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Howdy all,
I'm new to all this and still finding my way. I was diagnosed about 4 months ago, been suffering for a couple of years. In my mid 50 and generally healthy (although starting to wonder now!!)
The balls of my feet are permanently numb, and react to getting cold. Been to neurologist and had all types of scans but nothing found. My fingers go yellow and freeze to the point of being painful. I wear gloves outside and my fingers get pins and needles that feel like daggers!
Living Sydney Australia the winter is really that cold, but single digit temperatures (5-10C = 41 to 50F) it kicks in.
My problem is being a landscape photographer Icant shoot int he cold anymore as I loose feeling in fingers and cant operate camera.
What I would like to know is how do you get diagnosed with the underlying disease? From research I appear to maybe have Secondary but my GP has said there is nothing that can be done. I really need to find a cause and solution as it affects my livelyhood as well as lifestyle.
Cheers
Replies to "Howdy all, I'm new to all this and still finding my way. I was diagnosed about..."
Hey jayjaydoubleu, I too have Raynaud's. I have had it for many years. My fingernails and toenails turn blue. My hands and feet get really cold at times. I also cannot pick up ice or mix anything recipe wise with my hands that has cold ingredients without running warm water at the kitchen sink to quickly run my fingers under as its very painful.
There was no testing for this diagnosis for me. I told my doctor my symptoms and he told me I had Raynaud's.
Other autoimmune diseases can go along with Raynaud's, so it may be worth your while to have a complete autoimmune panel done to make sure you are not positive for Lupus, Sjogrens, Rheumatoid Arthritis or Mixed Connective Tissue Disease.
I have both thyroid diseases, Hashimoto's & Graves Disease. You can have very cold hands and feet with Hashimoto's. It has been found there is a connection with Hashimoto's & Raynaud's. If you decide to have a thyroid panel, make sure they do TSH, T3, T4, Thyroid Antiglobulin & Antibody or you could get an incorrect diagnosis. I had to go to an Endocrinologist to get all of my levels checked.
I a praying for you and wish you the best.
Hello Jay Jay, you need to go and see a special dr called a Rheumatologist. And your GP is wrong and you need to find a new gp cos he is not willing to research and get updated on his patients concerns and diseases. I am a nurse and Raynauds is an autoimmune. I have it for many years and it has caused peripheral neuropathy which has caused my bones in my feet to collapse
I have had 5 surgeries to my feet. I see also a podiatrist who is very familiar with peripheral neuropathy. I take meds to open my blood vessels which helps my hands and feet. There are many things that you can do to help your hands. There are gloves with heaters in them. There are socks with warmers in them too. So yes there are things you can do. I live in midwest of US and it gets very cold in winters here too.
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@jayjaydoubleu. Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! There are several discussions on Raynaud’s syndrome. I tried to get the URL’s of other discussions but, I wasn’t successful. Here is one on Raynaud’s you can read through. Sometimes the dates on the discussions are old, but most go up to the current date
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/raynauds-syndrome/
If you want to find more discussions, it’s pretty easy. Go back to the autoimmune homepage and you will see a search box just above the list. of discussions. Then type in ‘Raynaud’s’ into the box. Hit enter and a long list will come up. each entry has the name of the discussion and when it ended. Pick whichever you want and click on the words in blue, and voila, you’ll go directly to the discussion! Check out the discussions, make a list of questions and ask away!
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