Trigger Finger, anyone?

20 yrs ago, I had advanced dupuytren’s in both hands. My right hand was much worse. The hand surgeon said that he might not be able to save all of my little finger, so I started researching and found out about needle aponeurotomy. It was a French procedure and I went to the first hand surgeon who had gone to France to be trained to do this procedure.

I was his 200th patient and it was a great experience. He worked on both hands. It was a great success. Eventually I found two more surgeons who had learned how to do the procedure and went to see them. I haven’t had any more problems in at least 15 yrs.

Since bringing my A1c down to non diabetic levels I haven’t had any more trouble with dupuytren’s or trigger fingers. I have had diabetes for 61 yrs.

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Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve had some concerns about this issue (trigger finger or dupuytren’s) developing once I’d had diabetes for a long time (currently at 25 years).

It is very reassuring to hear that you and @MM1 have not had recurrences with better bg control. I’m glad to hear that you’re not having to deal with it for your own sake too.

My control was not as good before I got my cgm, but generally my A1c was in 6s to low 7s. I think my age may have helped temporarily shield me from complications since we heal/recover better when we’re younger. Since bringing my A1c down into the 5s with the help of a cgm, I’ve felt much better all around. Hopefully I can avoid developing this complication.

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Thanks Marilyn. Will investigate. He said too much scaring in left for anything but I will find a surgeon who does this procedure. To see if he can help. The weird thing is that my A1c has always been 5.6-5.8. :crossed_fingers:. Thank you so much for replying.

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I had the first procedure done in Florida and that experience was the best, but that hand surgeon has retired. Next I went to San Francisco and that surgeon was good, but he has probably retired too. The third doctor was closer to home in Portland. I liked him the least. I imagine that many more surgeons have trained in needle aponeurotomy by now. It is interesting to watch while they do it, because you hear the snap as the bands are broken and you feel the immediate release.

My right hand still won’t lay completely flat because I waited much too long to deal with the problem.

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I started reading up on it. May not work for me because I have many cords but will keep investigating. Am a LADA diagnosed at 54. Am now 72. My hands started about 6 years ago and progressed very quickly. Have always been OCD about my numbers. Was diagnosed right after graduating from nursing school. Late bloomer. Still work part time. Live in Arizona. Very proud of Portland.

I had lots of cords too. We will be driving through Portland in about an hour. I too am extremely proud of Portland.

I got a cortisone shot several months ago. No further treatment needed thankfully.

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It’s called lederhosen disease when it is in your feet and you get nodules but not contracture that involve toes usually. Mine are painful but surgery is rarely effective from what I hear.

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Oh I’m so sorry. Painful feet from whatever reason just sounds so debilitating. Does it help to stretch your toes? I’m glad to hear no contractures so you can wear shoes I assume? I am so over surgery. Last one took a lot out of me. Had a new hip this year and two of the hands. So that’s it for me. Consider myself lucky to not have pain. I hope they find a therapy to help your feet. Take care and be safe.

Cortisone injections help a lot for a month or 2. But make my sugars go crazy. And my doctor will only do it once a year. He says he won’t do surgery until it’s so bad I can’t walk then we will want to do a complete faciectomy whick will suck. I hope they come up with something before that happens. My brother also has it and he’s not type 1 so I don’t consider it to be a diabetes complication.

Oh so sounds like a heredity type disease. Had a couple of cortisone injections in my hip. Sugars out of whack for a day or so. So I get it. Works though. I am praying for you.

Try turmeric. It seems to help inflammation and, thus, pain. Costco sells tablets.

I’ve had cortisone shots, but I’m not comfortable going to the Doctor’s office for another shot. I’ve been using an over the counter finger splint, which according to the Mayo Clinic web site will take 6 weeks to work. But it is helping me to some extent right now.

My husband has had several trigger fingers and had one surgically repaired.
When a new one occurred (left pinkie) and really started bothering him he devised an exercise that has given him total relief. (It has been months.)
Clasp your hands firmly together, fingers pressing into the backs of your hands. Hold for about 15 seconds. Release and stretch fingers by pointing them upward tautly for 10 seconds. Repeat three times.
He does these exercises three to four times a day and he has been successful in keeping the trigger finger away. Good luck to you.

I’d had many surgical releases of trigger fingers, and wrists, and many cortisone shots (and a session of physical therapy with a hand specialist that hadn’t actually helped, nor did a very well-regarded Chinese acupuncturist). But … Back in in the late 90s, I had begun wearing a pair of hiking boots that tended to pull a bit in the toes after hiking for a while, so I began consciously wiggling my toes periodically to prevent that. Well, when I wiggled my toes in that situation, my fingers always also wiggled. I went the longest without symptoms of another trigger finger that I had in years, not til after I’d gotten new boots without the pulling problem. Just wiggling didn’t help at that point – seemed, for me, to be a preventative. But it is still something I do often now, even after all my fingers (not thumbs) have been surgically released once each, and both wrists, from DuQuervaine’s, and one from carpal tunnel. Wiggling fingers to greet people during these masked times seems appropriate, now that I’m never in groups who use it for applause, though I have done that on Zoom.

Most of my injections and surgeries were in the mid to late 80s and early to mid 90s, before using a pump much less CGM, though I did have an outlier in 2004. I was diagnosed in 1955.