Raynaud's Syndrome

[Sailorluna]

Hi all, Just curious if anyone else here has Raynauds syndrome. I read somewhere it can be related to Lupus. I don't have Lupus but it made me wonder if it could be related to crohn's. Raynaud's symptoms include very cold hands or feet. Sometime a couple fingers or toes can turn white and lose feeling before turning blue then red and slowly warming again and returning to its regular color.

 

[mickey]

No, but hypothryroidism, which causes extremeties to be cold and a sensitivity to heat/cold.

 

[toml99]

I have it, or something similar. Just had a white finger episode this past week, and I have all of the typical symptoms. It's not a big deal with me, but my sister has had a major problem with it, but no lupus.

The Mayo Clinic's website says "Raynaud's is also a common problem for people with lupus erythematosus — an autoimmune disease that can affect many parts of your body, including your skin, joints, organs and blood vessels."

I wonder if Crohn's, which is also an autoimmune disease, can trigger Raynaud's just like lupus does.

 

[shamrock15]

Funny you should mention this as I just had a discussion with a woman at my school about this two days ago. It is possible that I have this. I have tried some really good mittens and boots, but to no avail. Below 5 degrees Celsius (about 40 F), my hands and feet can go really cold really quickly no matter what I am wearing. I originally thought it was frostbite - I reffed a lot of hockey in cold arenas for a lot of years without hand protection. Doesn't seem to be quite as bad this year now that my iron levels are back where they belong though.

 

[Jasoncode3]

It is also more common in smokers/tobacco users. FYI

 

[Sailorluna]

I googled the two together and found a site that said that they were completely unrelated but... I have a feeling they are. I have not had white toe or finger problems in a couple years but I do sometimes get little blister like sores on the bottom of a toe and my hands are always icy.

 

[Cookie]

My mother struggles very badly with Reynaud's. She has schleraderma...also an auto-immune disease. I have been experiencing some of these symptoms myself. Not quite to the extent that she does, but I wonder if it could be related to reynaud's as well.

 

[tlc-x]

That's another thing that seems to run in the family! Argh. Me, sister and mum have it. My sister has it soooo bad that she wears two gloves and socks during the summer and three during the winter. Otherwise her fingers go white and hurt lots. My mum has it not as bad but still horrible. She only wears gloves in the cold weather, otherwise purple fingers. Since having IBD, i'm really cold a lot and noticed that I get very cold when in a flare up, My fingers just hurt.

 

[mkhopper]

I've been told I have this affliction as well.

Thankfully it only manifests itself in my hands and then only after they've been exposed to anything cold.
I've tried every type of super insulating gloves they make along with chemical hand warmers shoved inside and it doesn't help at all.

One of my sisters has also been told she has it as well and for her it's in her feet and hands, and much worse than mine.

I had never made the connection and my docs have never brought it up to make a connection to the crohn's. Unless they're lying dormant, as far as we know, my sister doesn't have any other health problems at all.