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Hello! I'm 23, was diagnosed with Raynauds like 8-9 months ago and now im 23wks pregnant. It really wasn't a huge deal, if I got too cold or too upset id have flare ups but it was like extreme cold.... Since being pregnant... It is non stop. Every night! And any time I walk anywhere near a frozen section in the grocery store, anywhere with cold AC and it's immediate and I get sooo blue in my hands and feet. Sometimes they just look dead. It's very painful and eveyone I've seen says raynauds is supposed to be better when you're pregnant! But even as I write this my hands hurt so bad. I'm tired of being cold in my hands/feet and hot in the rest of my body, yet alone the pain... What do I do? Anyone else have this problem or experience? I am currently being tested and it is suspected I may also have lupus

Hello Stitus and welcome to the forum. Thanks for posting and introducing yourself.

I am sorry you are having a worsening of Raynaud's symptoms while pregnant. I am glad to hear that your doctor is doing testing. Please let us know the results.

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Secondary Raynaud's with a connective tissue disease

I cannot speak from experience, but I have avoided considering pregnancy because of Raynaud's. I would love to hear others experiences with this.

Hi, I'm sorry to hear you're suffering so badly. Yes pregnancy does increase blood flow, but the hormones involved with pregnancy play havoc with your circulatory system. A particular issue for pregnant and breastfeeding women is Raynaud's of the nipple, if you are aware that you are at risk of this condition you can take steps to help prevent it from occurring. If you do start to suffer, please do visit my webpage: www.summerwarmth.co.nz where I have lots of information about Raynaud's of the nipple that might help you if need be.
All the best

Hi , my name is Lori
I developed this in my first trimester and had the worst pregnancy ever !!! My cardiologist and rheumatologist advised me never to get pregnant again. I have/ had raynaud's of the breasts and nipples and it never went away after pregnancy, it is getting progressively worse. My daughter is now 2 yrs old, I could only breast pump for a couple of months and then had to quit because my attack were sooooo bad and would last extremely long. I delivered my daughter at 36 weeks with an emergency c-section because I was beginning to develop terrible chest pain and my cardiologist insisted to my OB GYN that I be delivered ASAP / NOW. Several doctor's in Michigan never saw a case like this and was concerned for my baby and myself. It came to a point that I had to go in weekly to the OB GYN to do a stress test on the baby, several times she would fail the test and then I was sent to the hospital's labor and delivery for some more special testing. My pregnancy was the hardest and most painful thing I have ever done in my lifetime. If you ever want to chat just let me know, I'm sure we can arrange something. BTW, the doctor's stated they thought me being on Procardia XL saved my babies life and prevented me from going into labor in my second trimester. I still have the Raynaud's and go to U of Michigan hospital to see several specialists to try to control my attacks.

Hi Stitus
BTW, my daughter also told me that testing for Lupus during pregnancy can sometimes give you a false positive result, I don't know if it is true but that is what she stated to me. They tested me for everything and could not find one thing wrong with me. One thing I can say is that I have Raynauds disease on my mom and dad's side of the family so there is a history of this and my sister had Raynaud's disease of the breasts and nipples before her pregnancy and then it went away when she got pregnant and her son is not 18 months , her Raynaud's is completely gone.

Welcome to the forum Ideshalla and thanks for sharing your experiences. I do hope you find our site to be informative.

(by the way, I'm a former Michigander -- Go Blue!)

Karen

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I will persevere & live strong.

Secondary Raynaud's to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Edited: 06/21/2012 at 08:27 AM by Karen

Thank-you Karen. BTW, After I gave birth, my Thyroid went wacko, my doctor diagnosed me with Hashimoto's Syndrome.