Been having an annoying (but quite interesting ) little symptom over the past few month/6 weeks.
Every morning when I wake up the little finger on my right hand curls right into my hand so it touches the back of the knuckle and cannot be moved into a more normal position unless I physically move it with my other hand. It keeps doing this for about 30 / 45 minutes and then it is normal. Sometimes the ring finger next to it joins in as well. My fingers are fine for the rest of the day unless I completely relax my hands such as when I have a nap. The little finger remains a little bit flexed all day though.
It’s really annoying but when I mentioned it to the (rather rubbish) young Doctor who took my history at my last Tysabri infusion he didn’t seem to acknowledge it at all. (But, like I said he was absolutely rubbish. He did the most perfunctory physical exam I have had since DX and said “I know absolutely nothing about MS”)
Does this sound like a spasm to you slightly more knowlegeable guys? I haven’t had one before.
I doubt if it is a relapse, Boblatina, more likely a tiny nodule developing on the sheath the tendon runs through around the first knuckle. I had this, very painful, just like you. My GP diagnosed a nodule, referred me acros the surgery to his colleague who “did” hands, within a week I had had an injection into the joint (steroid and a local anasthetic), and told to move it with the other hand for a week. Problem sorted.
I am new to all of this, but had this on all the fingers on my right hand. They would bend in my sleep, and in the morning I would have to use my other hand to rub them so they could move. It felt like the tensions in the fingers were not long enough to allow my fingers to go straight. Another strange feeling was as if I had an elastic band over the palm of my hand. This was to the point I would try to remove te elastic band in my sleep.This lasted for just under a month. My hands were pretty useless, I couldn’t carry anything, or be able to write.
Unfortunately, this is one of those horrible symptoms that some of us (though,not all), with have to deal with. It sounds like Secondary Dystonia. It is my overriding MS symptom, I’m afraid, so I’m pretty clued up on it now. My dystonia affects the whole of my left side, especially when I am tired or fatigued and each ‘episode’ or now affectionately known as ‘a moment’ may last less than 30 secs, although I may have several in quick succession.
Dystonia is a condition that describes a combination of muscle spasms and contractions. It is a combination of the two that causes spasticity which is often seen in Multiple Sclerosis.
Thankfully, for you, you are experiencing a focal dystonia of the hand. You have persevered very well for six weeks, but there are very effective treatments available. Baclofen and Tizanidine are the drugs that I am familiar with, but there are others; depending on the severity of symptoms.
Since being dealt this MS hand, personally, I have learnt to avoid young 20 yr+ doctors like the plague. Unfortunately, for them, they probably hardly ever get to see a patient with MS, and when they do, they are confronted with an array of weird and wonderful symptoms of which they have not a clue . Personally, I would now approach my MS Nurse in the first instance, before venturing to the local surgery.
The following NHS website is very good. Unfortunately, my browser security setting will not allow me to hyperlink the address, but here it is anyway.
Thanks Geoff but it is not a nodule. I actually have a Druptyens (sp) contracture on my other hand (can’t cope with that name fr it, I musch prefer the more traditional “Viking hand” or “Celtic claw”) That nodule has been there for some time but the contracture isn’t developed enough / annoying enough for me to have it operated on. It’s entirely different to the new thing I am experiencing in my Right hand - that came on very suddenly.
Thanks for that info Tracyann. Really interesting and it appears to be spot on.
At least now I have something to mention to the next baby-neuro who examines me when I go for my next Tysabri. Sometimes I swear that I know more about MS than most of them and, worse than that, I am EXPECTED to know more than them!
It’s not like MS is exactly unusual! (And if any of you ever watched “House MD” with Hugh Lawrie “MS is BORING!!!” Too “boring” and common to interest the genius doctor in that programme )