Frances
thanks for trying to send flowers on this site!
and thanks for your kind thoughts
everything helps when one is in pain as I currently am.
let's talk on email if u have the time- regards, miriam

Hi all
well here I am one month after surgery involving three fingers.
STILL IN PAIN- taking vicodin several times a day tho it hurts mostly at nite. Even with pain opills I wake up 2/3 times a nite because of the pain.

I wear a splint at nite and a different more complex one during the day which pulls onb my fingers to keep them from bending.
I've been to therapy 3 x a week and use a hand held massgae/vibrator which is supposed to help break up the forming scar tissue. I have a LOT of scar tissue now and fingers are still stiff; they bend only half way so I cannnot yet make a fist.
I wonder at times whether I will ever be able to use this left hand again !
I have complications I suppose because I am also a diabetic.
I'd like to hear from people who have had surgery telling me how long it took for them to HEAL and be able to use their hand again.
My fingers still feel numb and VERY STIFF !
If you are fortunate enuf to still have a choice on which procedure to use.. I'd say without hesitation
GO FOR NA. It worked for me till I got to the point of no choice other than surgery available.

Happy Holidays to everyone- Miriam

Hello Miriam, I am very sorry to hear that you are still suffering one month after surgery. I wish you all the best and a quick recovery!

Here is my personal experience: I had surgery 3 years ago and had considerable pain in the hand for about 1 month: My hand had swollen and it took about 4 - 6 months before I could make a fist again (depending on what you would call a fist ...), even then only with difficulty. Today I still can feel a slight blockage in my left palm but I got completely used to it and realize it only if I think of it. Otherwise I can fully use my hand again. I have no recurrence at the operated tendon (I had the left ring finger operated, palm + MP + PIP, though it still was probably stage I).

More generally there are unfortunately no fixed rules how long recovery takes. Some lucky people feel already well after just one week, 4 weeks is probably more typical but quite a share of patients (about 20 percent) experience problems and longer rehab, sometimes a year or longer. You don't have to be scared after 1 month but you should have a good doctor to make sure that your recovery is going down the right path.

As I mentioned somewhere below on this thread a student is collecting rehab experience on our web site www.dupuytren-online.info. Maybe you can contact him via the forum on that web site and get more feedback.

I hope you can relax enough to enjoy Christmas and wish you a happy and healthy new year!

Wolfgang

Thanks Frances- Appreciate uopuir kind wishes. I'll keep u all posted. It's very slow going and I think diabetes might have something to do with this.
Looking into it.
Good luck to you all.
Miriam