Tag Archives: dupuytren contracture

Since I am allergic to sulfur can I treat my Dupuytrens contracture with sulfur containing supplements?

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Hello Dr. Herazy,

I have been looking at your various treatment plans for Dupuytren contracture.  Each plan contains Fundamental Sulfur, or more technically methyl sulfonyl methane.  I am allergic to sulfur drugs.  Since I cannot take sulfur, will the treatment plans still be effective in treating the lump on the palm from my Dupuytrens?

 

Greetings,

As you know, sulfur sensitivity and allergies are not uncommon.  Over the years I have worked with many people who have allergy to sulfur drugs, a few very severe, and they have used all the DCI sulfur mineral supplement (Fundamental Sulfur) without any reported problem.  While I cannot predict how you might respond I can only tell you that others have no problem while using it like anyone else .   

I assume the difference that a person with a sulfur allergy can use this particular sulfur product comes down to fundamental chemistry.  The sulfur in these supplements is recognized by the body as a nutritional substance or food, and not as a foreign sulfur configuration of a drug that the body has never seen or metabolized previously; since this kind of sulfur is natural and organic, with the micronutrients and enzymes that are present with foods that contain sulfur, the supplement is more likely to be handled differently and appropriately by the body.  It is different with a sulfur containing drug, whether oral or topical.  In these situations the sulfur is not combined with chemicals in a way that is typical in nature. 

If I can help you in any way with your Dupuytren’s treatment, please let me know.   TRH

 

Could statin drugs to control my cholesterol have caused my Dupuytren’s contracture?

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I have Dupuytren contracture; 59 years old white female. I have been on 80 mg of a statin for several years. I understand statin drugs can be very harmful to the liver, especially at this dose?  Since, I have decided to stop taking it for that reason. Do you think this could have caused the Dupuytren contracture, since your above reply implies liver disease? I do not drink alcohol but could this high dose of the statin have caused liver damage leading to the Dupuytrens?

Thank you,

Jennifer

 

Greetings Jennifer,

You are correct that high dosage statin intake has been implicated in Dupuytren’s contracture.  The exact mechanism that statin drugs might cause Dupuytrens as a side effect are not completely understood at this time, although liver damage is often mentioned as a possibility. Please see Dupuytren Cause Could Be Related to Drugs

You should speak to the doctor who prescribed your statin drug for you, who did not explain the possibility that Dupuytren’s contracture might occur as a result, and ask these same questions and listen closely to the answer.   TRH

My 25 year-old son has Dupuytren’s contracture. What treatment would you recommend?

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Hi Dr. Herazy,
I came across your website while searching for more information on Dupuytren Contracture. My son had intricate surgery on his finger in June and recently noticed a small lump on the palm of his hand. It’s not painful, but the doctor said it looked like Dupuytren Disease. He is only 25 years old and I am very concerned about the future. Have you seen this before in someone his age and can he stop the progression of this disease with your products? What treatment would you recommend for someone his age? There also may be a predisposition to this as I have a painful lump on the bottom of my foot that I will be checking out with a doctor. Thank you very much.
PG

 

Greetings PG,

You are a good parent.  Once a parent, always a parent.  My youngest one of three is soon to be 38, so I know how this goes.

My guess is that you have a genetic predisposition to this excessive fibrous tissue response that your son has inherited from you.  This is made even more so if both you and your husband/wife are also genetically predisposed with families coming from Northern Europe or Scandinavia.  If this is true it would explain why some one who is so young has developed this problem.  Perhaps your son has unknowingly made himself susceptible with other factors that increase the odds for Dupuytrens:  diabetes, cigarette smoking, alcoholism, and prolonged hand stress  like with manual labor.  I also notice that many serious musicians who play piano or guitar seem to develop DC more than the average population.  Any of these might explain this problem developing so early in his life. 

I have seen this before in people in their mid-20s and it is usually accompanied by factors as I have explored above.

