Raynaud's Update

I was first diagnosed with Raynaud's Syndrome more than 10 years ago and I still suffer from it on a daily basis in the winter.

My doctor prescribes 2.5 mg of amlodipine beylate for my Raynaud's. When I first started on the medication I had a noticeable improvement in my symptoms. Now I'm not convinced that it actually does anything, since I don't notice a decrease in episodes on the days I remember to take it vs. the days I don't.

I get Raynaud's symptoms in my hands, feet and nipples.  My hands are by far the worse, though the nipples hurt like a son of a gun!

For me the best solution is to simply not allow myself to get cold. From November on I dress in layers - bra, long sleeve silk long john shirt, tank top or t-shirt and a sweater. That's for being inside at the office! For outside I add another long sleeve t-shirt.

High quality wool socks are a must and I always wear flannel lined Crocs around the house (with the socks). I take my Crocs with me as slippers whenever we go to someone else's house too. I have elbow length finger-less "gloves" that I wear. They don't have the individual finger holes like some finger-less gloves, but look more like a mitten without the top part. I ensure that I never, ever touch anything cold or metallic with my bare skin. If I don't have gloves on, I pull down my sleeve to cover my hand to open a door. I wear oven mitts to hold a bowl of ice cream while I eat it. I avoid kitchen activities that involve touching cold things, but I'm the first to volunteer to wash the dishes as it warms me up.

At the office I keep a hot water bottle handy that I hold in my lap and I have a hand warmer that plugs into the USB port of my laptop to heat it up. We also have a half dozen reusable hand warmers around the house and buy the charcoal activated ones from the dollar store.

I guess it's become more of a way of life for me then something that has a medical solution.

What am I? Reveal

So we had quite a few different guesses for this little thing.

Here is what it is not:

1. a jump rope
2. broken curling irons
3. stick of purple dynamite
4. sex toy who's sole purpose is to make Jen blush
5. tampon . . . of the future
   
6. electric eyebrow relaxer

some additional clues:

1. it fits in the palm of my hand, which is where it is meant to go.
2. it plugs into my computer
3. it gets really warm
4. it only cost $4.99!
   

It's a USB Hand warmer!
My hands get very cold when I type and it make my Raynaud's unbearable. So I will buy any device, gadget or snake oil that will help keep my hands warm. And this little baby does the job!

So go on, get yourself one and stay warm!

NaCH3COO

We got some wonderful reusable heating pads for Christmas. They are some freaky chemical thing that when you "snap" the ferrous disc the sodium acetate concentration goes from a liquid form to a solid form releasing heat as it does. Wikipedia explains it much better then I can. Check it out.

These pictures show the crystals forming after I snapped the disc. It took about 5 seconds for the whole thing to become solid.

I got Hilary this lovely shaped one that sits on your shoulders and holds heat for up to 2 hours.

We went back after Christmas and got the hand warmer size ones to help me with my Raynaud's

Watch as the back one is activated:

And the boiling pot of water with the dishrag in it? In order to reuse the heating pads you have to boil them to turn the crystals back into liquid. The dishrag protects the plastic from coming into contact with the hot metal of the pot. Once they cool down you can do it all over again!

So far this has been the most used Christmas present other then the Wii!

Day 4 and.....

NO RAYNAUD'S!

I started on a prescription for Norvasc on Monday. After suffering from primary Raynaud's for more then 7 years, I finally decided to ask my doctor for medical intervention. No amount of layering my clothes, wearing gloves and mitts or using hand warmers were working any more. I was suffering 4-5 episodes a day.

So I started on the lowest dose of Norvasc, a calcium channel blocker that is supposed to help with Raynaud's.

And boy howdy has it helped!

Even though we've had -20C temperatures the last few days that I have had to be out walking in, I haven't had a single episode. I am hopefully optimistic that this will work as a long-term solution for me, knowing that I have lots of room to increase the dosage should I start having episodes again.

Raynaud's Disease

From wikipedia:


Raynaud disease (RAY-noz) is a vascular disorder that affects blood flow to the extremities which include the fingers, toes, nose and ears when exposed to temperature changes or stress. It was named after Maurice Raynaud (1834 - 1881), a French physician who first described it in 1862.

When exposed to cold temperatures, the blood supply to the fingertips, toes, nose, and earlobes of Raynaud's disease patients is reduced and the skin turns pale or white
(called pallor) and becomes cold and numb.


I’ve been having Raynaud episodes for the last 5-6 years. Lately it seems to be getting worse. If I don’t dress in layers and keep my trunk warm, you can guarantee that my finger tips will be white within minutes. And it is taking longer to recover from each episode and is getting more painful. My right hand is worse then my left. I’ve never taken a picture of my own hand, but here are some examples of what it looks like:









There is no cure, no magic bullet to fix this. It is just something you have to learn to live with. I can’t wait for summer and warm weather. Then I only have to worry about not holding a cold glass or making sure I put the oven mitts on before I get anything out of the freezer. At least I won’t have to wear 4-5 layers of clothing every day.