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Hi Everyone,

I am a 40 yr old male and just went to a rheumi at the advice of my GP. The rheumi spent about 30 min with me and came to the conclusion that I have Raynaud's. My fingers do the usual color changes (red-blue-red/blue)and I am in MASSIVE pain in the hands. There is also discomfort on my forearms. My fingers tingle constantly and are usually discolored and very cold. My fingernails also hurt. In general, my hands feel very very heavy, cold, and swollen. I get the same color changes on my elbows and very very faintly on my knees, though these are not painful. I have recently lost my appetite and always constapted. My feet are begining to tingle now from time to time, usually when I get up from bed in the morning and I am always tired.

I guess the thing that really has my mind in panic mode is that I am HIV positive and the rheumi said something to the extent that blood work would come back inconclusive because my immune system is already wacked up. He did say the meds I am on are not contributing to this. My mind is running at a million miles an hour here at work and all I want to do is fall asleep. Can anyone give some conforting advice or insight? Is this type of pain and symptoms common or normal for people with Raynauds? Anything else that might come about I should be aware of?

Any reply would be appreciated.

Hello, Chicago, and welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry you are experiencing such severe symptoms. While there is quite a bit of variation among people with Raynaud's, at least some of the symptoms you describe (notably the severe pain and the gastrointestinal issues) do not sound typical of Raynaud's.

If you take some time to browse through the forum (especially the Coping Strategies and Hot Products categories), you will find some potentially effective methods of controlling your Raynaud's symptoms.

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Judith
Secondary Raynaud's with underlying systemic sclerosis