Rigid lower legs and arms

[Bruffingtons2]

Has anybody had / got hardened, rigid lower arms and legs.... hard and ribbed on arms?

Fingers and hands also puffed and swollen, particularly at night . My fingers beginning to curl an obviously worried about use of hands being limited.

Does this go away (on Hydroxy. and Microphen. soon to go on Losartan.)

I am worried about whether I will eventually loose use of my fingers and hands.

Am exercising them regularly, massage etc... does this go away gradually or get worse to your experiences please?

It is frightening but need to know if it stops gradually as immune system reboots itself.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thank-you.

Bruffingtons2

[Kilncadzow]

I was diagnosed with scleroderma in the mid 70s. My legs, arms and fingers all became rigid - if you touched my calves it felt as though I had wooden legs! My fingers curled which made things difficult for a while. A lot of the drugs used now weren’t available then and I was treated with Penicillamine. After what seemed a very long time but was in fact only a few months a gradual improvement began. Aged 74 now I am in better health than many of my friends. My legs and arms are completely normal as is my left hand. Some of the fingers of my right hand are still bent but I can knit, sew, crochet etc. The only thing I can’t do is wear rings on my right hand - small price to pay! Hope this cheers you up!

[Bruffingtons2 in reply to Kilncadzow]

Thank-you for this helpful reply Kilncadzow ... so good to hear your news and that you are doing so well! I am almost 71 and was diagnosed last September. It has cheered me up!seasonal greetings if you are acknowledging Christmas!!

Bruffingtons2

[Bruffingtons2 in reply to Kilncadzow]

PS By the way... were your wrists tight, sore and tender due to pressure of arms, hands etc?B

[Kilncadzow in reply to Bruffingtons2]

My hands were painful - when my GP noticed the stiffness and swelling of my fingers he initially thought I had some sort of arthritis and my wrists were sore too. Have as good a Christmas as is possible this year.

[Intimeslikethese in reply to Kilncadzow]

So what do you attribute to it clearing/softening? I have been on oral suspension cellcept for 3 years now and my forearm skin is still like leather.

[Kilncadzow in reply to Intimeslikethese]

I can only put it down to Penicillamine as that was the only drug available at the time. Started on a very low dose and built up to 1gram a day ( I think that was the dose - it was a long time ago).