Question:
Hi Garth, I can somewhat empathise with you and your fingers. I have a stubborn little ulcer on my r index knuckle, the skin is like tissue paper there, and over the winter, well, you know… This is my first (and hopefully last) and it’s a scary thing when a wound won’t heal. I’ve found i’ve had to be a bit pushy and seek out other opinions. I used to be a reg. nurse, and in this country at least (Australia), specialist nurses are the best informed and experienced at wound care. When I asked my rheum about whether another opinion might be a good idea, she suggested she had it under control, but it just got worse and worse. Eventually I got advice over the phone from a wound care clinic in my area (over xmas!) and decided to start actively treating the wound with a hydrocolloid paste (duoderm paste) This is what happenned: A large scabby plug had formed over a crater in the knuckle over a period of months, at the end of winter. We left it alone, just gently covered with gauze. This went on forever until before xmas I decided I’d had enugh and started looking for other opinions. I couldn’t get in to this clinic, but the nurse in charge there spoke to me. Having established that she was very experenced with scleroderma ulcers, she was emphatic that that plug (which was loose anyway) neeeded to come off so that we could create an environment more conducive to healing… We used solugel to soak off the plug. overnight it had turned to liquid. After cleaning the crater as best I could I filled it with duoderm paste, covered with lyofoam dressing secured with hypafix. I have changed the dressing every three days. At first it seemed to get alot worse but then, very very gradually, over about 4 weeks, I think it has begun to get smaller, both in width and depth. Obviously your situation is different to mine and perhaps this kind of thing is not suitable for you, but my point it that it doesn’t hurt to ask other specialists what they think. I also saw a dermatologist after I started this regime, and he suggested I continue it. Is it cold now where you are? As far as antiinflammatory tx, I take 10mg prednisolone daily, so I suppose this helps, but the wound is still somewhat inflamed, red and sore. I also have been on methotrexate and penicillamine for around six months. If the diclofenac makes your fingers numb maybe you should speak with your doctor straight away about this. it may be doing more harm than good. I’m sure you know that there are a range of antiinflammatory drugs out there, and it may be worth discussing trying different ones with your doctor. Hope you have a turnaround soon, Nia – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -On Mon, 22 Jan 2001 01:22:35 -0700, "gh" <xxx@123> wrote: >Anybody use the Diclofenac on their finger sores? My doc gave me a Rx for it >but other than making my fingers numb it doesn’t seem to do anything. They >are still getting bigger. I now have a 1.5 cm sore on one finger covers the >entire finger tip) and smaller ones on others. >Garth
Response:
>===== Original Message From "gh" <xxx@123> ===== >Anybody use the Diclofenac on their finger sores? My doc gave me a Rx for it >but other than making my fingers numb it doesn’t seem to do anything. They >are still getting bigger. I now have a 1.5 cm sore on one finger covers the >entire finger tip) and smaller ones on others. >Garth
Hi Garth, I don’t recall what meds I was given for an ulceration I had in ‘97 but I do remember being told to soak it (it was on the tip of my middle right finger) in empsom salt with warm (not hot) water 3 or 4 times a day. It sure felt good and it helped. At the time the docs (primary, rheumy and neurologist) were working on a diagnosis and had eliminated Parkinson’s Disease and diabetes. The ulceration (which I thought was frostbite–it started bothering me in November and we have white winters here in Missouri) put me in the hospital when the sporadic pain became constant and it capped the diagonosis as SD with features of lupus (I also have MCTD or UCTD–can’t recall which or both offhand). Sure hope you get some definitive and _good_ treatment. Best wishes, Nell ———————————————————— Get your FREE web-based e-mail and newsgroup access at: http://MailAndNews.com Create a new mailbox, or access your existing IMAP4 or POP3 mailbox from anywhere with just a web browser. ————————————————————
Response:
Thanks I will try the epsoms salts and ask more questions when I get to see my rhumy again.. "Nell" <nellybl…@MailAndNews.com> wrote in message
news:3AA2D500@MailAndNews.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> >===== Original Message From "gh" <xxx@123> ===== > >Anybody use the Diclofenac on their finger sores? My doc gave me a Rx for it > >but other than making my fingers numb it doesn’t seem to do anything. They > >are still getting bigger. I now have a 1.5 cm sore on one finger covers the > >entire finger tip) and smaller ones on others. > >Garth > Hi Garth, > I don’t recall what meds I was given for an ulceration I had in ‘97 but I do > remember being told to soak it (it was on the tip of my middle right finger) > in empsom salt with warm (not hot) water 3 or 4 times a day. It sure felt > good > and it helped. > At the time the docs (primary, rheumy and neurologist) were working on a > diagnosis and had eliminated Parkinson’s Disease and diabetes. The > ulceration > (which I thought was frostbite–it started bothering me in November and we > have white winters here in Missouri) put me in the hospital when the > sporadic > pain became constant and it capped the diagonosis as SD with features of > lupus > (I also have MCTD or UCTD–can’t recall which or both offhand). > Sure hope you get some definitive and _good_ treatment. > Best wishes, > Nell > ———————————————————— > Get your FREE web-based e-mail and newsgroup access at: > http://MailAndNews.com > Create a new mailbox, or access your existing IMAP4 or > POP3 mailbox from anywhere with just a web browser. > ————————————————————
Response:
Anybody use the Diclofenac on their finger sores? My doc gave me a Rx for it but other than making my fingers numb it doesn’t seem to do anything. They are still getting bigger. I now have a 1.5 cm sore on one finger covers the entire finger tip) and smaller ones on others. Garth
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