Ganglion cyst

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tyreon
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Ganglion cyst

Post by tyreon »

Mmmmm. Have what appears to be a ganglion cyst at the bottom of my inner thumb wrist. Any person any experience of aforementioned? And,likely to get worse or impede cycling? Wonder whether 'early intervention' by aspiration/cortisone injection resolves problem, or no? Later,surgery to remove? I don't want to aggravate the thing.
Worrisome.
Eyebrox
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by Eyebrox »

I had something similar. Just appeared at the base of my thumb as a small spot. It grew and grew over the space of a couple of months and everyone, including the doctor, said it was a cyst. It kept bleeding at the base after a while and the hospital removed it through surgery. It was a pyogenic granuloma. Never heard him of it and the hospital took photographs because they said it was common only to pregnant women. (I'm a 59 year old bloke!) That was five years ago and have had no problems since. Nothing on skin where this "cyst" was.
Psamathe
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by Psamathe »

I can only talk from personal experience (not having consulted anybody medical about mine). Got mine on tendon running across palm to little finger. 99% sure it was caused by continual bashing a shovel into flinty very hard clay trying to dig out a drainage trench - happened over the course of a day. It's positioned such that when riding it rests against he side of the bars/hoods (so does not really take bumps riding). And since getting it I've been careful about repeated bashing on it.

Had it for over a year and in that time it's not got bigger (not massive anyway) and probably not smaller (difficult to tell and any shrinkage has been very very slow). Does not seem to affect me doing anything so I've not troubled doctors/nurses.

But I must emphasise that this is me and what I've got and I've never even had it medically confirmed it's a ganglion cyst only my own totally amateur diagnosis using Dr. Google.

So I can only recount my personal events and NOT give advice.

Ian
bogmyrtle
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by bogmyrtle »

They can disappear as mine did. If it doesn't you could resort to the 'traditional' treatment which is to hit it with a bible.
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531colin
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by 531colin »

Psamathe wrote:........ Got mine on tendon running across palm to little finger.........


Dupuytren's contracture? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dupuytren%27s_contracture
Psamathe
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by Psamathe »

531colin wrote:
Psamathe wrote:........ Got mine on tendon running across palm to little finger.........


Dupuytren's contracture? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dupuytren%27s_contracture

Interesting. Might be. If it is, not yet affecting keeping my fingers straight (and I suppose my thoughts are that it's slow progressing according to your link and not really done much over last year and I'm 60 so ... what will happen will happen but probably some time in the future).

Thanks for the link though. Useful to know and maybe worth mentioning to doc if/when I next have to go for anything else ('cos it's nowhere near anything I think NHS would consider treating at the moment)..

Ian
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531colin
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by 531colin »

I have had a contracture on one hand for years, and the other hand is now joining in. But until I googled yesterday, I didn't realise the lump on the knuckle (Garrod's pad) that has been there for maybe 30 years is part of the same condition.
The surgery looks completely barbaric, I don't fancy scar tissue on my palm as a "treatment" for a condition that has caused me no problem at all for years. If the finger was actually getting in the way, I would prefer it to be simply amputated, but its my pinkie thats involved, might be different for another finger. I was interested to read about radiotherapy treatment, something else I hadn't heard of, but it doesn't seem popular in the UK.
69 next birthday, and the progression of the condition is slow to nothing at all.........I might mention it if I see my GP, I might just let sleeping dogs lie.... :wink:
LollyKat
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by LollyKat »

My mother had one on the back of her hand, near the wrist, in between the tendons of the first and second finger, I think. She was in her fifties. After a couple of years it had grown big enough to become a nuisance -- among other things she was a church organist and it affected her playing. They tried draining it but it didn't last, so she had it surgically removed. Some years later a very small one appeared again but didn't cause any problems.

