Hi all,
I'm new to this forum.
I'm a 25 year old male currently in a graduate program in NY. For the past several years I've had cold sweaty/clammy extremities (e.g., feet, hands, nose, knees), with blotchy discoloration. This is rather persistent, and I never really questioned it.
A few winters ago, I noticed my hands looked red and irritated (with raised bumps, mildly itchy). I was initially told I had a skin reaction, but after the same thing happened the following winter, my primary care physician assumed it was Raynaud's Phenomenon (RP) . About a month ago, I noticed the same kind of blotchy bumps and went to see my primary care physician, once again, who said it was RP. Out of expressed concern, they ordered an ANA (IFA) test for me. It came back negative, however before I got this result, I booked a follow up with a rheumatologist.
When I went in, I gave her my description of my hands in the cold: I have rather persistent discoloration: red hands, without CLEAR cutoff/pallor or phasic shifting. I do however have pretty persistent blanching in all of the area that I previously mentioned that extend to my whole hands (not only fingers), knees and feet, with sluggish blood return. I must say again I've never really had "episodic" reactions to cold, just persistent (possibly acrocyanosis). After discussing the discoloration, I also told her that the nailfolds on my hands are regularly red. She looked at them through a magnifying glass and concluded they were dilated, but no dropouts. Not sure if this could manifest with general poor circulation/acrocyanosis? Because of the nailfolds she ordered several other tests and an ENA:
kidney functioning through urine analysis
C4 & C3
Sedimentation
CRP,
SS-A
SS-B
SM
RNP
SCL-70
JOL
All came back negative/normal except for a
SLIGHTLY lower C3 (88mgdl) in normal range of 90-180 Mg/dl
and a C4 at 15 in normal range of 10-40 (technically normal range, but seems on low end)
Just curious if there are any other blood tests that were missed that may eludicate the conditions of my hands. Again, I don't have any "frank" pain or really specific issues besides cold blotchy hands & reddened nail cuticles. My skin, as a matter of fact, has always been rather elastic, however, "I noticed" that the index finger on my left hand feels a little different than the index finger on my right (non-dominant hand) could just be difference in skin by nondominant-dominant?
Obviously, I'm extremely anxious about my health and suffer from rather debilitating Hypochondriasis from time to time, so I'm very sorry for this tirade and if I'm being in any way insensitive. I'm just curious if there are any other things I can do to figure out whats going on with my hands.
I'm also curious if my chronic anxiety (that I've had since I was 8) has something to do with sympathetic NS issues that may be causing this..
Thank you for your time.
-Kellen
