hi, i'm 46 & female. my grandparents on mom's side and great grandparents on dad's side are from scotland and england. i havee a few rheumatic/connective tissue diseases including an aggressive & extremely painful case of lupus panniculitis (a rare condition). i also have severe M.E./CFIDS and have been housebound, mainly bedbound, for 15 years. re my hands: my fingers curl into my palms on both hands. this started maybe 3 years ago and is getting worse. you can't notice it in the day when i'm awake, but as soon as i lay down to relax, my hands naturally go into that position. it's more pronounced when i sleep and my fingers and palms are very sore in the morning from my fingers clenched into palms. on my left palm, half an inch or so below my pinky & ring fingers (on the crease), there seems to be a little "buildup" (thick spot). it's small, don't know if i'd call it a lump and you can't see it, but it's definitely there. regarding those 2 fingers: about 10 years ago, i had an episode lasting a few months where something suddenly happened to my hands and i could barely use them. on my left hand, my pinky & ring fingers were the worst. if i folded my fingers on that hand toward my palm, there was a "clunking" sensation in the knuckles at the base of those fingers. clearly something was quite wrong, but no one knew what. it diminished alot for several years and then came back. this seems connected to all my fingers bending toward my palms in recent years. i have quite a bit of pain in my hands, but then i have pain almost everywhere in my body. lately, it seems my toes may be starting to bend into my feet. there are other problems developing with my toes too, especially my big toes - some numbness, shooting pains deep inside and different pain when the skin is touched lightly. does this sounds like dupuytren's or something else you've heard of? i especially wonder if anyone has had this happen only when asleep or resting at the beginning stage? my fingers are inclined to bend toward my palms in waking time too (but not enough for anyone to notice) and it now takes effort to hold my fingers upright, but i can lay them flat on a surface. i also wonder whether anyone has experienced a "clunking" sensation at the base knuckles by their pinky & ring fingers? i would appreciate any help with these questions. thanks, heather