| Treatment for Knuckle Pads |
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09/27/2012 13:02
cschieber 
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09/27/2012 13:02
cschieber
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Re: Treatment for Knuckle Pads
Spiffy:
Hi! I'm a 56 year old woman. I started with ledderhose about 4 years ago then dupuytrens in left hand. Now both feet & both hands affected. Now I'm wondering if I'm getting knuckle pads. About 2 months ago I suddenly got pain, swelling and redness on my pip joint, left hand-middle finger. The redness and swelling went away but the pain is still here. About 4-5 weeks later I got pain in my pip joint, right hand-middle finger. I got an appointment with a rheumatologist in October because I thought I it was arthritis. I have arthritis in both thumbs and actually had joint replacement in one almost 2 years ago. I wonder now if it's knuckle pads starting and if a rheumatologist knows anything about dupuytren's! One thing I hate about all these conditions is the lack of knowledge in the medical field. Any one else have sudden, painful onset with knuckle pads?
Hi Spiffy. I have experienced very sudden and quick onset of knuckle pads in my ring finger and pinkie about 6 months ago. Before that, it took about two years of slow development in my index finger and two years and four doctors to get a diagnosis. The pad in my left middle finger appeared overnight and grew to a disfiguring size in less than a month. The slight contracture I now have took a little longer. No one seems to know what to do with these horrible nodules on the PIP joints. They are painful, disfiguring and cause diminished function but are a mystery to doctors. I had RT treatment but so far it hasn't helped. I'm really frustrated and don't know what to do next. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough of us out there who present like this so no one has sufficient experience with them.
Don't know if it's worth noting, but I had these same pads on different fingers when I was in my late 20's. They were warm, red and sore but went away on their own after about a year. Little did I know they'd return with a vengeance.
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09/27/2012 13:21
Spiffy 
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09/27/2012 13:21
Spiffy
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Re: Treatment for Knuckle Pads
Knuckle pads, dupuytren's, ledderhose-it is so frustrating! It's hard to believe most doctors are clueless. When I first went to my GP about the nodules in my hand he thought they were calcium deposits. He did refer me to a specialist who knew it was Dupuytren's but no help as far as treatment other than surgery. I did have the surgery but one of the cords by my thumb never went away at all. Plus I found out then that the tissue is diseased & wouldn't ever be normal. I hadn't understood that prior to surgery. I have an appointment with a rheumatologist in a couple of weeks for arthritis in my thumb plus the issue with my middle fingers. I hope this doctor is knowledgable but not confident of that. So far the joints on my middle fingers still hurt but not as much and the change in appearance is slight. Anyway, I hope to find out if the middle fingers have arthritis or if it's more dupuytren's related. Wish me luck! 
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09/27/2012 15:46
cschieber
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09/27/2012 15:46
cschieber
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Re: Treatment for Knuckle Pads
I do wish you luck, Spiffy. Please let us know how you make out. I, too, have what I think is arthritis in my thumbs; the pain in the right thumb is diabolical at times. I have found in the past month or two that I'm losing the ability stretch that thumb and am beginning to wonder whether its really DD. Dr. Weiss told me she couldn't feel any nodules there but who knows. I always thought I would eventually replace the joint when it got really bad but then I read that hand surgery can cause DD to worsen (or even appear for the first time). I have to see a hand surgeon who specializes in this disease to see what my options are. Fortunately, my feet are not affected (yet). I'm also 56 this year.
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09/27/2012 16:04
Spiffy
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09/27/2012 16:04
Spiffy
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Re: Treatment for Knuckle Pads
Cschieber, I had the joint replaced in my left thumb due to arthritis. I can't say it's made the dupuytrens worse but I can tell you it causes limitations of it's own. It helps with the pain but basically it's good for grasping (shaking hands, holding something like a tennis racket or pot (something you hold in that fashion) but I can not lay my hand flat. So imagine trying to hold a baby on your hip-can't do that except by using forearm only. Piano playing very difficult. Anything that involves a more flattened hand. So good in some ways, not good in others. I have a cord from my thumb to my index finger but no nodule. Nothing changed with that even though I've got a scar there indicating he did something. Because of these limitations I'm trying to find some other option for my right thumb. I'll let you know what I find out.
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09/28/2012 01:52
cschieber
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09/28/2012 01:52
cschieber
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Re: Treatment for Knuckle Pads
Did you test positive for rheumatoid factor or any other inflammation markers in the blood or was it osteoarthritis? I'm very curious about this because all of my tests were negative. My joints look absolutely normal on xray but they don't feel DD in my thumbs. I also had ultrasound which showed nothing. I'm looking forward to hearing how your make out. Hope all is well and good luck.
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