Sclero-what?

At work, I generally always wear gloves. Especially in the colder weather. There is not a time when I don't. My hands would just freeze and stop working. I get a lot of questions, and I never really know how to answer. I typically answer with quick replies and hope they don't ask more questions. Depending on how they ask their question also depends on how I respond. "Why are you wearing gloves?" -- My hands are cold, is usually the easiest question to answer. "Is it really that cold?" -- No, I just feel like wearing gloves for fun. This one I tend to get a bit snippy with, because yes, it really is that cold. Why else would I wear gloves? (I usually just say yes and move on) "Do you have carpal tunnel?" -- No, my hands are just cold "Do you have arthritis?" -- Kind of, a form of it, I guess, typically followed by, "You're too young for arthritis." -- Yes, yes I am. For a long time I just would use the, "my ha...

I had my next appointment with Dr. Walker on the 21st of November. It was good. Just another check to see how I was doing type of a thing. He asked how the Cellcept was working, and I told him fine. He decided to double the dose so I would be taking 2 pills in the morning and 2 in the evening. He asked how the Raynauds was, and I told him about the same. He mentioned a drug that is similar to Viagra (can't remember the name), but he wasn't sure if our insurance would cover it. Then he answered some questions and sent me for more blood tests. It's important to keep testing my blood every so often while I'm on the Cellcept to make sure that it's not killing my kidneys, and to keep my white blood count normal. I'm becoming a pro with the blood giving. When they called with the results, everything was okay, with the exception of the muscle enzymes. Dr. Walker wanted me to start taking 10 mg of Prednisone (Treats inflammation (swelling), severe allergies, compli...

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to my friend, and I realized that it has been 2 years since this all started. So crazy! Anyway 2013 was a very interesting year. It started out with the freezing cold temperatures. I think in all the years that I've been here in Logan, I've never experienced such freezing temps. You'd think where I'm from Wyoming, I'd basically be immune to that, but no way. It sucked. It sucked pretty bad too because in the mornings at work I have to go to the ATM and get the deposits from the day before. Even just being out there for that five minutes just about killed me! My hands would just hurt, and it would take forever for them to thaw out and become somewhat useable again. So there was that. The pain also continued. My joints became more and more stiff, and my fingers became swollen and more stiff as well. I also noticed a decline in what I was able to do for myself. At the beginning of the year I was having a bit of trouble reaching d...

I made it through the cold January-March, dealing with the Raynaud's, still just doing my thin. I was able to play rec league volleyball, even though I had to make sure to bandage up my sore fingers and make sure they were warm. Have you ever tried setting a ball with cold fingers? It's a bit painful. But it was fun, and it got my out moving. In April I decided that I wanted to get in shape. I had gained a few pounds, and even though I participated in a "Biggest Loser" challenge in a digi scrap forum, I needed something to get me out and get me moving. I slacked off a bit after the last BL challenge, so I needed to get back to it. I found a semi-easy schedule to follow, and decided to just jump in. My hands actually did okay as I would run. They were super cold to the touch, but I think moving got enough blood flowing to them that they didn't turn the purpleish, however they would get super swollen, but it was okay. I was out running, working out to get into sha...

In December of 2011, I noticed that if my hands got really cold, they would turn white, and go numb. It just started in my middle fingers, and progressively got worse. I just thought it was really strange, but didn’t think anything of it. I'd just wear gloves and try to keep them warm. In January of 2012, they started turning a purpleish/blackish color when they got too cold, and they were really hard to warm up again. It kind of freaked me out, and one day at work I showed my co-workers. They kind of freaked out, so that kind of freaked me out. I ended up going to Instacare, where I learned that it was really expensive to go there. I kind of teared up when she told me how much it cost, and I guess she though I was crying because of my fingers. Needless to say those few tears got me in a bit quicker. The nurse came in and did all the basics, and then I waited for a bit longer. Of course by the time the doctor got in there, I had warmed up a bit so they weren't as b...