raynauds

[pinkkoala]

i am off to the docs tomorrow as the nurse at the surgery has refferred me to him as she thinks i have raynauds.

my fingers go white, blue then back to pink again but i also get the pins and needles and numbness with it.

Any idea what docs will do as i have heard it can be related to other things like arthritus, which my mum, dad and sis have. They don't have raynauds though.

will he be able to diagnose it who is it the case of refferrals to hospital etc, i am not keen on hospitals and would rather not bother if that is the case.

Hi Pinkkoala. I also have Reynauds, the tip of my left middle is white right now!

I don't know how old you are but mine was worse in my late teens and early 20s, when I would have more episodes and they could very painful. Now - too many years later - it is more of an irritation than anything else.

Back then the only advice I got from the doctor,, who was able to diagnose it, was to keep warm! He also said that surgery was possible in extreme cases, something to do with expanding the capillaries in fingers/toes. I think there was also some pills but I never got that far, just got through lots of gloves. No one ever suggested an arthritis link.

HTH

Do come back and say what the GP advised for you pinkkoala. I have recently started having Reynaulds. I haven't been to the GP about it as it did not seem important enough but knowing a nurse referred you, I am now worrying I should go myself.

I have it, and when I mentioned it to the doctor there didn't seem to be much in the way of help.
You can get those little sachet thingies that have gel in that heats up.
It did also make breastfeeding more painful.

But you're right to go as it can (I think) be a symptom of something else.

I've had this for years - I get betablockers (adalat retard) in the winter but otherwise they just tell you to keep warm

I also get things like tendonitis and carpal tunnel due to lack of blood flow

But generally they don't do a lot

If its a simple classic case then I think your gp will go by your symptoms. Possible they may want to do a blood test I suppose... I was eventually referred first for carpal tunnel testing then to rheumatolgist to rule stuff out cos mine is severe.

Its better if you can manage it with the old keeping warm stuff. I'm on nifedipine for it which was fine after I got though the initial side effects. No grapefruit though with nifedipine!

mp - interesting about the tendonitis. I get a lot of that but its been put down to my form of arthritis.

Can any of you regular sufferers tell me if a moreorless permanent but very slight numbness on the surface of one finger is a symptom of Reynaulds?

I had the full blown white finger tips etc a couple of times back in May but nothing since except this slight loss of feeling on the underside of one finger.

Any ideas?

I don't have that - but does sound like it could be part of it. (or carpel tunnel, maybe)
I've only had white fingers a couple of times over the summer too, mostly when doing something with water in outside.
We're coming into the time of year for it though...

Yes, I am anticipating autumn eagerly. I have no idea why I had my first Reynauds episodes back in May (though the second time I was up a mountain, but not cold at all???) but I am quite conscious that it could all kick off in earnest soon.

Where do you get those fantastic hand warming gel packs? Boots?

I've got some from the chemist bit of tesco in the past
(Mr Men ones! I didn't see any plain ones)

Oh and I think you can get them from outdoorsy sort of shops like millets etc

Ooo like the idea of Mr Men ones [saddo]

I have raynaud's too. The gp just advised me to stay warm and wear gloves.

Am anticipating the return of the white fingertips anytime now

I seem to get it worse in my toes, sometimes all of my toes turn white and it's quite painful.

I have Raynaulds too (linked to my Lupus) and as some other people have said, it's often more of an annoyance than a bad issue. The hand gel warmer things are great, but I find the biggest trigger is rapid change in temperature from cold to hot. So if you've been out in the cold or your hands/feet do start to turn white/blue/pins and needles, don't stick your hands under a hand dryer to warm up, or get in the car and stick the blowers on full whack, etc. I find it much more comfortable to allow the change in temperature slowly, even if it means takes a little longer to get warm it then avoids the very painful 'too hot now' sensation. Hope that helps!

hi everyone, just back from docs had to have blood tests for iron, sugar, thyroid, inflammation, autoimmune and rheumatoid, he has also said onset of raynauds.

he wants me to go back next week for the results of my blood tests, any medical people out there who can shed some light as to why i had all those done re raynauds.

I believe that Raynaulds is often a condition linked with having something else, but may be wrong on that. At least they're being thorough, which is great, and hopefully all the tests will all come back healthily!

They need to work out if its primary raynauds (just one of those bad luck things unassociated with other conditions) or secondary raynauds (linked to a condition)

it is poor circulation in capillaries and can be treated with nifedipine. Do you work with ant vibrating tools as this can also cause it. Cleaning tools,dental things,road diggers and anything that vibrates can affect people. Happens to more women than men.