I'm bored of taking tablets now.

[avtargill31]

I was diagnosed with Secondary Raynaud's early last year shortly after my fingers went white one winters evening. Ever since, I've been going to hospital appointments and taking different medication to try and calm my attacks a little. My right hand index finder started blistering and had to have an infusion in November to fix it. My toes starts in the winter and recently got took into a & e with breathlessness, which panicked me even more, to the point both of my whole hands where turning blue. I've been signed off work since November and have started to become ever so bored. I can't go out as even with gloves on etc, I get an attack. There's only so much day time TV and Facebook etc. I can take. From living life at a hundred miles an hour to a complete stop is now taking it's toll. Don't want to take tablets anymore, and want to go back to work and enjoy life again as at the moment it's on hold. You never know what's round the corner in life, but sure hope this gets sorted quickly as now starting to struggle.

[zenabb]

I understand you getting fed up, we all do. But I have noticed that things occur in cycles, sometimes worse and sometimes better. But we have to keep our pecker up and seek socialising, laughter and fun as much as possible. We are lucky that there is more research into our condition than there used to be though there is still no cure. If there is a research group in your hospital try to volunteer for it. It helps us all and you would be doing something important.

[dianekjs]

What is your primary autoimmune disease, have you tested positive for specific antibodies?

[avtargill31 in reply to dianekjs]

All I know, I'm ana positive and the hospital keep try different tablets and my fingers and more recently toes keep going white, blue and red. I wrap myself up like a mummy and still they change. I have the fingerless gloves which I got specially for this condition, but alas nothing helped. The hospital have said it's defiantly secondary Raynaud's but they are struggling the find the cause.

[dianekjs in reply to avtargill31]

You need to be seen by an experienced rheumatologist, and you need to have a panel run to check for individual antibodies. Ask them to include anti-centromere, SCL-70, and RNA polymerase III. If you get breathless or short of breath they should also order pulmonary function tests and an echocardiogram. Do you have other symptoms? Joint pain or stiffness, skin changes, swelling of you fingers or hands? Please insist on a referral to a rheumatologist, ask for copies of all your lab reports to date and always get copies from now on, and get the antibody testing done. Best of luck to you and please keep us posted.

[Thelma]

We all have brief resentment time, get a little flustered, but if we continue to look around us and see that there are folks much worse than ourselves, stay active, stay involved with our fellow-mates who are enduring the same or similar conditions as ourselves, stick around positive people, cheerful and positive atmospheres, and try to be as stress-free as possible . . . . we can and will improve. Mental balance means so much with these upsetting and spontaneous health conditions that spin off from our main problematic condition. Hang in there, question your doctor more, continue to research, get acquainted if you haven't already with a reputable nutrition/health store(s) and work on increasing your hope, faith and positive outlooks. Blessings to you.