June 2009 Weddings
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
:hopscotch:
Please tell me more about Raynaud's!?
I don't think I ever noticed it before because I lived in FL my whole life 
But a few weeks ago, my hands turned the weirdest shade of gray, then blue. It was freaky looking. My MIL happened to be in town and said I may have Raynaud's. Of course I researched it a bit. My hands do not look like the people's in the pics, where they have a definite line where their fingers become blue. Mine just had the weird blue/gray tint. What do yours look like? How long have you had it? Do you do anything differently because of it? I understand you can't really treat it, right? TIA!?
Re: :hopscotch:
ok i'm completely butting in...
But I'm pretty sure I have Raynaud's too (Though I havent been professionally diagnosed). I have terrible circulation in my fingers for a few years, and if i go out without gloves in the wintertime sometimes ill get that ? a distinct line at one of my knuckles, where the tip of my finger will be ghostly white, and will sometimes be tingly/numb. From what i've read, white is the milder Raynauds, blue is more severe. But if that happens you are supposed to immediately warm up your hands (i run mine under water, slowly increasingly the temp until color returns), because I think tissue/nerve damage can occur from lack of blood flow.
I'm guessing that my problem is a result of mild carpal tunnel, which is pretty common for graphic designers, and since i tend to only get symptoms on my major typing and mouse-clicking fingers. But as far as I know there is no treatment, you just have to try to keep your hands out of the cold... since I live in NY, I start wearing gloves in October, as soon as it cools down. But i've read that you can help stimulate bloodflow in your fingers by running alternating warm then cool water over your hands
Hopscotch, I'd love to hear if you know more...
I have had issues with it for as long as I can remember. My feet always got super cold all the time, but it wasn't until I was in middle and high school that I think it got even worse. I started noticing that when I got in the shower (after my feet had been ice cold), my toes would turn a deep purple-ish/black color. Not pretty! The water also burns like crazy. Even mildly warm water feels like burning hot water when my feet are that cold. Same thing happens with my hands.
My hands and feet are cold the majority of the time. Right now, for example, my house is like 72 degrees and I have socks on, but my feet are ice cold and my fingers are ice cold. My hands are extremely sensitive to cold...for example, when I get in my car and touch my steering wheel, my hands instantly turn ice cold, hurt, and get this waxy look to them...almost like a dead person's skin! (gross, I know) This also happens when I grab a cold soda can, a cold glass of water, etc.
My toes and feet turn ice cold and get tingly and numb pretty frequently when it is the slightest bit chilly outside...or even when I'm walking through Target and the produce section or frozen food section and I'm a little cold. They also get that waxy look to them.
I wear Uggs and SmartWool socks all the time in the winter now...just bought me first couple of pair of Uggs (after swearing them off for years) and they help a lot, but, even in the Uggs, my feet will still get cold if I'm not up and moving around a ton.
I have yet to find gloves that will keep my hands remotely warm. I'm highly considering buying the Ugg gloves to see if those will help...but they are so expensive! My poor fingers nearly fell off the last time we were in Cleveland and tailgated for a Browns game! Even with thick gloves, my fingers went numb and were like ice cubes.
There are a few tests they can do to see if the Reynaud's is related to an auto-immune disease or connective tissue disorder, but there isn't really a test for Reynaud's. I always seem to have a high sed rate test (which shows inflammation in the body) and no doctor can really tell me why, but I assume that related to my Reynaud's...whatever it is. As for treatment, there are drugs they can give you that are supposed to help, but all of the drugs to treat Reynaud's are heavy hitters and have an insane amount of side effects, so I'll stick with dealing with it! I'm not a fan of having to take life long drugs...especially ones that cause so many issues themselves.
My massage therapist for my back mentioned that a girl that worked in their office had acupuncture treatment for her Reynaud's and that it really helped. I'm planning to try out acupuncture for my back issues and think I may try it out for Reynaud's too...just to see if I can find something that helps a little!
This link will give you a good overview of everything: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/raynauds-disease/DS00433 -- just tab through all of the sections.
And...I just realized this was the longest response EVER! Sorry!
Oh and since I didn't write enough already...the affected areas generally follow a pattern turning white (that waxy look I talk about) and/or blue and then turning red when the blood flow returns.
I have pretty severe eczema on my feet and I basically can't get it to go completely away for anything. My mom actually brought up just a couple of weeks ago that she wonders if that has to do with my feet being cold all the time and not getting the blood flow they need to heal. Who knows, but I thought it was an interesting idea!
Is that strange that 3 of us have some sort of variation of it? I had no idea it was so common!
Thanks for the great info Hopscotch! Wow, sounds like you have a lot to deal with as a result of it. Mine is nowhere near as serious. But my hands have been getting that weird/waxy gray look as well. D said I looked like a corpse from CSI. Sexy.
On another note, have you tried the CeraVe lotion for your eczema? It worked wonders for mine!?
That sounds awful! I know how itchy it can get and you can't exactly reach down and scratch your feet whenever you want--ouch. poor girl.
I assume you've seen your derm about a stronger ointment? I was just prescribed one that worked pretty well. I can get the name if you need it. It's really just in my BR but I don't feel like getting up! LAY-ZEE!!!?