So I left you with a good long cliff hanger, good news, I will fill you in on a bit more. I left off on telling you, my dear and few readers, that I started to do experiments on myself to see if I had this Raynaud's thing....
What kind of experiments? Well nothing too extreme, I would hold a cold drink and my hand would quickly react, I would put it on my leg and then it would react. It was all pretty slow though. It started in my fingers, then worked it's way to my hands, then up my arms and neck. Next was my toes, then my thighs, then my lower legs, then it moved to the rest of the body. By the way, if I eat too much of something cold, like a Popsicle stick...My lips swell and bit and it looks like I had just gotten botox...yeah...why is that a problem? I actually like the way my lips are already...and it feels weird...
After I did all these things, which in reality took a few months of just trying to figure this thing out, I went to my doctor and told him how weird I am...he did a few tests on me to make sure I was correct, and yes...yes I was right...We then started to discuss about this...thing...a bit more. From what I learned and from what he told me, basically I have a poor circulatory system and it's believed to be genetic. What happens to my body when I come in contact with something cold for too long, my veins constrict, making it more difficult for blood to pass to the appendages and the rest of what ever is cold, that need it. Because it's not getting the correct amount of blood flow, I have my allergic reaction; Swelling, itching, decreased feeling, color changing, and what I call 'mosquito bites'. This is also why some patience may get Frostbite.
So our first step to helping me with this, since unfortunately there is no cure...he suggested to first start taking just some good ol' Ibuprofen, because it happens to have a anticoagulant, which in English, is a blood thinner. Well what if that doesn't work? Well the next step is a blood thinner...or a blood pressure medication...
Well, ok then doc...Ibuprofen it is...
ANOTHER.....dun dun dun!!! CLIFF HANGER!!!!
Good night!
I feel ya girl. I have Lupus and have Raynauds disease as a symptom of it. People always ask me why my hands are so cold and I just say something weird so I don't have to go into it.
ReplyDeleteHands (and feet) are really important for temperature regulation. Maybe in Reynaud's the reactivity to cold is part of the cooling system. Do people with Reynaud's also get warm hands and feet when its hot, or facial flushing? Don't know if anyone's done any work on that, but I'm curious.
ReplyDelete@Cheyenne: That's interesting. I had a friend with Lupus, but I didn't have this at the time so we never connected that. Do you get itchy like me? I just tell people I'm allergic to the cold, and when they look at me funny, then I explain. lol
ReplyDelete@Andrea: I get cold easy now. I used to not. Right now, it's 72 degrees outside. When I went outside to talk to my boyfriend for a bit, I already started to shiver. I don't know about anybody else but in the summer they are normal. Flushing a bit but I've always done that, and it's Texas lol.
My feet get cold way more easily than anything else.
Lucky me, my boyfriend is always so hot!! He always warms me up :)
Look for: RAYNAUD SYNDROME IN CHILDHOOD
ReplyDeleteAuthor(s): DUFFY C M; LAXER R M; LEE P; RAMSAY C; FRITZLER M; SILVERMAN E D.
AND
"Botulinum Toxin-A for the Treatment of Raynaud Syndrome"