I have desperately wanted to try NA ever since my DD became a problem. But I could never find anyone in Georgia who did it. Finances and family situations prevent traveling. I did get a PM from a member of this site who told me about a doctor in TN who was doing NA so I did keep that information.

Feeling frustrated again, I spent a long time searching the internet last week. Somehow I ended up on a page on Dr. Eaton's website that I'd never seen before. It was a list of doctors who had come to his practice to be trained in NA. I found the name of a doctor in Atlanta! I called her office to ask if she was practicing NA. Her nurse said that the doctor was and that she had been for about 4 years now and does NA frequently. I was shocked! And excited. Now I have an appointment on Tuesday for a consultation.

I first found nodules in my right hand about 5 years ago. Every person in my mom's family has DD and has it pretty severely. To find it in my hand at 44 years of age, was disconcerting. I went from several nodules to full cords in less than a year. My right hand is a huge mess. Last spring I did try Xiaflex with Dr. Costas in Atlanta. He was one of the doctors in the trials. It was incredibly painful and while my insurance covered 100% of the $3,465 bottle of medicine, I still paid about $700 out of pocket for the doctor's fees. The Xiaflex did dissolve one cord and straightened my ring finger on the right hand. However, since then, I have tons of new nodules and new cords. Plus, my middle finger has pulled sideways and is over the ring finger. No space at all inbetween those two fingers. I can hardly spread my fingers apart on that hand at all. I also have developed nodules on the radial side of my hand (is that right? The edge of my hand between thumb and index finger?) I posted pictures of those at some point. The palm is filled with pits and my whole hand hurts all the time. Also, I have hard nodules on the PIP joint of every finger but on the underside of the hand. So I'm not able to fully close my fingers because the nodules on those knuckles are large. The pinky is contracted at 45 degrees. The other fingers are at 30 degrees except for the index which is around 20 degrees.

In the last nine months, my left hand started with two soft nodules. Now there are quite a few and they are rock hard and I have pits and a lot of tightness, but no real contractures. But it's progressing rapidly, too.

I'm really hoping that NA is a possibility on my right hand. Is there a point where NA is really not an option at all?

~ dawn

Hey Dawn,
NA was alot less complicated and Traumatic than Xiaflex.Even though my attempt at NA failed due to thick cords and scar tissue,I was able to talk to Dr Bourland for quite some time and he can release some patients in 5 minutes.Of course everyone is different most are between 15-20 minutes and your done!!!Im glad you found a Doc close to home.Im goin in for a double blast of Xiaflex in the morning,another multiple cord clinic.My hand will be huge this time tommorow night.Ill keep ya posted.Dave

Im takin one for the team,well actually 2. This one will be a Monster skin split.O well the sooner the better.Lets get-r done!!Dave

Dave, We wish you the best tomorrow. I hope it works well for you this time. Just put your mind in the happiest place you know for a couple of days!!

Thanks, Wach. I had looked at that page on this site repeatedly. But I had somehow missed the link at the bottom showing Dr. Eaton's trainees! I just kept looking at the list on that page and seeing that no one in Georgia is on there.

I'm wondering if that page with the list will remain up since Dr. Eaton's site is not there any longer. If you go to the site using www.handcenter.org, you get a message from Dr. Eaton telling you his practice is closed and directing you to another doctor's site. The only way to locate that list now would be to have the direct link and I wonder how long it would remain available.

~ dawn