Skip to main content

Even the medical profession is slow

It must be. Why else would the hand specialist be so ready to operate on my hand to correct my Dupuytren's Contraction?

That sure wasn't the response I was expecting when I went for my appointment with the hand specialist yesterday. I thought I would go in, and the doctor would look at my hand, and say it wasn't that bad, and I should just keep an eye on it making sure it doesn't get any worse, and then come back in a couple of months for a follow up.

Needless to say, I was caught completely off guard. I really wasn't ready for this. I had heard horror stories about the pain associated with the operation, and proceeding would obviously put a crimp in my cycling. I was hoping he would propose the use of injectable collagenese. That I would have gone for.

But no, the doctor indicated injectable collagenese hasn't been approved for use just yet. BUMMER!

So now I have to make a decision. Do I or don't I want to risk the operation?

The doctor was very reassuring, trying to allay my concerns, stating that since my contraction had not progessed that far (30°), it wouldn't be a difficult operation, and he thought I could be back on the bike in about 3 weeks. He did indicate I could watch and wait (something most lymphoma patients are very familiar with), if I wasn't quite ready, but to keep a close eye on it, and make sure it doesn't progress too far. Then it could become a problem

I just don't know. The horror stories I've heard, still linger in the back of my mind, but I did put my name on the list to be called, to set up a time for the operation anywaze. I don't have to have the operation right away, and could schedule it for a few months from now when the weather is not very conducive for riding.

Oh well, such is life :(
Labels:

Comments

Becky said…
Just be careful.
6:46 AM
Alan P, MD said…
Just because collagenase isn't FDA approved for this indication doesn't mean doctors aren't allowed to use it for that indication.

Plenty of drugs are used for "off label" use. Even old drugs like Inderal used for stage fright for many years (might be approved by now).

Maybe you need a second opinion (but I'd call the office first to be sure they use collagenase for that indication
12:34 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fatigue! Part II - Maybe it is real?

Or it's actually Motivational Deficiency Disorder, MoDeD (pronounced Mo-Dee-Dee) for short. In a report this week by Roy Moynihan who reports for the British Medical Journal Austrailian scientists may have come across the reason for extreme laziness . The condition is claimed to affect up to one in five Australians and is characterised by overwhelming and debilitating apathy. Neuroscientists at the University of Newcastle in Australia say that in severe cases motivational deficiency disorder can be fatal, because the condition reduces the motivation to breathe. Neurologist Leth Argos is part of the team that has identified the disorder, which can be diagnosed using a combination of positron emission tomography and low scores on a motivation rating scale, previously validated in elite athletes. "This disorder is poorly understood," Professor Argos told the BMJ. "It is underdiagnosed and undertreated." Who knew? Maybe I have MoDeD, from my attempts to become a...
Post a Comment
Read more

History IS repeating itself

I didn't grow up during the rise and fall of Hitler and Nazi Germany, so for me to claim it feels like those are the times we are living in now, must be taken with a grain of salt. But I have seen enough movies, and read enough history to know, if the times we're living in now are not akin to the rise of a Nazism and Facism in Europe in the 1930's and 1940's, then we're not far off. If you can't see the parallels with Nazi Germany, then you must be living in a different country than me. Republicans and other right wing extremists will stop at nothing to subvert the will of the majority, forcing their beliefs, that they are the superior race and have been appointed by God, to impose their will on America, while they blame all our problems on immigrants, blacks and Jews. As I speak, Mitch McConnell, and his minions are raising roadblocks to all legislation designed to help average Americans under the guise of fiscal responsibility. They condone violent and verba...
Post a Comment
Read more

My concerns reaffirmed today

When I was first diagnosed with MCL, I pretty much read just about everything I could get my hands on, I attended various conferences, and I talked to anyone who would listen. One of the most important lessons I learned, and which I've mentioned numerous times before was No one cares more about you than you. But in addition to that, I learned to fear the drug Doxorubicin , AKA Adriamycin, Doxil, Hydroxydoxorubicin, or more affectionately the Red Devil. Besides being a deadly chemical, as is the case with most chemotherapy drugs, it is one of the few chemotherapy drugs known to cause permanent heart damage. I even heard Dr. Sandra Horning , a noted Stanford lymphoma specialist, state at the first lymphoma conference I attended in LA, there was no evidence Doxorubicin provided any added benefit to chemotherapy protocols. This was music to my ears, since Doxorubicin is very common in most lymphoma treatment protocols. And even though Dr. Horning has since changed her tune [which my sk...
Post a Comment
Read more