumonia (twice), nerve issues that wake me up feeling like my arms are on fire and make my hands painfully numb throughout the day, and possibly dupuytren's - all in the last year. I also have TMJ, so yay migraines!
If you've made it through all that, thank you for reading.
Any help or advice is so very much appreciated!

Hi Nicole,

some of the symptoms you have may indicate Dupuytren's disease but only an experienced doctor can tell. Maybe it might make sense for a hand surgeon to have a look at it? Depending on where you are living you might pick one from the list on http://www.dupuytren-online.info/NA_list_North_America.html or the other lists for other ountries. Those doctors are all familiar with Dupuytren's.

An "age of onset" of 28 is not excluding Dupuytren's http://www.dupuytren-online.info/patient_survey.html . Occasionally even kids develop Dupuytren's. For me it started at the age of 35. The good news is that I am now 68 and still doing OK, so no need to worry should you really have Dupuytren's. BTW, are you smoking? Smokers seem to develop DD earlier.

Obviously you have problems and something is going on. The challenge is finding what it is. But before starting any kind of treatment you need a firm diagnosis.

Wishing you all the best

Wolfgang