Went in for my first (and hopefully last) set of injections this morning.

Went in about 8 o'clock and had the blood draw. Then it was wait, wait, wait. 'Bout 10 they finally got around to starting the actual process - hand examination, finger measurements, blood pressure readings, medical history review, the usual battery.

The actual injection was held up because the doctor messed up the mixing and they had to take a new packet out of the refrigerator and let it warm up for 15 minutes before it could be injected. You never want to hear your doctor say, "Wait, I think I've screwed up," but better, I suppose, before the injection than afterwards or during.

The injections themselves were not the worst pain I've ever experienced but they were bad enough that had I been a prisoner, I would have talked! Still, the entire process of all three injections didn't take more than 45 seconds or a minute.

After the injection they monitored my vital signs for a full hour so it was almost noon before they released me.

There don't seem to be any significant side effects. There was a short-lived numbness in my ring and little fingers (doctor said "normal") and a metallic taste in my mouth (psychosomatic?) at the time of the injections but those passed rather quickly. My hand is swathed in a large gauze dressing and there's some soreness in the palm of the hand itself but nothing more than a minor discomfort.

Tomorrow morning I return to "break the cord" - not anything I'm looking forward to but necessary I suppose.

The nurse indicated that they've been having good results with the trial so far. Only one person so far (out of ten) has failed to obtain complete straightening with only the single set of injections so I'm hopeful.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Good luck tomorrow. My cord didn't snap on day two, but by the end of the first week both fingers measured at zero degrees. It did take just a bit of pressure to get them straight. Now, three weeks after the injection I can straighten both fingers.

My ring finger measured 25 degrees and my middle finger measured 20 degrees, both MCP.

That hurt didn't it. My Doctor made three attempts to snap mine and finally gave up when I kept pulling my hand away. Don't be too disheartened by the lack of a break. By the end of the week my fingers could be gently pushed straight and now I can fully straighten them by just stretching. I have my one month follow up next week. I suspect that since I can straighten my fingers, no follow up injections will be needed. I can still feel a couple of lumps in my palm, and I can still feel the cord in most places. The dimple I had in my palm is gone.

Did you have much swelling? The back of my hand was quite swollen. It took three or four days to go down. I also had some discomfort in my right armpit the day following the injection. The Doctor said it was probably lymph nodes, although she couldn't feel any swelling.

Follow up visit today. The doctor says the finger "seems" more flexible but there's no improvement in the finger angles as measured by his little gauges. I certainly can't see or feel any significant improvement.

The plan is to continue the exercises and night time splint for the next three weeks with an appointment scheduled for the 17th of next month. If the finger isn't straightening by then, the injection procedure will be repeated - shudder!

I'm in a drug only study trial, so everyone gets the real thing. In my case, the effects of the injection probably sounded worse, and certainly looked worse than it was. The back of my hand was pretty swollen 12-18 hours after the injection. The injection site was bruised and tender. The swelling began to go down on the second day, and was completely gone within 3 or 4 days. The tenderness has also gone diminished to the point that it is probably less sensitive than it was before the injection.

I'd never heard of the tendon blowout issue until I read about it here. That does not sound pleasant. Perhaps you can ask more about it at your screening. I have my one month follow up today, and expect to receive no more injections since my fingers measured zero degrees contraction at my last appointment. If I had it to do over again, I would certainly go ahead with the trial.