Hi everybody,Sorry for my English, but I am no native speaker.
Since 1 year, I notice that my fingers and nails are changing. My fingers are puffy in the morning for around 30 minutes and my rings dont fit anymore, but I can still make a fist.
The nailbeds appear red, specially when I do sports or when I am out in the cold. In the summer when I do sports or walk, the hands swell, and get a mottled red/white pattern inside the palms. I get a tingling feeling and they are hot.
However, I dont have white finger coloration in the cold like with Raynauds. Fingers get very stiff in the cold but dont change colors.
I also notice that I lost a lot of hair recently.
However, I dont have any pain.
Do you think I should get my ANAs checked?
Attached a picture of my nails, sorry for bad manicure.
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Rosa_pather
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Wow! I thought at first that I was looking at a picture of my own fingers - the shape of your nails and fingers are just like mine. I also have a swollen index finger all the time and the nail beds appear reddish. And I have a worse manicure than you do!! I have Scleroderma and Raynaud's and my fingers turn blue if I am cold. My first symptom was swollen fingers (I thought it odd that I was putting on weight in just my fingers even though the scale said I weighed the same) and I had to have all my rings made 3 full sizes larger! Two years later, fingers started turning blue... Dr. tested and found my ANA was high. I was misdiagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Seven more years and a Rheumy who specializes in Scleroderma tested for the 11 different Scleroderma antibodies - I was well beyond the highest reading for one of the rarer ones. Now, 12 years after all this started, all my fingers except one are back to normal size and my rings fall off. They still turn blue a lot and they can be stiff in the cold but don't hurt. The one problem finger has tried to get a digital ulcer under the nail - that is extremely painful and my finger swelled to almost 3 times normal size! Two rounds of Bactrim antibiotic has worked to keep it at bay the last 2 times this happened..
If I were you, I would get an ANA test. It may be negative and put your mind at ease. If it's positive, get a good Rheumatologist who will do the right testing and give you advice as to how to proceed.
wow different symptoms of Raynaud’s but otherwise that’s almost my story too! My fingers suddenly started turning white - not purple - a short while after a diagnosis of RHeumatoid arthritis. My fingers were never that puffy but I had classic synovitis and high inflammation markers. Lots of other symptoms too in gut and neuropathy but also I had been diagnosed hypothyroid 10 years earlier and history of alopecia areate so already known autoimmune.
No one even tested my ANA until I’d been medicated for RA and thyroid for years! Rheumatoid factor was raised and inflammation very high. By time it was tested, off all medications - it was high with unusual pattern and Raynaud’s worse - had Sjogrens diagnosed by lip biopsy so they thought that explained my Raynaud’s.
Then a rare scleroderma antibody showed borderline and I got rediagnosed elsewhere with overlap ctd - scleroderma with Sjogrens. Saw different rheumatologist and she did more extensive tests as hands were swollen each morning. Also found my thyroid tests showed I needed higher dose thyroxine - that’s usually when hands swell and hair thins for me. Also need daily vitamin D3.
This time an even rarer scleroderma antibody showed high and has shown high ever since so they confirmed scleroderma and sjogrens overlap CTD. Hand rarely swell puff up now I’m fully treated but I do have Erythromelalgia too so they go red with pain and get regular Iloprost for Raynaud’s - have paralysed gut mouth to tail. Fingers look like the OP’s photos apart from lichen planus nails so can’t grow long as they split and break. Also have eczema and possible psoriasis. Wouldn’t rule thyroid probs out for hairloss and cold red hands could be same or eczema or psoriasis - even psoriatic arthritis. Definitely ask for full range of tests for all of these as well as ANA.
Thank you for your reply!Wow, I have a finger twin 🙂 Did a some painting during the last days, so the manicure suffered.
I will push my GP to check my ANA.
My fingers are also swollen, but mostly in the morning. I noticed it because I couldnt get my ring off anymore in the morning. But after 30 minutes they are quite normal (except for the index finger).
I didnt know that you can have Raynauds without the color changes. My fingers hurt and are very stiff in the cold, but I thought maybe that is normal and I am just freaking out because of nothing.
Do you have any other symptoms because of your scleroderma?
Yes, I have talengiectasia spots on my hands and face as well as gastrointestinal issues. With the type of Scleroderma antibody I have (RNA Polymerase III), I am at higher risk for breast cancer and for Scleroderma Renal Crisis (SRC). A few years ago, I had non-invasive breast cancer and had a lumpectomy (no radiation or chemo). My mother died of breast cancer, so I have religiously gotten an annual mammogram and they caught it in me early. Just before I got my Scleroderma diagnosis, my blood pressure shot up. I didn't know it at the time, but I was going into SCR- I am fortunate that it was caught and treated promptly. I am on BP meds now and check my BP daily - I'm supposed to go to the Emergency Room if my BP shoots up despite my meds.
My gastro issues (very slow system, constipation, ulcerative colitis, hiatal hernia) are treated successfully with meds.
RNA Polymerase III usually exhibits with rapid and extensive skin involvement but I am fortunate that I do not have that. No two cases of Scleroderma are exactly the same!
Hello,No, i just started to notice that my body changes. Asked my GP about the fingers but she didnt want to test the ANAs because she said it is a normal sign of aging. Now i wondered if I should push her more to do the test or if I am just freaking out.
Symptoms are not over the top, but I ask myself if something is going on: puffy fingers in the morning and when i do sport, red nail beds all the times, messy cuticles, mottled skin inside the palm of my hands when I do sport or walk, my toenails are blue in the morning. i dont think i have Raynauds because the fingers dont change color or get white. Just a little blue sometimes. I am also loosing a lot of hairs. Also, my skin got very sensitive to the sun and I had a red face rash on my cheeks all summer. I also had a rash (mottled white - red color) on my legs 2 times this summer when the sun shine on my black jeans. However, I dont have any pain.
Hello Rosa. Yes, I have exactly the same problem with my fingers, swollen and with red nail beds, worse in the winter. It can be quite painful. I put Sudocream on and cover with a plaster on the worse finger, mostly at night before going to bed. It doesn't cure but helps a bit. The skin at the nail bed also often turns brown which is unsightly. It's important to moisturise your hands and fingers regularly to avoid too much dryness which can make it worse. Wear gloves in bed too if you can, to keep hands warm, the cold certainly makes things worse.
Thank you for your advice. Yes, it is the first winter since I have the problem with my fingers and I notice it is quite annoying. What do you use to moisturise your hands?
Hi Rosa, get the best moisteriser you can. If you ask in a pharmacy they will be able to advise, there are a few that are good. Don't let anyone tell you that your symptoms are not related to Raynaud's or Scleroderma. Some doctors seem to know very little about this condition and won't admit it. It certainly is not just related to aging! Make an appointment with a Rheumatologist!
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