I would recommend the largest and most aggressive treatment he can sustain for at least 3-4 months of faithful and diligent work.   If this problem is to respond at all to Alternative Medicine methods the treatment approach must be significant to make an impact on his condition.  Please read Can I treat Dupuytren’s contracture naturally without surgery or drugs?       Dupuytrens is a tough problem.  Half efforts are usually a waste of time.  Allow me to explain why I think someone such as your son should be extremely interested – far more than most all other people – in avoiding surgery and getting natural conservative treatment to increase his ability to eliminate his hand nodule.  

Hand surgery for Dupuytren’s contracture is not a cure; any good surgeon will tell you that needle aponeurotomy, palmar fasciectomy or Xiaflex injection are just a temporary measure; the Dupuytren’s contracture problem will always recur – it is a matter of when the recurrence will develop, not if.  When someone in his 60s or 70s develops DC and has surgery, the Dupuytren recurrence factor is not as important because frankly at that age this person might not live long enough to develop the recurrence and have it evolve over a few years to the point that a second surgery is important to them.  Many elderly people get their first DC surgery and just ride out the effects of the recurrence as they try to ignore a growing hand problem.  But with a 25 year old person all of this strategy is changed.

A young person has a lifetime to not only develop one recurrence of Dupuytren contracture, but several or many.   Some people can have a recurrence in just just 2-3-4 years and a few have recurrence in a year or less.  With each surgery recurrence usually is made to come more quickly; with each hand surgery the rate of recurrence increases.  It is as though the irritation and instability created by the surgery speeds up the recurrence phenomenon.    Many times after a few surgeries are done it does happen that eventually amputation is the only viable option that remains. 

With someone in his mid-20s this can be a great problem, since there are so many wonderful years that lay ahead.   For this reason it is my opinion your son should do absolutely everything possible to avoid entering upon this slippery slope.  I suggest that your son start as soon as possible to see if he can increase his natural ability to remove this foreign fibrous palm lump.  As with anything in healthcare (like Dupuytren’s hand surgery) there are no guarantees this will work, but when you consider the fact that his approach is without side effects, that in almost 11 years we have not had one report of recurrence after successful treatment, and that surgery can also be used at a later time if  necessary.

I suggest he does some reading on the DCI site to learn how this approach is done.  Let me know if you have any questions.  TRH

Is my hand problem a cyst or Dupuytren contracture?

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dear dr. herazy, 

my name is mark c, and  i have a question concerning my hands.  on my left hand, immediately under my ring finger, it look’s like i have a cyst! very hard to open my hand fully. in the middle of the hand i see something like a tendon sticking out and it appears to be  connected to the cyst. i also have a little one starting on my left hand. i can’t fully extend my left hand flat out because of the cyst.  i have heard there are alternative procedures for my ailment, like cortisone shots, etc. i do not know if i have a cyst or dupuytrens.

thank you for your time,

 mark c.

 

Greetings Mark C,

Thank you for writing to ask about the problem with your hand.

Based on the way you describe your hand problem, and the fact that you did not say so, I will assume that you have not seen a doctor at this time for the problem you are having with your hand.  This is a mistake.  You should see a doctor in your area about your hand so you will know exactly what the problem is that is causing your complaints.

Further, since you are having a problem of a mass located near the base of your ring finger and trouble flattening your hand and cannot open your hand fully, along with the appearance of what looks like a tendon connected to the palm lump, your description does make it sound like you have Dupuytren’s contracture.   

If it turns out that you do have Dupuytren’s contracture it would be helpful to determine if you can increase the ability of your body to remove the dense fibrous tissue that is developing in both of your hands by using Alternative Medicine methods as are outlined on the DCI website.  Many people find improvement after aggressively following a plan of treatment for a few months of self-administered care.   If after this time you do not see improvement in your problem then you can always consult with a surgeon to discuss hand surgery, although Dupuytren surgery is always eventually followed by recurrence of the same problem – usually within a few years.

Once you know the exact cause of the problem you will know how to proceed.    TRH

Does this sound like Dupuytrens contracture to you?

