New Poster: Wrinkled finger woes and Raynauds questions for the “old hands” here

[Purple_Badgers]

Hi all! I’m new to this forum. Been suffering from relatively mild Raynauds for as long as I can remember, but as I’m getting older and more unwell with endometriosis and fibromyalgia, it seems as though the Raynauds is getting worse. So my first question is: is it common for Raynauds to progress?

Secondly, I’ve been experiencing wrinkled fingertips (without having wet hands!) almost all the time this past Autumn/Winter. So I’m wondering if this is most likely a new symptom from the Raynauds , or something else? And if you have experience with this, has it progressed/led to further symptoms?

At the moment, the wrinkles are more annoying than anything, mainly because my phone and tablet regularly refuse to allow me access, because they can’t recognise my fingerprints! 😂

Any experience or advice welcome!

[CarolMcl]

I've actually just asked the same question of the forum as my Raynauds has gotten a lot worse this year. I'm sorry I can't be any help to you but hopefully someone with more experience of Raynauds can help 🤞

[Hidden]

I had reynaulds diagnosis in 2004, with nothing else detected following a blood test at that time. But Last year I was diagnosed as having developed. Systemic sclerosis

[Purple_Badgers in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your reply! May I ask what symptoms you had and how they changed?

[Hidden]

Funnily enough no obvious symptoms had developed, The SSc was spotted via a routine blood test for an unrelated health issue.

[KathleenMary in reply to Hidden]

Me likewise

[Castella]

It is known that scleroderma/ Raynaud' can affect fingerprints, so probably best to avoid that method of identification. A friend had difficulty at a border crossing because of this.

[Runningblind]

have you noticed any fat loss.? Like fat padding?

On the palm side, are the wrinkles in the joints of your fingers when you bend the more noticeable?

Have you recently noticed socks leaving marks or indentations left on skin from clothing etc that weren’t as noticeable before?

[Purple_Badgers in reply to Runningblind]

Hi Runningblind, no I haven’t noticed any fat loss or more noticeable wrinkles at the joints. The skin seems to be more red over the joints though. And I do get sock marks more easily than I would have done years ago (not easy to do, as my ankles are pretty skinny!). Are these ways in which the Raynauds could progress?

[Runningblind in reply to Purple_Badgers]

did the sock marks become noticeable a lot more as soon as the fingertip wrinkles happened?

Did you notice clothes or anything leaving marks more around the time of the wrinkles appearing or lasting indentations when holding items, cooking etc?

I don’t know enough about the progression of raynauds, just my own experiences.

this for just came on the sock marks and clothing marks were my first physical symptoms. Though I think I suffered cold feet in winter possibly a couple of year previously.

Around the same month as the sock marks the fingertip wrinkles happened then I started losing fat in my hands.

The raynauds for me happened pretty much exactly when the fingertip wrinkles started.

It was in winter and I started feeling the cold badly and getting aching fingers that were going red . Then I started losing fat.

I’m trying to make sense of the fingertips wrinkles because it’s associated with raynauds but not everyone with raynauds has it it seems.

Before that I noticed brownish colouring on finger joint a couple years before it I think.

[Purple_Badgers in reply to Runningblind]

Morning! Thanks for this - it’s really intriguing…

My socks marks probably started a couple of years ago, whereas the wrinkles are much more recent. I’m pretty sure I’ve had Raynauds since childhood, with the worst bouts in times of stress in my 20s and 30s. Mine is mainly triggered by cold, a breeze or a change in temperature and occurs in toes and fingers, though other extremities seem to suffer too.

The main difference now I’m in my 40s is a huge decrease in physical activity (I had to stop work), plus unrelenting physical and mental stress due to chronic pain, fatigue and disturbed sleep. I wonder if that could be a factor?

As I’m writing from a warm kitchen, trying to get going after an awful night’s sleep, my fingers are wrinkling a lot, my palms seem shiny & tight and fingertips are particularly red.

I haven’t noticed anything leaving indentations in my hands after use - I have a lot of joint pain and some difficulty gripping. Also find vibrations excruciating- ie, can’t stand to clip my partner’s hair because holding the clippers is impossible!

I wonder if certain medications could make the Raynauds response worse? Hmmm… 🤔

[Tiggywoos in reply to Purple_Badgers]

have you noticed skin over wrist bones is shiney and tight ? I also get the sock marks and fingers go purple / blue even when it’s not that cold . I think it really affects our circulation 🧐

[Purple_Badgers in reply to Tiggywoos]

Sorry I missed this one! The skin on my wrists always seems red these days. I wouldn’t say shiny or tight particularly. The joints are often painful and stiff, so I thought I had some form of arthritis, but apparently not, according to GP/rheumatologist.