Hi there! My 12-year-old son was just diagnosed yesterday by a rheumatologist. She put him on 2.5 mg Norvasc daily and said he has the worst case she's seen in at least 5 years. He only has it in his feet, but they turn purple almost immediately every time he takes off his socks, even in a warm room.

What I don't know is what this means for him. She just said that he always needs to be kept warm but then told him he could go to the snow for a trip next weekend with his youth group. She was very mellow, and when I asked if we need to watch for anything, she said no. I asked if there were any complications to look for; she said no. Needless to say, I'm very confused. Why say it's the worst she's seen and prescribe the powerful meds but not be concerned about anything happening? What started the whole thing was we went to his regular doctor because his feet started turning purple and had sores at the end of most of his toes that resembled frostbite. One toe was infected. With all of this, isn't there a possibility of something happening to his feet? What can happen? I have looked online at various websites but they don't really explain anything thoroughly. I've seen that there are two types (primary and secondary). Apparently the dr. thinks it's primary because she said that he seems healthy otherwise and she doesn't think that there is anything else wrong with him. She did have blood taken for testing, however, so that she is positive there is nothing else going on.

I guess what I'm looking for is why is this a problem? What should I be worried about, if anything? Is this just an annoying problem that doesn't go away, or is it something worse? What happens if he does get cold? I just don't get it.

Hi there. I don't have any answers for you because I have similar questions. My son was diagnosed with Raynauds a couple of weeks ago. The blood work came back with a high rheumatoid factor indicating that his Raynauds is probably secondary to Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. We see a rheumatologist in a little over a week from today. My son is 5 and this is affecting his hands and earlobes. Our family doctor said if it was severe enough it could lead to death of the tissue.
We bought the best gloves we could find for cold protection in our small town. I am researching ordering whatever protects him the best.

Is the rheumatologist your child saw a pediatric specialist? Maybe something to consider. We have to travel since there are no rheumatologists in our town who will treat children. I saw a website that has special gloves and socks for Raynauds. I am not sure whether they would be helpful. I will send you the link.

I hope you can get some further answers. Colette

Kylesmom,

Have you tried taking Kyle's temperature? Not when he has a fever, when he's feeling normal. As you know, healthy people have an oral temperature of 98.6 F. People with weak adrenal glands tend to have low and unstable temperatures. Weak thyroid causes temperature to be low and steady. Here is the article that documents it:

http://www.westonaprice.org/Lo...Energy-Therapies.html
Scroll down to "Temperature Patterns in Response to Adrenal Therapy" and "Temperature Patterns in Response to Thyroid Therapy".

You can also see adrenal fatigue in the pupil's response to changes in light.
"Adrenal Fatigue : the 21st century stress syndrome" by Dr James Wilson describes the test. You can probably get the book at your local library.
Dr. Rind's article has better tips on nutrition though.

Dr. Rind says adrenal fatigue is at the root of most Raynauds cases and there are also a few cases mycoplasma pneumonia is to blame.

Hope this helps,
Jeff

Thanks, Colette. It is a pediatric rheumatologist that we see. Like in your situation, there are none nearby, so we travel an hour to get there. I plan on bugging her more next time with my questions since many arose after our visit. As I'm sure you know, it's a little (okay, maybe more than a little) overwhelming to hear that there is something wrong with your child that doesn't look like it will ever go away. My mind just kind of blanked. I also wish you the best of luck with everything. This seems to be quite a personal thing, from everything I've been reading, that affects different people in sometimes very different ways. It's been interesting reading so far.

Thanks, Jeff. I'll check that out. One thing the dr. said is that it may have been triggered by his adhd meds, which he has been taken off of for at least the near future. She said they don't cause it, but can set off what was there lying dormant. I tend to believe it since a different adhd drug triggered tics. His dr. at the time said the same exact thing about that.

I look forward to any nutrition advise as well. I strongly believe that what we eat can, at the very least, assist our bodies in handling whatever goes "haywire". I already only buy organic food, but I know sometimes it is neccessary to avoid certain foods, or eat much more of others, as well.

I am laughing right now because the little cartoon character next to my name is a guy. I am a girl, but a girl who does not know how to change the little character next to her name.
That link for the gloves and socks is RaynaudsGloves.com. I have more research to do on how they work. We have our appointment this week on Tuesday. I am trying to figure out why this happening. I read in my Anatomy and Physiology textbook that it is an exaggerated vasoconstriction response which is an autonomic nervous system imbalance. I wonder what happens to cause this imbalance?
Do you live where it is cold? Maybe you mentioned that, but I don't remember. We live in Idaho. I think Spring is on its way, but even on one our warmer days last week he had an episode with his earlobes, because he was not wearing a hat.

Keep me posted.
Colette

LOL! Click on "Profile" then scroll down your information until you see "Author Icon". Click on "See all". It will show you all of the choices you can use for your picture. :-)

Thanks for the link. We right next to Salem, OR, so it doesn't get too terribly cold. It is weird, though. Yesterday it was 45; today it was 60. Anyway, from what I've read, it doesn't seem to matter where you live. I've seen people write from FL and Southern CA and say they have bad flare-ups. I'm hoping that he does okay in the summer. We have a neighborhood pool that he loves to go hang out at, but I've seen people write that they have attacks because of getting cold from swimming.

Ugh, I guess right now we're just hoping that the meds work the best they can. I'm also cooking with a lot of cinnamon and hot pepper and giving him fish oil capsules since they are all supposed to help. We'll just have to wait and see.