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I was told i have Dupuytren’s contracture but i have my doubts. Symptoms of a very very painful middle finger in my non-dominant hand. If i touched or banged it, it could bring me to my knees. After the major acute pain stopped i had burning and tingling back of hand and palm side of finger. My finger curves and i can only straighten it manually. The finger triggers if i suddenly grab for something. It hurts like hell and i have to manually snap the finger up. It does not bend down at the proximal palm joint like most pictures show. the finger is swollen. made worse by weight gain. Now my right middle finger is starting to bother me although not as painful. My thumbs trigger though getting better, my right thumb has limited range of motion, and my left ring finger triggered in past. I cannot bend my middle fingers past 90 deg from proximal or middle knuckle making it difficult to grasp, open jars etc. I manually straighten my fingers daily. Diet does seem to make a difference, i have cut out sugar and wheat, salt, restaurant food aggravates.

I work full time at a job where i use computer. my other job is as a massage therapist, (no brainer, this is a lot of hand use). I am able to compensate to do massage and typing accentuates the curve as does driving (no power steering). I think i am going to start your dietary supplements but i still doubt the DC diagnosis… sorry this is so long trying to be clear and thorough. Does it sound like Dupuytrens contracture to you?

I have on one or two occasions i have  felt tightening in my foot and my wrists and forearm tendons seem to be involved. I can see the tendon in the hand is prominent, but no nodules. The finger bones close to the palm are sore. Upon manual manipulation i can feel popping in the middle phalanx joints of the affected fingers.I was diagnosed by a neurologist as having a slight nerve problem in the left forearm between the bones…interosseous nerve syndrome? I think, it is not very common. He is very good but didn’t see this as a nerve issue.

I am of Scandinavian descent, my father did have a contracture after breaking his hand in a jackhammer accident.

ANY ides, brief or otherwise would be helpful. I live in Hawaii and it is like a rural community. Very informed. Specialists are not the norm.

If needed i will call for a paid consult and can send pictures of my hand. I’m so happy to have found this site after a year of no meaningful information.

Thank you sincerely, Aloha, Dawn Matney

 

Aloha to you Dawn,

Thank you for the detailed description of your problem with finger and hand pain, and for the complement. My intention with the Dupuytren’s Contracture Institute is to offer meaningful information and suggestions while under the limited circumstance of not being able to see and examine the problems for which people need help. As  you can imagine I am only able to offer an educated guess as to what is going on with your hand problem.Ultimately you have to decide what is the truth of your situation and if you feel it is appropriate to seek out another opinion for a diagnosis and treatment.

Based solely on the description you offer, your problem does not sound as much like Dupuytren’s contracture.  My impression is that it is more likely an inflammation of the palmar tendon sheaths due to the trauma of extended overuse. 

Using your hands rather continuously as you do now between full time work with a computer plus massage therapy is more than your hands can tolerate.   In that last sentence I would like for you to consider the operative phrase, “as you do now.”   What I am suggesting to you is that you evaluate exactly how you are typing on the keyboard and the way you use your arms and hands for body work. I suspect that you are using bad habits that are stressing your shoulders, arms forearms and hands, and this is the cause of most – if not all – of your current hand pain.  I tend to be far too aggressive when I type; by the end of the day, if I have not controlled my hand action, I can make the tips of my fingers sore to the touch.  You too are probably not working to your best mechanical advantage.  Observe yourself while at work and see what you can do differently, or not at all, that might help your situation.              

While trigger finger and pain are sometimes a component of Dupuytren’s contracture, no the primary problem as you have presented your current situation.  Also, while you are of Scandinavian descent (and hereditary factors favor those of Scandinavian descent for Dupuytren’s contracture) you made your father’s hand problem sound more like a hand problem that arose from one particular work accident, so my impression is that you probably do not have DC in your immediate family history.  You do not report a palm nodule nor cords and these are almost mandatory to establish a diagnosis of Dupuytrens.   Lastly, you report that your diet seems to make an impact on your hand symptoms; this would not likely be true for a pure Dupuytren problem.  Put all these things together  and to me it does add up as a case of Dupuytren’s contracture.

I suggest that you look around your island to see if there is a good chiropractor or naturopath who can work with you from a dietary, structural and soft tissue basis to control and eliminate your upper extremity problem.