Banging with a bible (or hymnbook?) might have been appropriate but she didn't have the nerve. A friend had done just this (at least her husband had) - it got rid of the ganglion all right but she passed out with the shock, banged her head on the table on the way down and ended up with seven stitches over her eyebrow :shock: .
MikeF
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by MikeF »

Some years ago I had a small lump on wrist on the inner side of my arm. The doctor said it was a ganglion and not to worry and "it would go". I think he also said he had one too! Since reading this thread I've checked, and if I bend my hand right back I can still see a hardly detectable lump, which isn't present on my other wrist.
However it's always worth getting these lumps checked medically, just in case they are the start of something more serious.
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Vorpal
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by Vorpal »

tyreon wrote:Mmmmm. Have what appears to be a ganglion cyst at the bottom of my inner thumb wrist. Any person any experience of aforementioned? And,likely to get worse or impede cycling? Wonder whether 'early intervention' by aspiration/cortisone injection resolves problem, or no? Later,surgery to remove? I don't want to aggravate the thing.
Worrisome.

I had a ganglion cyst on one of my toes. It was very small and didn't bother me for a long time (3 years?). I did ask the GP about it, but she didn't seem to think it was anything to worry about. Then a couple of years ago, it started growing, and it bacame quite painful, and occasionally leaked a clear, sticky liquid. I saw the GP, who sent me to a specialist who decided it needed removing. She referred me for surgery, I got an appointment that was a couple of months out, and it started shrinking. A week before the surgery, I called and cancelled it because my cyst was all but gone.
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Tangled Metal
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by Tangled Metal »

I had a lump on the inside of the middle finger knuckle. It appeared after a broke that hand so I got it checked out in case there was a link somehow. Turned out to be a cyst which I had removed with surgery under local anaesthetic. It didn't hurt but I could still feel the operation when the surgeon tugged at the skin during stitching me up.

It was my choice to have it taken out which I chose because it was in a place.I tended to hit when I put my hand out to grip anything or steady a fall. When I hit it just right it really hurt. Now I can't see even.the scar where it was cut out.

Worth getting your doctor to look at it. If he/she offers you the choice of surgery or not then consider if it's causing you a problem. Cysts on tendons can be removed at a risk of damage to it. Mine was separate so no.risk.
tyreon
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by tyreon »

The above comments and experiences seem to echo what I have subsequently read on int'web. My own seemed to 'appear' within the morning maybe after riding uphill. Went to pay for 6 cabbage 'sapling's ' when on giving £ noticed the prominent lump. Will get it checked,at the mo self diagnosis. No pain from it. Just don't want it to interfere with my cycling or get bigger. This getting older lark is tiring. :)
scragglymonkeyman
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by scragglymonkeyman »

Traditional treatment for a ganglion was whacking it with a King James Bible and I know a quack who tried this out of curiosity! Surprisingly it doesn't work!

Nowadays it's a simple operation to remove so if it's causing you problems - go to your GP! (or give the Bible a go beforehand!)
tyreon
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by tyreon »

My diagnosis of the ganglion cyst was confirmed by my doc. We went thru how it may have arisen(no one really knows) to what,if anything should be done about it. The man was really a gem because he didn't get excited or demonstrative about me having diagnosed it myself or researched into outcomes/early interventions and the like.Some(feeling threatened?)go crackers. His approachable and mature manner(with added humour and interest in myself)contrasted against one of his fellow bretheren who I saw stomping about his practice in a misplaced pair of fashionable(but killer)brogues people wear these days. Maybe they were Churches,you know the 2 kilo each foot jobs that have leather soles and take 15 years to break in. No wonder he goes off kilter some days!

Still,I hope I dont' see him again :wink:
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Re: Ganglion cyst

Post by Vorpal »

Since this topic has come up again, my cyst came back a few months after my previous post. Bigger, and more painful than ever :(

I had it surgically removed last year. Everything went smoothly & that toe has been pain free since. I seem to have one growing on my other foot in approximately the same place, but it's still very small.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
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