Is exercise good for Raynauds or does it aggravate the problem?

[jogoody]

Hi there i have just been diagnosed with Raynauds and wanted to know is it still ok for me to go to the gym and do my usual running and exercise? I have Raynauds in my foot and just want to check that i wont be making things worse? Sorry this is all new to me and i have so many questions i didnt ask the nurse!!

[Hidden]

I have severe Raynaud's both feet and mild to medium in both hands. The Rheumatologist November 2013 said it helps to exercise - might be painful but doesn't do any damage whatsoever in fact it assists with circulation.

[Plumcake in reply to Hidden]

I believe you to be right. Not exercising at all is bad, unless you physically are incapable. I have had to stop swimming recently cos my health been so bad and have been in bed often,but I feel right out of condition.

[jogoody]

Thats good to hear thank you for your reply

[Skwiglee]

I've got Sleroderma and I've found things much easier now that I move around more. I won't be joining the gym anytime soon! But dancing around the living room helps plus I don't really notice that I'm exercising. Good luck!

[Plumcake in reply to Skwiglee]

Yeah it great to dance about at home or out if you can. I love dancing to the right kind of music. Not sure what's going on with me lately, but skin has dried up badly, and had a fungus in my mouth for ages. I reckon it has spread to my face as I got horrible sore red areas either side of nose, and also had at corner of lips.skin feels weird all along the T line. eyebrows to lips. Tried all sorts of creams, didn't work. I wish I had told the maxillo facial unit at the hospital last week. but didn't realise it could be related.

In the end I've been putting natural yogurt on the sore areas, and it seems to have eased up, but skin is peeling off and dry as dust.

[Skwiglee in reply to Plumcake]

Hi! My skin all over my body, just flakes off and has done ever since I started with Scleroderma - 6 years - I look like walking dandruff. But I have been having Chia seeds added to my diet, originally for muscle growth. My skin is so much better and softer too. I have just come back from Bowen and my therapist commented on it. Probably due to the fact I normally leave a trail of dead skin all over her carpet.

[Plumcake in reply to Skwiglee]

That's not nice at all Skwiglee, it sounds more like psoriasis. My husband had a friend from his jazz band stay overnight and I could not believe the state of the bedroom after.

Like someone had emptied a large pack of talcum powder everywhere. Poor man.

I haven't been diagnosed with scleroderma, but my sister had it, and I am a little concerned i may also have the start of it.

The chia seeds: were they suggested by a specialist or something you found about about yourself?

Just seen this post on Facebook Sjogrens page. Interesting.

For the crazy itching, I use COLD plain yogurt as well as for the sunburn. I put paper towels under my arms or wherever and slather on the plain, cold yogurt. I do this mainly in the evenings. Keep it on until it starts to warm up or dries. Then wash off with cool running water. After about 7-10 days the itching went completely away and has never returned. I shared my remedy with my Rheumatologists. Alpha Lipoic Acid 100 mg really helped me get rid of the fibromyalgia. Rode on an airplane and was talking to my seat neighbor. He was the scientist who discovered this antioxidant and told me to get a bottle of it and try it. After 10 yrs, I still use it once a day. If I have left home on a trip and start to freeze up with pain, I check to see if I left it out of my medicine and sure enough I did. Then I take 1 twice a day for 1-2 days and the pain and stiffness completely goes away. Recently for my RA I have started taking Curamin (health food store). I brought it to my drs and they all knew about it. Even my Oncologist knew. He said they give that as an additional boost to their cancer pain meds when they can't give their patients any more narcotics. curamin.com also. M. D. Anderson Cancer Hospital in Houston have CONFIRMED studies where they have actually stopped the studies because the results were so remarkable in STOPPING certain kinds of cancer and it is used by Oncologists now. Mine knew about it. My former Rheumatologist, he now works for WHO (World Health Organization) told me to always tell my doctors to check for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. His words: "People w/SS have a 60% greater 'propensity' to have Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma because their glands get so dry, they can't fight off infection." I started having night sweats, low grade (99-100 degree) fevers in the evening and feeling really sick. He sent me to an Oncologist who ran my N-H lymphoma titters and they were elevated. Thank God caught it early. On chemo twice and been in remission since but I still have body CT Scan to look at swollen lymph glands to stay on top of it. Thankful for my then Rheumatologist that told me truthful info and talked w/me and kept me up to date. Didn't want to scare none of you but we need to be on top of this even when we don't feel well. If your dr doesn't talk to you or answer your questions, find another that will. Take charge of your treatments. It saved me. Go to all the SS Conferences in your area and ask questions. Be pro-active. If you can't attend, call or write the SS org and request copies of the Presenter's notes or get their names and write to them requesting their notes from their presentations. Don't understand their lingo. Get a medical dictionary and look the words up. Hope this helps everyone. God bless everyone!

[jogoody]

Thank you, i think i will mainly be swimming from now on especially when my feet are hurting, didnt want to pay for the gym if i couldnt use it and i would end up with more health problems later on in life if i become a fatty lol

[zenabb]

I stopped the gym when I couldn't do it any longer. Exercise is good and helps with the circulation.

[Hidden]

I find that exercise sometimes induces the raynauds - this is because your organs and muscles need the blood supply, so i find that for a while when i start i just take much longer to warm up than anyone else!

[darkdreamer]

I haven't found exercise helps my raynauds at all. Beware of cold metal on equipment. It always takes me about 20 mins to warm up and get my circulation going. I'm very used to using the cross trainer in gloves and not feeling my hands and feet for about 25 minutes but I don't let it stop me.

[nettie545]

I think exercise is good for the circulation, but the vibration on my hands made me worse. I think it's a good idea to do a little often and wear gloves so the cold equipment doesn't set it off again.

[chrissieH]

I have Raynauds and Scleroderma and have always found that I seem to have a bad reaction to exercising. I always feel much worse afterwards and have had to take to bed for a day or two which is most unusual for me. I guess it affects us all differently.

[stevieboy]

i do its good for you

[marshall-williams]

I run and whilst sometimes it's hard to get motivated, I feel so much better afterwards.

Always wear gloves though as it does look strange to be running with blue hands