just a stab in the dark....anyone have Raynaud's disease?

[boathead]

i have it... fyi, i call it an extreme exaggerated reaction to cold, where there is severe circulation constriction. it is quite troublesome for me right now.

here's a pic....not my hands, but they very well could be...it's pretty much what my hands look like at least once a day. takes me increasingly more time to get the blood to my fingers so i can lift the bar. anyway, if anyone has some experience with this, some suggestions would be most welcome.

[Schlangemann]

Sometimes it's caused by some underlying problem. Depending on the cause (sometimes unknown) it can be called syndrome or phenomenon aswell.

My friend was recommended to have some kind of warm/hot wax treatment once a month (hands immersed in it)... I don't know all the details exactly.

[painthappy]

My wife does. She just needs to take precautions against it. Going to be outside in the cold, wear gloves. I'm always buying her many pairs of gloves so she has some in her jeep, when she's running, etc, etc.

She also gets cold easily, but I'm sure cold asses is a characteristic of most women when they crawl into bed.

Do what you can to dress warmly and keep your core temperature up, and also get a couple pair of running gloves (thin and think pair) and wear them when going outside since it is winter up where we are.

[The Crush]

i have it... fyi, i call it an extreme exaggerated reaction to cold, where there is severe circulation constriction. it is quite troublesome for me right now.

here's a pic....not my hands, but they very well could be...it's pretty much what my hands look like at least once a day. takes me increasingly more time to get the blood to my fingers so i can lift the bar. anyway, if anyone has some experience with this, some suggestions would be most welcome.

I'm familiar with it and have the same problem, although hasn't been an issue in the gym.

Only gets my fingers and toes during the winter. Tough call on whether it's a real problem or not.

Best solution I've found is simply putting your hands under warm water for a few minutes.

[FishChris]

Boathead, wow. That sounds like a total PITA ! I feel for you on that. Never knew about this kind of health issue.
I have had fibromyalgia for 25 years though. That's another fun one..... always wondering if an ache or pain is "real", or if your nerves are just lying to your brain again

But life goes on.

Just out of curiosity {and of course I don't know how long you have had Raynauds, or how long you have been weightlifting} but has weightlifting seemed to have helped, hurt, or made no difference to your condition ???

Weightlifting (and / or a healthy diet) has definitely helped me..... especially with all my internal aches and pains. As far as my joint pains > at least now I have an actual reason for my joints to be sore

Good luck with this.

Peace,
Fish

PS, The older I get, the more I totally believe in that old cliché > nobody really knows how the world appears through somebody else's eyes.

[boathead]

yeah, it is a PITA. so far as i and the doctors can tell, it is primary, and not secondary, meaning that it apparently is not the symptom of another underlying problem.

i've had it for about 10 years, and weightlifting has not helped/hurt it either way.

some folks have seen vids that i post....i always am wearing a pulled down wool cap....just trying to keep whatever body heat in. looks ridiculous, and i looked like a serial killer, but what the heck, my kids love me, so it's a good day.

squats are a particular problem. i usually have no feeling whatever in my toes.....it's sometimes a bit hairy to squat 315 when you cannot feel your feet.

[beachguy498]

I worked with a guy that had it bad. He went out a few years ago on a 100% disability due to it. He was on loan to us when the shop was slow and we tried to get him full time, no dice according to the head HR puke...

Rob

[Old-Time-Lifter]

My wife has it, she actually had to have the tip of her finger removed due to it.

She has not had an episode though since going on medication, she also makes sure to have ear muffs and mittens and such with her at all times when it's chilly out.

Some blood pressure meds also help with this and she also switch her bp meds to something that helped along with her other med it's been under control for almost 10 years now.

[MrDogBiscuit]

I have it.
The doctor said it was caused by repeated trauma to the hands. I've been a drummer since I was three, so I believe her.
It was bad when I worked as a brewer in a very cold and wet environment.
I also had to stop turkey hunting in the spring because sitting still on a cold morning made it happen.

I found the best solution was to wear neoprene gloves if I was in a cold, wet environment and to swing my arms windmill style to get the blood back into the fingers.
I also keep a pair of anti-vibration gloves and a pair of neoprene gloves in my car thru out the year in case I might be doing anything that might hurt or freeze my hands.

[67fastback]

Wow, that is really a challenging illness.

I dislike the cold immensly, which is rough, working on construction sites, in the wet winter months.
With my RA, I noticed that my lymphatic system does not function as well, in keeping the fingers as warm, or circulation good.

In the last few months, I have really taken to getting some quality undergarments. I lost the CK undies, in favour of "dri-wear" undershirts and boxer underwear. This helped a lot, then I discovered the underarmour fitted long sleeve shirts. In the winter months (like now) I wear a dri-wear sleeveless undershirt, with an underarmour 'heat gear' turtleneck. I always have a touque.
This weekend we went for a long walk in the cold. I also used the UA leggings under my jeans. I was completely comfortable. The bonus is; when I stay warm (especially the core) it's easier to warm up my hands, and fingers.

It costs a few hundred $ to get set up for a week's worth of garments, but it's almost all that I wear underneath my clothes now. I swear by it, especially with the damp cold we get here.

When washing the car, I have a set of disposable gloves. Sometimes it helps me a lot to keep the hands mostly dry.