Dupytren's syndrome - just curious .... - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

137,137 members160,817 posts

Dupytren's syndrome - just curious ....

Fruitandnutcase profile image
3 Replies

I have Graves and I also have Dupytren's. I was just wondering if anyone else has Dupytren's too? the Dupytren's seems to have got worse in the last year or so, I blamed that on the fact my husband managed to slide the car seat runner onto my little finger (the one that is affected most) two summers ago but it is interesting that as the Dupytren's got worse I was finally diagnosed with Graves and I'm sure I read somewhere that Dupytren's is an autoimmune thing too.

Liz x

Written by
Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
3 Replies
TTLady profile image
TTLady

Interesting to hear someone mention dupytrens. I'd never heard of it till my GP (an idiot) suggested that I had it.

Turns out (thanks to my endo who is not an idiot) that I had graves and VERY poor calcium levels - the low calcium causes fingers to "claw"

I had iv calcium & still have a maintainable dose now.

Pippycat89 profile image
Pippycat89

I know this is an old post, but I am fairly new here and wanted to chip in.

I started on levothyroxine (25mcg) five weeks ago. I have not been officially diagnosed with hypothyroidism despite having many symptoms, TSH slightly out of range, low T4 and insufficient B12.

A few months ago I noticed some nodules on the palm of my left hand, since that time the tissue running from these nodules has thickened and you can see distinct raised lines running along the palm. There is no pain, redness or dry skin. I now have the same thing developing on my right hand and on the sole of my left foot. I did some research and came across Dupytren's contracture. Finger contractures don't always develop - wondering if this is starting to happen though on the small finger of my right hand as it is slightly painful when I flex it.

I mentioned these nodules to both my physio and GP. The physio had no idea what they were but said they were probably nothing. The GP said, "Well, we won't do anything about those lumps unless you develop contractures."

The GP missed the point completely. I wasn't saying I wanted anything done about the lumps as they weren't bothering me in the slightest. I had gone to the appointment because I had had multiple joint pain for months (along with a multitude of other symptoms, some that I had had for several years). Prior to going to the GP I had been doing some research to find out what could be causing my symptoms and the thyroid kept coming up. I think the GP thought I had arthritis and suggested blood tests.

The GP didn't mention thyroid as a possible problem so I brought it up. I mentioned that there is a possible link between Dupytren's and thyroid disease and that was when I showed her the lumps on my hand. I was simply trying to illustrate that they may be a sign of something? They wouldn't have tested my thyroid if I hadn't have mentioned it. I was in the consulting room for a whole five minutes!

My most severe joint pains were left shoulder and right wrist, I have diagnosed these myself as frozen shoulder and wrist tenosynovitis - both of which are linked to thyroid problems. Again this just demonstrates how unaware many GPs are about thyroid symptoms. They know about tiredness, constipation and weight gain and that is about it.

This is a quote from a Dupytren's forum, "I am reading a book 'Why am I so tired" by Martin Budd and in it is mention of Dupuytren's and a connection with hypothyroidism. He states that this condition was seen as evidence of hypothyroidism as early as 1917 being described by McCarrison. His book entitled The Thyroid Gland in Health and Disease states that he observed patients with underactive thyroid suffered from muscle and ligament contractions with subsequent stiffness and weakness. The main areas affected being the neck nd shoulders, the abdominal miscles, the lower back and the calves and feet, pain, cramp and stiffness being typical symptoms, many of which were reversed when the thyroid was successfuly treated." (dupuytren-online.info/Forum...

Sometimes I find it difficult to walk after sitting because my feet and knees are so stiff. It may be coincidence and I know I am on a very low dose of levothyroxine, but I found my joint pain improved markedly after just a few days on the tablet.

Here is another good reference source - Musculoskeletal manifestations in patients with thyroid disease (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/128....

There is a huge amount of information and research online linking specific musculoskeltal complaints and thyroid problems. I am surprised that GPs don't know about all of this stuff. One of the requirements for continued registration as a healthcare professional, is that a minimum number of hours per year are spent on continued professional development (CPD). This includes keeping up to date with current research....reason being that it allows patient care to be optimised.

If I were a GP I would go over and above the minimum hours CPD required because I would want to do my very best for my patients. If a patient came in and mentioned a link between Dupytren's and thyroid problems and I had not come across that before, I would go away and research it. That way I would be better informed if and when another patient came in complaining of a similar thing. It's not rocket science, but maybe GPs are under so much pressure these days that they just don't have the time to do this vital research. Perhaps their time clinical time has been taken up with management and safeguarding budgets. Who knows?

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase in reply to Pippycat89

Someone at my surgery must have referred me to our local hospital to see about my Duyputren’s because out of the blue I got a letter say8ng a particular hospital had looked at my notes and felt I would be better if I saw a different hospital and an appointment had been made to see a plastic surgeon at my local teaching hospital.

I turned up on the appointed date and saw one of the new batch of student doctors (I think) or a very newly qualified assistant. He outlined all the treatments for Dupuytrens, starting with needle aponeurotomy and working through all other methods of dealing with it. I said I was very surprised about him mentioning the needle stuff as I thought I was far too far gone for that so he carried on with the rest. Even mentioning that I might need a skin graft that they would take from my thigh and then heavens above mumbling that I might lose my little finger! I had already read that too so it wasn’t a great shock.

Eventually he got to the fact I could have an operation plus the complications of that. Then he asked me to remove my socks and he checked my feet for Lederhosen. That’s basically Dupuytrens on your feet. It’s a bit depressing that your physio didn’t recognise that!

The young doctor said I didn’t absolutely have to have anything done if I didn’t want to and off he went saying he would send the consultant along to see me and disappeared off to report to him. He appeared a few minutes later looking very embarrassed and said ‘ You can go now, he doesn’t need to see you’.

I was not impressed with that, it may have been a tiddly thing to the big man but it was a huge thing to me. In the end I decided I definitely didn’t want someone who couldn’t even come and say hello to me operating on me - besides I was very scared - and when my date came up I declined the operation. That was about two years ago and in that time my finger has got a lot more bent into my hand.

I read recently that operations for Dupuytrens is on the list of procedures that the Government are advising against doing. That didn’t surprise me as one of the other reasons I wasn’t keen is that everyone I know who has had their Dupuytrens operated on has had to have the operation repeated within a few years.

It might be worth seeing a podiatrist if you are starting to be aware of chords in your feet. Walking might become pretty painful and perhaps they can do something if they can catch it early.

Now that I’ve got it in my left hand I can see signs on my right hand. The skin on the little pads below each finger looks slightly yellowish and seems to dry out and feel calloused and I’ve got lots of fine lines running down into my palm.

I really wish I had gone for the needle aponeurotomy way back when I was first aware of my Dupuytrens. I have always known what it was - my mother’s twin sister had a crooked little finger too. My grandmother is from Orkney - as I joke ‘My granny was a Viking’ and I gather that Dupuytrens is fairly common in people from that region.

Must read ‘Why am I so tired?’ And I’ll look at the website you mention, thank you. Good luck with your thyroid and your Dupuytrens.

You may also like...

Just curious... dose increases and hunger

T3 combo/monotherapy too), does anyone else experience an increase in hunger too? I feel like...

Just curious, about block and replace

I have Graves disease. I see people mentioning about block and replace, do you guys mean having...

Just curious for those that self medicate...

Curious

Curious