RA & Raynaud's

Angel666

Hi, I've had Raynaud's for several years & recently diagnosed with RA which I am told there is a connection with the two things...I get several chilblains on my fingers which are very painful & sore & tried allsorts of creams to help heal them but wondering if anyone else has this with RA & found anything that works well...not looking forward to a winter of both RA & Raynaud's 😩🙄

jamieA

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/58908/ra-raynauds

Hi @Angel666

My rheumatologist mentioned the possibility of Raynaud's disease to me - I have psoriatic arthritis. I told her that for much of the last two years my hands and feet have been constantly cold. The back of my hands ache most of the time and the veins in the back of my hands are far more prominent in colour - they are very blue. She said that people with an auto immune disease are more likely to get Raynaud's. She didn't think I had it as my finger skin colour is normal. Also after being diagnosed with PsA I then got a heart problem and I'm now on blood thinners which she thinks may be causing the cold extremities. I wear compression gloves and thermal socks to counteract my cold hands and feet.

Angel666

Hi jamieA

Thankyou for responding ☺️ yeah have had it for about 4 years but mine is only in my fingers which do the whole deadly white thing 🙄 I wear fingerless compression gloves under a pair of wool mittens wen weather is really cold but still seem to get the chilblains which are really nasty & painful, try to keep it under control with creams ect as much as I can but this is pics from last year 🙁 hope this winter is kind to you x

Cath100

Hi @Angel666

Thanks for your message. Sorry to hear that you are experiencing this, there are some tips within our info on Raynauds specifically in the section on managing symptoms which you can find here

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/raynauds-phenomenon/

Perhaps also if you haven't tried it you could look at taking a symptoms diary to try and work out your triggers.

It may be that you could also get a referral to an Occupational Therapist or hand therapist and they can give you further advice about things like gloves for example or other treatments.

The charity SRUK who also cover Raynaud's also have some info on symptoms in the hands and possible suggestions you could check individual suitability with your healthcare professional here

https://www.sruk.co.uk/scleroderma/scleroderma-and-your-body/hands-and-feet/

Hope this helps, but do check in with your rheumatologist nurse too as they may have some suggestions also.

Cath100

(Moderator)

Angel666

Thankyou for some great advice ☺️ I have an appointment at RA dept on Friday & will mention about the Raynaud's 👍 go did try me on some meds about 5 years ago but they made me really dizzy so had to come off them so hopefully they can give me some more choices of how to help

Becky88

Just to say that I also have R A and Raynaud's. Last year, I also had chilblains and my hands were so sore as I also developed eczema. My gp advised that the best thing was prevention..in other words, try to prevent your hands getting very cold. She recommended hand warmers. I have just started feeling the winter effects of Raynaud's again...white fingers, numbness, etc. Not nice and I find it very hard to stop this happening.

Angel666

It is difficult to stop it isn't it...I've tried so many different types of gloves & mittens also many creams but nothing seems to work once it starts 🙄