Dupuytrens

[mftnchn]

I've seen a few references to people who have both celiac and dupuytrens, thought I'd ask here if anyone has that. D. is more common in Northern European descent, and is associated with diabetes. Not much is really known about it.

Just wondered if anyone has had improvement or at least arresting of the progress of D. when on gluten-free diet.

[alamaz]

I don't have dupuytrens but I can almost guarantee my celiac disease came from my dad's side and that my dad and grandma have celiac disease but won't get tested. that being said my dad and grandma have dupuytrens in both hands. i should tell them to try the gluten-free diet and see if it helps. my dad has had the surguries, twice on one hand. it's very painful for him.

[dally099]

hi, this is very interesting, i get swelling in my hands on the palms and it effects my ring fingers the most, i get sausage like fingers and they are tough for me to straiten. it is quite painfull and itchy when it happens. i also get swelling in my wrists right on the bone and i looks like i broke it or something and gets very red and unconfortable. right on the bone, when it goes away i get a little bit of white peeling after words. i also get this on my feet, right under my toes and in the arch of my foot, swelling and itching. terrible feeling. do you have pics, i cant figure out what this is but it has gotten way better since going gluten-free. my family is of middle eastern descent, (italian/russian) so this is interesting. i use a cream and try to think about what ive eaten when it flares and avoid it in the future.

[mftnchn]

It isn't something that comes and goes like that as far as I know. It is like a "wild" scar tissue that develops in the sheath around the tendon. Mostly commonly in the hands, can be in the feet. Usually on the palms. Over time it attaches the sheath to the tendon, and you cannot extend your fingers (or feet). Surgery is needed to release the tendon again. But it grows back. Usually it is painless, or is supposed to be but some report pain.

Cause is unknown at this time. More common in older people. Associated with Northern European race, diabetes, alcoholism, (no one knows why) and runs in families.

I think mine grows more when I have a higher Candida load in my body.

I first got a lump on the joint of a finger in 2000, when I had it removed, found out it was this. It surprised the surgeon I guess. After that it started growing rapidly in both hands, and then in both feet. I am the only one in my family that I know of, never drink alcohol, and don't have diabetes. I do come from N. European stock though.

Because I hyperextend normally, I haven't lost too much range of motion yet. Once you can no longer put your palm and fingers flat on the table they start tracking it and when the contraction is severe enough, considering surgery. I get itching in it when it starts growing. My palms are lumpy and the "lines" on my palms distorted and have some dimpling.

[alamaz]

dally- your symptoms do not sound like dupuytrens. have you been tested for all of the autoimmune diseases like reumatoid arthritis? my dads hands before surgery were in a constant state of tension. he couldn't lay his hand flat out on the counter or type on the computer with certain fingers. there was never any redness or swelling like you describe.

mftnchn- do you think dupuytrens is celiac related? did yours start before or after you found out about celiac and went gluten-free? just curious to see if i can use it when talking to my dad. i really want to convince him to get tested but he is hesitant for several reasons... of course!

[mftnchn]

mftnchn- do you think dupuytrens is celiac related? did yours start before or after you found out about celiac and went gluten-free? just curious to see if i can use it when talking to my dad. i really want to convince him to get tested but he is hesitant for several reasons... of course!

I don't know since not much is known about dupuytrens' causes. However, I think it is suspicious since d. is clearly related to diabetes, just like celiac.

I found out about the dupuytrens first, in 2000. Just found out about celiac, but didn't have major symptoms, mainly constipation, and that has been a very long term problem. So I am pretty sure the celiac pre-dates onset of dupuytrens.

I do find that candida flares correspond with dupuytrens growing (itching and discomfort followed by a new lump popping up).

Good luck with your Dad! So sorry his has been such a problem. I keep hoping mine will calm down and not proceed to the point of needing surgery. Maybe gluten-free will help but don't know yet.

[tiredofdoctors]

Dupuytren's Contracture is actually hereditary . . . . funny that Celiac is, also. My father has Dupuytren's . . . . he has had surgery three times on one hand, twice on the other. His hands are a train wreck. He also has it on the soles of his feet . . . that started about 10-15 years ago. He's 70.

I started with Dupuytren's a few years ago . . . nothing major, though. Since being gluten-free, I have noticed that I have not developed any new areas along the tendon sheaths. I can still feel the "lumps" that I have previously developed along each tendon in my hands, and I haven't noticed that they have gotten any smaller, unfortunately. I, too, am hypermobile -- I think I have inherited all the genetic garbage that my parents could heap upon me -- I have Ehler's-Danlos syndrome, but the hypermobility in my joints has allowed me to keep my tendons stretched very well! I have a couple "lumps" in my feet, but I haven't had them "officially" diagnosed as part of the Dupuytren's. I also have a few knots along my flexor tendons in my forearm, but I think those may be ganglion cysts -- a "bundle" of nerve fibers that develop as a result of over-use. The cure for those, in previous days, was to whack the heck out of them with a book, which would shatter the cyst wall, and the nerve fibers would simply die off. My son had what I thought was a ganglion cyst on the top of his index finger -- it got EXTREMELY large -- he even named it (grose) -- but it was actually a giant cell tumor. I'm glad I didn't whack it with a book!

I, too, am of European descent. Because I am the WORST at geography, I can't tell you of what area! I have a very strong German heritage, I am 1/8 Irish and 1/8 English. Basically, I'm a mutt. A European mutt, but a mutt, nonetheless!

Don't know if this helps any, but wanted to throw my hat in the ring with regard to "does anyone else have it"!!

[mftnchn]

Since being gluten-free, I have noticed that I have not developed any new areas along the tendon sheaths. I can still feel the "lumps" that I have previously developed along each tendon in my hands, and I haven't noticed that they have gotten any smaller, unfortunately.

That's encouraging Lynne, how long have you been gluten-free?