Anxious about my discolored feet

[ptbest]

Apologies if this is the wrong forum for this sort of post.

I'm a 25-year-old guy, have had Crohn's for 12 or 13 years, currently taking 10mg prednisone, 50mg 6MP, and Humira to treat my Crohn's.

For the past month or so I've had discoloration in my feet. My left foot is worse than my right but my right foot has a little discoloration too. They turn a purple-ish color (sometimes red) and it seems to be at its worst when I'm sitting down. The feet are cold to the touch too. I don't have any symptoms other than that.

I've seen my general practitioner twice in the past couple weeks. The first time he prescribed me an antibiotic but that hasn't changed anything so he's more or less ruled out an infection. He says he's leaning towards it being Reynaud's which all things considered isn't the worst thing in the world. He had another doctor look at it too and that doctor said he's not too worried about it either unless I start feeling other symptoms like total numbness or pain. They didn't even have me go through any tests which surprised me because I assumed they'd at least want a blood test or a leg ultrasound. They felt the pulses in my feet and the pulses sounded normal.

He said I should tell my gastro about it just to be on the safe side but I can't see him until next week.

The thing that worries me is that in 2008 I had a DVT -> pulmonary embolism so I'm on edge with anything that could be a circulation issue. When I had the DVT I had the classic DVT signs of swelling in my calf and it was hard for me to walk. This time I have none of that but I know DVTs can sometimes have barely any symptoms at all. Basically the DVT possibility is my main concern and I asked my GP about it a couple times. He said he's not worried about it being a DVT but I'm still anxious.



This has been keeping me up at night because I'm concerned about it. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? Is this something that happens with Crohn's sometimes? Just kinda wondering if I'm worried about it for no reason or if I should see another doctor ASAP.

 

[my little penguin]

Anything new - we always let the Gi know since they understand complications of Crohn's better than most. Including when an ultrasound is needed.

Another thing to look at would be a Rheumotologist.
They can help you figure out if the weird foot thing is related to your crohns or some other thing going on and what it is.

DS had vasculitis as an EIM of crohns . No other doc knew what it was
Onky the Rheumotologist did .
His was a weird rash on his feet .

Good luck but definitely call your GI .

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Hi ptbest, welcome to the forum. Have you looked into the possibility that it's Raynaud's?

From http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/raynauds-disease/basics/symptoms/con-20022916

Raynaud's disease signs and symptoms include:
•Cold fingers or toes
•Color changes in your skin in response to cold or stress

I don't know much about Raynaud's, but from what you described it's something you should definitely ask your doctor about. Good luck!

 

[Maya142]

It definitely could be Raynaud's. My daughter has it. Her hands go blue when she gets cold. When she warms them up, they turn bright red. Her hands and feet are always freezing, even in the summer. She's been told if her hands go blue to warm them up immediately. That's all we really do - no meds or anything.
Her rheumatologist diagnosed it.

Hope you get some answers soon.

 

[ptbest]

Thanks for the replies. I moved up my appointment with my GI and saw him today, he seems a little stumped.

I've had cellulitis before a couple times but he pretty much ruled that out since that typically causes more swelling and there was a lot of pain (I have no pain now).

He said he doesn't think it's Reynaud's either because after looking at it in person it doesn't really follow with the typical signs of Reynaud's.

Also said he doesn't think it's a blood clot because the discoloration is usually in a different area if there's a blood clot. Also there's usually swelling or tenderness with blood clots but I don't really have that. He still wants me to get an ultrasound of my legs just to totally rule it out since I have a history of DVT. So I'm looking to schedule that as soon as I can.

Said it didn't look like anything associated with my Crohn's either.


So....it seems like his guess is just about as good as mine. I'm glad he ordered the leg ultrasound though.